Belgium/A Marche-en-Famenne, volunteers reach out to isolated seniors

In 2015, during the heat wave, the Town of Marche-en-Famenne became aware of the number of isolated seniors in its territory. And for the past seven years, senior volunteers have been visiting isolated seniors in Marche and in the villages of the municipality.

The whole thing is overseen by, among others, the Seniors Advisory Council and the seniors' social movement, Enéo. Christiane Adam was one of the very first people to be trained to listen to isolated seniors in 2015. " I give what I can but I get a lot in return," she explains. "The very isolated people don't have a topic of conversation but we talk about current events or their youth and contact is established!" For the Echevine de la Personne Agée, Carine Bonjean, it is about attentive listening. "The contact is different from a family member. The volunteer is just listening and affinities can develop between the two seniors!" Two visits a month, usually to the same people and every six to eight weeks, the volunteers are brought together with coordinators like Marion Vanderhorst Enéo facilitator: "These meetings allow the volunteers to exchange and if the volunteer encounters problems or questions, he or she will be able to share them with the others. Today , the Town of Marche is launching an appeal to all those who know an isolated senior who could be visited by senior volunteers.

Source: www.rtbf.be