Caring at Christmas

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many older people were not only isolated and lonely, but afraid and confused.  Older people had gone through a lot, all of them had self-isolated for longer than anyone and many were only able to get information from the tv which was scary at the best of times!  As the weeks turned into months and the days got darker and colder, ACNPT staff and volunteers recognised a shift in attitudes, with residents experiencing low mood from missing their friends and family and feeling trapped and alone.

In order to reach out and show support especially for those who faced spending the festive season alone, ACNPT needed to act quickly with a simple gesture of kindness - just a small tote bag, to include some food items, small gift, cards and decorations and messages from local school children to help lift the spirits.  This also gave ACNPT a last chance, before the holidays, for their volunteers to carry out doorstep wellness checks at the same time as giving out the tote bags.  Volunteers were then able to raise any concerns, so that, if needed, elderly residents could be referred or signposted to the appropriate service/s.  The tote bags themselves were printed with the ACNPT contact details on, in very large print, and a newsletter was also included within the bag, which had details of the services available through ACNPT.

ACNPT CaringatChristmas PCR.pdf

[.PDF, 681.38 KB]