{"id":19673,"date":"2019-12-19T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T08:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=19673"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:54:49","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:54:49","slug":"christmas-loneliness-pensioners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=19673","title":{"rendered":"Taking on loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While Christmas is often a time of good cheer, for those who have lost loved ones, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anything but.<\/p>\n

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A new survey from Age UK <\/a>found that about 1.5m older people say Christmas is in fact the loneliest time of year for them, with 77 per cent of over-65s agreeing that the first Christmas after losing a loved one is the hardest.<\/p>\n

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About 200,000 widowed people say they specifically do not look forward to the festive period because they will be spending it alone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Phyllis Preece, chair of her local Unite retired members branch in Wales, knows precisely how hard Christmastime can be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSeven years ago, my husband died. We used to have so many people over for Christmas; it was always a big event and he was especially keen on it, but after he passed all of that stopped,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she told UniteLive.<\/p>\n

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Phyllis said the second Christmas after her husband passed was the hardest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was alone and all of a sudden I found myself contemplating suicide,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was something that I probably would have carried out had it not been for a friend calling in the afternoon. His phone call I truly consider an act of God.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Phyllis said she was surprised by how easily one can slip into suicidal thoughts when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re lonely.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a social person and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m involved with different groups such as Unite and the NPC [National Pensioners Convention], but even someone like me who is active is not immune to suicidal thoughts and loneliness,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I worry even more for older people who are isolated,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bChristmas is also a very long holiday so that can make loneliness even worse.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite Glasgow retired members branch\u00c2\u00a0secretary\u00c2\u00a0Mick Rice agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMore people of all ages are living on their own,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut loneliness has a particular impact on older people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOn my 60th birthday my brother told me that if I was lucky, I could live for another 20 years and if I was really lucky, I could be healthy for 10 of them.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHow true this has been,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mick added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIllness strikes and reduces the mobility of old people. Many cannot get out and about as they used to. They find that they can no longer drive. Many could not afford to use the bus without a free bus pass.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA lot of older people suddenly find themselves alone as their lifelong partner dies. Such traumatic circumstances often mean that the surviving partner cannot cope and loses purpose.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Phyllis said through her work with NPC at a recent conference, she spoke in favour of a motion on tackling isolation among pensioners.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMuch more must be done on this issue,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said, as she urged pensioners to join Unite.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOf all the trade unions, Unite has by far the most active retired members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 branch,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite has really pulled out all the stops for us and grabbed our concerns by the scruff of the neck. They also have encouraged working together with Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s young members, and their support has been invaluable. I was delighted when the\u00c2\u00a0our young members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 branch made me an honorary member.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mick also believes Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s retired members branches can serve as a powerful tool in combatting loneliness among older people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bRetired member branches of Unite have been a godsend,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany single pensioners in my branch have told me that the union has become like a new family for them. They attend the meetings, go on the demos, attend the summer outing and enjoy the Christmas lunch. My branch also arranges a monthly lunchtime song club in the function room of a city-centre pub. Other retired member branches should do the same.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSolidarity is the way to combat loneliness in older people,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWorking members should be reminded that Unite is a union for life.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Retired Members and how you can join here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Christmas is often a time of good cheer, for those who have lost loved ones, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anything but.   A new survey from Age UK found that about 1.5m older people say Christmas is in fact the loneliest time of year for them, with 77 per cent of over-65s agreeing that the first Christmas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1276,1275,404,173,1109],"wps_subtitle":"At Christmas, Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s retired members combat loneliness with solidarity","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19673"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19673"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24801,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19673\/revisions\/24801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}