For many people, summer is a time of sun, vacation and being together. That just doesn’t apply to everyone. Fifteen percent of the elderly suffer from summer loneliness, according to figures from the elderly organization KBO-PCOB. To counter this, the Met Je Hart foundation is starting a campaign this week to get lonely elderly people through the summer.
More than half of the over-75s suffer from loneliness and vof the over-85s, two thirds feel lonely. In the summer months, this problem plays an even greater role and, according to the Met Je Hart foundation, there should be more awareness for this.
The director of the foundation, Aimée Romme, calls summer loneliness an unknown problem: “When people think of loneliness, they usually think of the days around Christmas. What you should not forget is that summer lasts six weeks and many family, neighbors and friends are on vacation. Clubs and associations have a summer break, schools are closed and it is quiet on the street.”
To generate more awareness, the ‘Celebrate Summer Together’ campaign was launched this week: “We want to get people moving and make them aware,” says Romme.
At Met Je Hart BEL (Blaricum, Eemnes, Laren) too, they notice that the elderly often and quietly sit alone in the summer: “We try to coordinate well with our volunteers to be present all summer so that meetings take place and there is enough attention,” says Belinda Huiden-Lammers, coordinator of Met Je Hart BEL.
“The more volunteers we have, the more elderly we can receive and the more we can be in even more municipalities”
In the North Holland municipalities of Alkmaar, Amsterdam, Blaricum, Eemnes and Laren, the foundation is committed to lonely elderly people this summer. For example, the foundation will go to the Singer Laren museum with lonely elderly people on July 14, where they will be given a tour and have lunch together in the Singer garden.
To ensure that there are activities throughout the summer, the foundation provides enough volunteers: “Every six weeks we have lunch with the elderly at regular tables in the BEL municipalities. We ensure that there is no gap in the summer so that these lunches can continue under the supervision of volunteers,‘ said Huiden-Lammers.
According to Romme, volunteers are crucial to helping as many elderly people as possible: “Of course it will sometimes be a bit of a compromise this summer because some volunteers are on vacation. The more volunteers we have, the more elderly we can receive and the more we will work in even more municipalities. we can sit.”
Live at home
Last year, the government presented the new program for care for the elderly, based on which the elderly can live independently at home for longer. The nursing home must become a place for the elderly who really can no longer live at home. Mainly for elderly people who are vital and relatively healthy, this is a good prospect.
Yet vitality and loneliness can go hand in hand, says Romme: “Elderly people prefer to live independently. If you have a partner or you are still physically and mentally healthy, that can go well. But the moment you get physical limitations or lose a partner, loneliness quickly lurks. “
“If you have a neighbor in your neighborhood who you see is lonely, you can also signal this and pass it on to us. Be alert to that”
According to Huiden-Lammers, you can also identify loneliness in the elderly yourself: “Elderly people who end up at Met Je Hart are usually referred to us by home care. But if you have a neighbor in your neighborhood who you see is lonely, you can you also notice this and pass it on to us. Be alert to that.”
In addition to signalling, you can also do something for lonely elderly people yourself: “If she knows you a bit, you can go there with a cake or invite to the barbecue. They are small things and for lonely elderly people that is a great moment ,” said Huiden-Lammers.
Romme agrees that it is about small gestures: “Even if it is just a chat on the street, walking together or a card. As long as they are invited, they will improve and feel that they matter again. to be small.”
Accountability:
Research by the senior organization KBO-PCOB has shown that 15 percent of the elderly feel lonelier in the summer. (Source: KBO-PCOB)
56 percent of the over-75s feel lonely. Two-thirds (66 percent) of over-85s feel lonely (Source: Health Monitor for Adults and the Elderly of GGDs, CBS and RIVM)