connect hackney: tackling social isolation amongst older people

CONNECT HACKNEY: TACKLING SOCIAL
ISOLATION AMONGST OLDER PEOPLE
Connect Hackney is a new six-year Big
Lottery funded project which has been
led by Hackney’s older people.
To win this sizeable award of £5.8 million we
surveyed almost 600 Hackney residents aged over
fifty, held workshops and focus groups and worked
closely with the Older People’s Reference Group
(OPRG) to better understand the needs, skills and
experiences of Hackney’s older population.
Now that the funding has been secured we have set
up an outcomes-based commissioning process to
select the charities and community groups we will
fund as part of the project. We spoke to Dr. Cynthia
White, Chair of the OPRG and Connect Hackney
steering group member to learn more. Why is it important to reduce social isolation?
CW: Human beings are social animals who (in
general) need to socialise. Unwanted, prolonged
disconnection from the world around us has been
proved to undermine our health and well-being
and diminish our enjoyment of life. Where social
isolation derives from inequalities and/or
discrimination, it breaches our human rights
and demands positive action to address it.
What is the most exciting part of the project?
CW: The prospect of having ‘new money’ to spend
on interventions that can change people’s lives: that
can replace despair with hope and encouragement;
that can reach people who have been sidelined
Dr. Cynthia White
and condemned to a joyless, solitary existence, and
recreate the stimulating human connections that
can bring them support and comfort.
How will Connect Hackney change public
perceptions of older people?
CW: It will present a faceless, voiceless, and
socially disrespected cohort of residents in a new
light. By building the capacity and motivation
amongst older people that will allow them to be
seen, heard, and universally involved in social
policy-making and service delivery, Connect
Hackney will, over time, help to deconstruct the
prevailing, negative stereotypes of older people as
passive and parasitical non-contributors to society
and to the economy. Connect Hackney will ensure
that older people are increasingly well-placed and
equipped to speak up for themselves.
What do you hope Connect Hackney will achieve
in its six year lifespan?
CW: The evolution of a local community in which
many more older people who wish to do so can play
a full, influential role in community life, with dignity
and respect, be valued for their contribution, and
enjoy the enhanced health, well-being and pleasure
in life, that such involvement is known to confer.
Contact: Judy Harris > judy@hcvs.org.uk