If you or someone you know suffers from loneliness you might be interested in the national 24/7 telephone service operated by Silver Line Scotland and Age Scotland.
The Silver Line Helpline was established last year to help ease the loneliness experienced by a large proportion of the older generation. Don’t worry if you don’t quite fall into that age category though – you won’t be turned away!
Reliable Information
The service provides useful information as well as the opportunity for a friendly chat and can be helpful for families and carers of the older generation too. Calls are handled by staff from Age Scotland’s Information and Advice team as well as volunteers from Silver Line Scotland’s UK headquarters.
During working hours you’re able to get reliable information on a wide range of topics including but not limited to community care, pensions and benefits. On evenings and weekends, you can speak to a friendly, trained volunteer who’ll be happy to have a chat about whatever is on your mind at the time. Even if you do have a specific question or issue which would be best handled by Age Scotland, the Silver Line volunteers will be happy to arrange a call with them at a suitable time.
Silver Circles
If you like, a Silver Line Friend will keep in touch with you every week by phone or email, or you can join a Silver Circle to take part in regular group calls with like-minded people. If you’re more at ease with modern technology you can check out the Silver Line forums operated in conjunction with Gransnet (http://www.gransnet.com/forums).
Calls are completely confidential, meaning you can feel free to express your thoughts. If you think the Silver Line Helpline could be of use, all you need to do is dial 0800 4 70 80 90.
Thanks to charitable donations, the Silver Line Helpline is completely free of charge. There are no call charges from a landline but as always this doesn’t necessarily apply to calls from mobiles, so it’s best to check with your provider.
