Theme: Loneliness
Mencap research (2019) found that ‘24% of people with learning disabilities felt ‘lonely a lot’, this is compared with 3.4% of the general population who said they felt lonely often or always. There can be many reasons for this including social isolation and communication difficulties. The following quote from Carl Jung highlights a very real issue, especially for some people with learning disabilities…
‘Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible’. Carl Gustav Jung
At Care, we’ve been aware of how socially isolated people have been, particularly during the pandemic, and we’ve tried to help where we can. We have the Rosemary Trustam Foundation to which tenants can apply for a grant to help them to enhance their lives and they can apply if their request fits the following criteria:
- Dreams and aspirations
- Enhance Lifestyle
- Provide a sense of achievement / inclusion
- Sustainability
Some tenants have applied to the foundation for help to purchase IT equipment to enable them to have video calls with their loved ones. Some other people bought gardening equipment, outdoor furniture and others bought exercise equipment. These things enabled them to stay in touch with the outside world, meet people in a safe way and look after their health by getting physical exercise.
We’re not saying this makes it all ok or that it’s the answer to loneliness, but it has helped for some people. Loneliness is an issue that needs constant work and awareness of how we’re all feeling whether we have a learning disability or not. The following link from Mencap provides great information for those of us working alongside people with learning disabilities. https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/research-and-statistics/friendships-research-and-statistics
Mental Health Awareness Week 2022
