Fighting Loneliness

Isolation is the norm for thousands of older people but two women from Kirkby Lonsdale are helping them combat the loneliness

- Judith Coyle

During the lockdown you can give lonely friends and relatives a virtual hug with a phone call or social media message

The Covid-19 outbreak has meant isolation for us all; a period of enforced solitude away from friends, family and work colleagues.

It has brought changes to our routines and habits and, whether we have been directly affected by the virus or not, life has been made more difficult as everyday tasks such as working, shopping, childcare and exercise have become a challenge.

For most, it is a temporary inconvenience but for some people, the isolation will not end when the virus dies away.

Once offices, shops and businesses start to re-open and staff return to work and some form of normality, many members of our communities will still be alone and cut off from society.

But two women from Kirkby Lonsdale are helping to overcome the loneliness many older people across Lancashire and the Lake District have come to regard as normal.

Fran Franklin and Vivienne Pike both know what it’s like to have family members who have become increasingly isolated. And that’s what led them to launch Just Company, which aims to give lonely older people some companionship and days out.

Fran was brought up mostly by her much-loved Aunt Gilly, a potter who lived on a narrowboat at Glasson Dock, near Lancaster.

‘At 74 she was vibrant and engaged with her community but a fall and major surgery led to her moving away,’ Fran says. ‘I couldn’t see her as often as I wanted and she stayed at home watching television, growing increasingly isolated and depressed.