CLOSER NEWS REPORT
A recent report revealed that 25 million people feel lonely, with 17 per cent saying it’s worse at this time of year. Closer speaks to two women who’ve found ways to combat those feelings of solitude…
Sam Young isn’t sure what she’s doing for Christmas this year. The only thing she does know is that she won’t be alone unless she chooses to be.
Back in 2018, she was dreading the festive season. After a difficult time, she was completely estranged from her family and faced being in her house in Telford, Shropshire, completely alone.
Sam, 50, a healer, tells Closer, “I’m single with no children and my friends were all with their families. I didn’t want to impose on them as I wasn’t in a good place after a traumatic year, but I desperately didn’t want to be alone.
“I looked around locally and found a church group that was putting on a meal for vulnerable or lonely people and I volunteered to help. I’m not religious, but it wasn’t a problem for them or me.”
STRANGERS
For Sam it was the best thing she could have done. She explains, “I loved being with strangers, there was absolutely no pressure to put on a mask and pretend to be happy, or to discuss any of my problems. And I was so focused on helping that I didn’t have time to dwell on what else was going on. There must have been about 30 people there, who would otherwise have been alone. And I made good friends with another volunteer, who I kept in touch with until she moved away.
“After the gathering had ended, volunteers who had cars drove around to people who hadn’t been able to get to the Church and delivered them a Christmas meal. It was uplifting and one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had as there was no stress or pressure.”
Sam’s spent subsequent Christmases volunteering with friends, and she’s also joined a scheme run by a local restaurant who advertised on Facebook, saying they’d match people who were going to be alone together, so they were sitting with someone for a Christmas meal. She says, “I’m an introvert and meeting new people isn’t my idea of fun but, somehow, this is easy as you know they’re in the same situation.”
TABOO
Loneliness still feels like a taboo subject in the UK. A recent report revealed that 76 per cent of people said they felt ashamed or embarrassed about being lonely. Meanwhile, 2.3 million older people wish they had someone to spend time with at Christmas, and 1.6 million find Christmas Day to be the hardest day of the year.
A spokesperson from Campaign To End Loneliness tells Closer, “Loneliness can happen at any time of the year, but Christmas can be a particularly difficult time if we find ourselves alone when we do not want to b
