Discover how being referred to us by the Stroke Association helped one man’s journey back to independence.

When Lizzie, a support coordinator with the Stroke Association was supporting a 79-year-old man who was rebuilding his life after a stroke, she noticed his confidence in communicating and his enthusiasm for getting out and about into his local community had declined. He lived alone and didn’t have any family or friends close by to support him. 

Lizzie began looking into organisations offering befriending services and came across Re-engage. She felt that the call companions service, where an older person is connected to a friendly, trained volunteer for regular phone calls, could be the perfect way to help him regain some confidence as his recovery progressed. Lizzie said: “The gentleman was experiencing some mobility issues due to his stroke, and it had also affected his ability to communicate. He was nervous about picking up a phone and he didn’t want to go out and about much.” 

Lizzie suggested the man sign up for a call companion to help him re-gain some of the confidence he’d lost. She felt it was a way for him to begin using different support services to further aid his recovery and to simply be happy to pick up the phone to chat once again.  

She explained: “His ability and confidence to communicate improved quickly and I believe that was due to the phone calls. After he had moved on from the Stroke Association’s services, I saw him in a shop, he was happy to go out and about again, I was very pleased to see he’d re-gained his independence. 

“Having a call companion helped him gain confidence and he realised that there were organisations that could help him feel less isolated through companionship. I’d recommend call companions to anyone else working with older people who are isolated, and who need someone to talk to. The call companions are patient, they listen, and they give reassurance. I particularly like the fact that older people are matched with just one volunteer as this helps build rapport and trust.” 

If you know an older person who is experiencing loneliness and isolation, please get in touch. We exist to provide connections for older people at a time in their lives when their social circles are diminishing and the threat of associated risks that loneliness can bring is greatest. 

All our services are free to people aged 75 or over who are lonely, isolated or in need of companionship.