New charity to combat loneliness in Kirkcaldy

A new charity has been set up in Kirkcaldy to help tackle the rising problem of loneliness among older people.
Yvonne Whitehill and Teresa Naylor of Care and Share CompanionshipYvonne Whitehill and Teresa Naylor of Care and Share Companionship
Yvonne Whitehill and Teresa Naylor of Care and Share Companionship

Care and Share Companionship aims to provide one-to-one support to combat isolation, which has been shown to be one of the biggest causes of depression among the older generation.

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And Teresa Naylor, the woman behind the charity, says she hopes it will encourage friendships which will see lonely, older people become like another member of the family of their volunteer befrienders.

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Teresa, service manager, explained: “I am passionate about what I do and when I was made redundant as a helper manager for Marie Curie, I wanted to do something with my skills to help others in this area.

“My local councillor put me in touch with Fife Health and Social Care Partnership and I decided that starting up a voluntary service was the best way to go.

“Loneliness is a big problem these days and sometimes all it takes to make things better is a chat over a cup of tea.”

The charity is holding a launch party in St Bryce Kirk, Kirkcaldy on April 4 from 10am-noon and wants anyone interested in finding out more about the service or becoming a volunteer to pop in.

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“We are in the early stages and we are keen to hear what sort of service people would like to see,” she added.

“It will start off offering one-to-one friendship, but we would like to see it develop into a social group.”

Yvonne Whitehill, the group’s marketing manager, added: “We want to do some fundraising and get local businesses on board.

“We will then match up people with volunteers with similar interests and they can help lead the way forward for the charity.”