The Cabinet Office has awarded more than £800,000 to seven social action projects across the country providing compassionate support to people at the end of their lives and to their families.
Managed by Hospice UK, the projects will help to tackle loneliness and isolation, which people at the end of their life can often experience. Volunteers will provide companionship and emotional support, as well as practical support to help people reconnect with their own communities.
Support offered by winning projects includes providing transport to community groups and teaching people how to contact distant family members online.
The fund is set to support the following:
- Sue Ryder National Befriending Service – the organisation will replicate the service it already offers in West Berkshire across six other sites in West Yorkshire, Peterborough, Bedfordshire, Leeds and Cheltenham.
- Compassionate Communities in east London – the project will be delivered by St Joseph’s Hospice and use volunteers to develop social networks in Turkish/Kurdish and Afro Caribbean communities in Hackney, BAME communities in Newham, and the Bengali community in Tower Hamlets.
- Aquarius in the West Midlands – the service will provide advice, support and befriending services for people with alcohol-related liver disease, and their families, through a team of well-trained and supervised volunteers.
- Saint Michael’s Volunteer Visitors – delivered by Saint Michael’s Hospice in Harrogate, volunteers will provide weekly companionship to people living at home as well as respite to their carers.
- The Herts Neighbours Network – delivered by Peace Hospice, in partnership with St Francis Hospice, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust and Hertfordshire County Council, volunteers will provide companionship and practical support, including helping people to use social media to reconnect with loved ones.
- Martlets Home Visitors Network in Hove – the service will provide social contact and practical support to people living at home, with a focus on helping people through the process of leaving a hospice to return home.
- St Michael’s Hospice Befriending Service – delivered by St Michael’s Hospice in north Hampshire, volunteers will befriend people identified as isolated, including people living in rural seclusion. As well as traditional face-to-face befriending, the service will make use of digital and online networks.
Evaluation
The impact of the successful social action projects will be evaluated by the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University and the Institute for Volunteering Research.
The evaluation will make an important contribution to the evidence base for the impact of social action in this area.
Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson said: “I am delighted to announce the recipients of the Social Action End of Life Fund. Often medical appointments, care needs and financial considerations can obscure the emotional needs that people face at the end of their lives.
“These projects are great examples of how we can use volunteers within communities to make sure that nobody feels alone or unsupported, helping people live with compassion and dignity.”
Also commenting on the new fund, David Praill, Chief Executive of Hospice UK, added:
“All of these valuable projects harness the power of volunteers to provide befriending and practical support for people approaching the end of life and their families. People facing this situation can often feel very isolated. This type of support can help them feel more connected and can make all the difference to their wellbeing and quality of life.”
‘Build confidence and self-esteem’
Chief Executive of Sue Ryder, Heidi Travis, said she the organisation was “delighted” with the announcement. The charity will be use the funding to deliver a national Befriending Service for individuals who are at the end of life:
“Loneliness, isolation and fear are common feelings associated with end of life and our Befriending Service helps individuals in this situation to reconnect, builds up their confidence and self-esteem and also offers emotional and practical support,” she added.
Martlets Hospice is another charity set to benefit.
Imelda Glackin, Chief Executive at the hospice said that volunteer visitors will provide social contact and practical support to patients living at home: “The service will promote wellbeing for patients and their families reducing isolation and meeting emotional needs.”
And Sue Plummer, Chief Executive of Peace Hospice Care, said that the new funding will “play a huge part in supporting patients in a who wish to die at home.”
Adding: “We know that more people want to die in their own home as opposed to in a hospital. This project will help address this.”
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