Local care home combats loneliness on Blue Monday

Branksome Heights Care Home hosted their ‘Not-So-Blue’ Monday event to combat loneliness and encourage community within their home.

Alongside a singer performing songs ranging across decades 50s, 60s and 70s, which tends to be their usual Monday afternoon entertainment, they also offered their residents and visitors tea, coffee and cakes.

This gave them a chance to sit down and talk, promoting socialisation in a place where loneliness is quite common.

Jess, one of the activities supporters at Branksome Heights, said: “It’s sad [the loneliness], but it’s the truth. And that’s the joy of my role. I try and help to stop that from happening.”

The event was put in place to combat loneliness, as Blue Monday, which fell on January 19^th, is often described as the ‘most depressing day of the year.’

Karen, the receptionist and family liaison, spoke about how preventing these feelings are not important to just the residents but for their family members too: “It can be very lonely caring for someone at home.

“There’s a huge amount of work and it’s very emotional. So by the time they come here, they amount of support and friendships that they make is quite overwhelming sometimes,” she added.

Karen continued to talk about how important these events are for care homes to provide: “When people are looking for a care home, they want one that’s got quite an active social life because it breaks people’s hearts to see a family member just sitting in a chair all day watching telly.

“So just the fact that the home has kind of got a vibe and buzz, it actually means quite a lot.” she said.

With a performer coming every week, the residents always have a reason to come out their rooms and socialise. One of the residents, Barbara Adams, said: “It’s good. You can join in if you’re that brave. I sing and clap along. I think it’s good fun.”

Loneliness is something many people experience as they get older, so having events like this in place can improve mental wellbeing of residents in care homes.