Published Tuesday 1 December 2020 at 14:46
The countdown to Christmas is now on and Blackburn with Darwen residents are being encouraged to send a card to their local care home to brighten up someone’s day.
Cards for Kindness, a campaign to tackle loneliness and isolation amongst older people, launches today.
The campaign, organised by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System, is now in its third year in Lancashire, but this time it’s even more important that people get involved.
There are nearly 1000 people living in care homes in the borough and because of the Covid-19 outbreak and restrictions in place, some of our residents may face feelings of loneliness and isolation more than ever this year.
This means receiving a Christmas card will be particularly important. It’s always nice to receive post and opening a Christmas card helps to promote a feeling of connection to the local community as well as initiating conversations among the residents and bringing back happy memories.
Research shows that these conversations can have many health benefits, particularly for people who are living with dementia.
Councillor Mohammed Khan, Leader of the Council, said:
I am delighted to back this important campaign and help spread a little Christmas cheer. This Christmas is going to be really tough with the restrictions in place.
Staff in Blackburn with Darwen care homes do an absolutely superb job organising activities to ensure residents can socialise and connect to each other.
However, despite their best efforts, the problem of loneliness and isolation is set to be an even bigger issue this year because of the pandemic. This is a massive problem as figures show that living in isolation can have a similar effect on our health than smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
I would urge everyone to help combat loneliness and bring a smile to a person’s face by sending a card to their local care home. Just one extra card will only take a couple of minutes to write, but make a world of difference to someone’s life this Christmas.
Sayyed Osman, Director of Adults and Prevention, said:
This is a really good scheme and I hope as many people as possible gets involved. We know Christmas is going to be tough this year but everyone can have a role in helping spread a little joy this year by sending a card.
Talib Yaseen OBE, Executive Director of Transformation from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System, said:
Cards for Kindness is a wonderful way to spread a little Christmas spirit by sending a festive greetings card to people living in our local care homes.
Cards for Kindness is a joint project, with local authority, NHS, education and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations working together to reduce loneliness of care home residents.
We know that Cards for Kindness has made a big impact in previous years with residents and staff telling us how much joy the cards have brought and how they have sparked nostalgic conversations about Christmases gone by.
More than 100 care homes have signed up to Cards for Kindness this year.
Taking part is easy, simply write your card addressed to residents and pop it in the post. Addresses of all the care homes involved and instructions on how to take part are available at: www.healthierlsc.co.uk/CardsForKindness.
Those sending Christmas cards are encouraged to share their experience on social media using #CardsForKindness.