Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 56 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Winter can be a wonderful time of year filled with Christmas treats, time with family, and cosying up with friends on the coldest days. But of course not everyone looks forward to winter. For many of our older neighbours across Manchester, the dark days and freezing temperatures can be isolating – and can put neighbours' health, wellbeing, financial stability and social connection at risk.
This is why Manchester Cares launched its third Winter Wellbeing project in October 2019. From Whalley Range, Rusholme and Withington, to Ancoats, Miles Platting and Beswick, and everywhere in between, we have connected – through proactive outreach – with older neighbours who are most at risk of being left behind as the days get shorter and nights get colder.
Through the project, which identified isolation where it exists – behind closed doors, in supermarkets and pharmacies, and in our local community – we held face-to-face conversations with 394 older neighbours, helping 241 people to connect to 391 deeper interventions.
We attended 36 community groups and events to raise awareness not only of our own programmes, but also to help people access a range of support from other organisations. Additionally, we carried out a further 13 door-knocking sessions, knocking on 441 doors to speak with older neighbours about Winter Wellbeing and our year-round activities on their doorsteps.
We gave out 131 warm items, including duvets, hats, gloves and scarves, to individuals who felt cold in their homes and didn’t feel they had adequate clothing to get out and about, and two people received Winter Wellbeing grants of between £30 and £100.
Today, the short and frosty winter days feel distant. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced Manchester Cares and the rest of The Cares Family branches to adapt how we reach and connect older and younger people.
But this moment of universal isolation has also revealed the depth of loneliness and disconnection in our communities. Our Winter Wellbeing report highlights many of those local issues, and some of the neighbours who have already benefited from finding new connections in disconnecting times.
They're neighbours like Lufti, 68, who has now been matched with a younger neighbour through Phone-A-Friend since we met through Winter Wellbeing, and Charles, who had already attended over 100 Social Clubs, who received warm items through Winter Wellbeing and is now working with younger neighbours to become tech-savvy with Zoom Virtual Social Clubs.
Through striking up conversations like these, taking the time to chat, to listen and build trust across Manchester, we’ve been able to connect so many neighbours. That's what Winter Wellbeing is all about: connecting people to the changing world around us. And it's what Manchester Cares is about: building deep and meaningful friendships which help people build power to they can navigate that changing world.
As we consider how to further respond to that pandemic to help reduce loneliness in Manchester even more, there is rich learning in our Winter Wellbeing project. Please read the report and infographic below, and get involved to be part of it.
Read the full Winter Wellbeing 2019/20 report here >>
