Open Mental Health community grant recipient Priorswood Community Centre is reaching out to those that are the most lonely and isolated within North Taunton.
Their Lonely and Isolated project aims to highlight mental health and how this can be affected by loneliness and isolation, aiming to raise awareness of how important it is to connect with others and to be socially active.
Lesley Council from the centre explains:
Through the project, we encourage people to drop into the community centre for a coffee and chat, to join social and fitness groups and to understand the importance of keeping active and healthy especially as we get older.
Invites have been sent out through our local doctor’s surgery to take the first step in becoming socially active. There are many barriers with this, the first realising that you do feel a bit lonely, the second is how do you find something to do and the third is actually walking in on an established group with unfamiliar faces. This we can help with, perhaps it’s just a chat on the phone or contact by email. Once communication has been formed we then welcome people into a group or sit and chat with them over a coffee.
All of this is hugely important in breaking down the barriers of loneliness and isolation. Without social interaction our mood can drop, depression can set in and we start to feel cut off from the world around us, let’s break this cycle and stop loneliness.
It’s good to talk and that’s what we do, we have volunteers waiting to welcome people to the project.
Groups already on offer include; scrabble, knit & natter, luncheon club, tai chi, digital support, menopause support and coffee mornings Monday to Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm.
We will be highlighting the project with other partner organisations at our Pride in Priorswood Summer activity days at Lyngford Park, if you would like more information about the project or these events please email:
lesleycouncill@priorswoodcommuntycentre.co.uk or check out our website; www.priorswoodcommunitycentre.co.uk or call us on: 01823 353643