Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig (AGW) and Arloesi Môn are trialling an innovative new technology to tackle loneliness. Push To Talk is a simple way of safely connecting people for a chat.
Working with Age Cymru and Adra, the service is accessed through either a mobile app or a device easily installed in the home. Push to Talk enables people within a community to make new connections at the push of a button. The service connects people randomly within the network so that a conversation can be started with someone new. It’s a chance for people who are lacking human interaction to make new friends from the safety of their own homes. A chance for those feeling overwhelmed to talk, listen, and make time for themselves.
According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, over 9 million people in the UK say they are always or often lonely. That’s a staggering fifth of our population, and the current situation due to Covid has also made things even harder. No matter if someone is elderly, disabled, in care, a carer themselves or simply feeling down, a conversation can make a big impact on their day.
Elin Parry, Project Officer at AGW explains more “Loneliness is a big issue but the restrictions due to Covid have exacerbated the problem. It can be extremely difficult for people to leave the house or see their family. Maintaining long-term contact can be very difficult if they have lost touch with the people they usually see.”
AGW & Arloesi Môn are Menter Môn’s LEADER programmes which looks for innovative solutions to the challenges facing the Gwynedd & Anglesey economies by piloting new initiatives. Menter Môn is a social enterprise which works across north Wales to deliver a range of regeneration, environmental and cultural projects for the benefit of local communities.
Push to Talk is a supportive network of like-minded people in similar situations, leading similar lives. By becoming a member of the Push to Talk community you’ll be able to make new friends and make meaningful connections every day. By taking part you can improve your own well being and help out someone in a similar position.
Sioned Young, Community Hub Liaison & Support Officer at Age Cymru Gwynedd a Môn says “One of the reasons this project really appealed to us is how easy it will be for people to connect with new people from their homes. It’s also comforting to know that they’ll be connecting with local people from Gwynedd and Anglesey. They might find someone who has the same interests as them, but would never have met otherwise.”
The service will launch at the beginning of December and will initially be trialled for 6 months. During this time AGW and Arloesi Môn hope to learn how easy the technology is to use and how much impact it will have on its users. If successful, they hope to then offer the service to even more people.
AGW and Arloesi Môn are looking for 20 people on Anglesey and 20 in Gwynedd to take part in the project. If you or someone you know lives alone and would benefit from this technology contact Meilir on meilir@mentermon.com or Elin on elin@mentermon.com or call 01766 514057 and leave a message.
The project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government. It’s also part funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Gwynedd Council and the Isle of Anglesey Charitable Trust.