About The silver line
The Silver Line: Providing Friendship and Support for Older People
The Silver Line is a UK-based charity that provides a free telephone service exclusively for older people. The helpline offers friendship, support, and advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The organization was founded in 2013 by Dame Esther Rantzen DBE, who is well-known for her work as the founder of ChildLine.
The Silver Line Helpline was created to address the issue of loneliness among older people in the UK. According to research conducted by Age UK, over 1 million older people go an entire month without speaking to anyone. This isolation can have serious consequences on their mental and physical health.
The Silver Line Helpline aims to combat this problem by providing a friendly voice at the end of the phone line. The service is available to anyone over the age of 55 who needs someone to talk to or wants information about local services that can help them.
One of the unique features of The Silver Line Helpline is that it offers regular friendship calls. These are pre-arranged calls from one of their trained volunteers who will call an older person at an agreed time each week or fortnight for a chat. This service has been incredibly popular with users as it provides them with something to look forward to each week and helps combat feelings of loneliness.
In addition to providing friendship calls, The Silver Line Helpline also offers information and advice on topics such as benefits entitlements, housing options, and social activities in their local area. They also have specialist teams who can provide support around issues such as dementia or bereavement.
All calls made through The Silver Line Helpline are confidential and non-judgmental. Their trained volunteers undergo rigorous training before they start taking calls so they can provide empathetic support while maintaining professional boundaries.
Since its launch in November 2013, The Silver Line has received over two million calls from older people across the UK. The service has been a lifeline for many who would otherwise have no one to talk to.
The Silver Line Helpline is funded entirely by donations from individuals, companies, and charitable trusts. They do not receive any government funding, which means they rely on the generosity of their supporters to keep the service running.
If you or someone you know could benefit from The Silver Line Helpline's services, you can call them on 0800 4 70 80 90. You can also find out more about their work and how to support them by visiting their website at www.thesilverline.org.uk.
In conclusion, The Silver Line Helpline is an invaluable resource for older people in the UK who may be feeling lonely or isolated. Their friendly volunteers provide a listening ear and practical advice that can make a real difference in someone's life. By supporting this charity, we can help ensure that they continue to provide this vital service for years to come.