A CHARITY which has been caring for veterans for over a century has launched new services to support the Armed Forces community.
Royal Star & Garter is aiming to tackle isolation and loneliness by introducing a Telephone Friendship Service and Lunch Clubs.
The charity, which was formed in 1916 to help severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War, provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, with a home in Solihull.
The Telephone Friendship Service and Lunch Clubs are part of a series of new initiatives being developed by Royal Star & Garter to help the nation’s military family.
The free Telephone Friendship Service sees trained volunteers call veterans and their partners who live in their own homes, anywhere in the country. The aim is to provide support and a friendly voice to someone who is feeling lonely or isolated.
The first Lunch Clubs have been successfully held in each of Royal Star & Garter’s three Homes, in recent weeks.
They consist of a two-hour visit with a two or three course meal, conversation and support from staff, and cost just £10 a session. People attending must be able to arrange their own transport to and from the Homes.
Pauline Shaw, director of Care at Royal Star & Garter said: “We know that loneliness and social isolation are issues which need addressing in the Armed Forces community, and I’m glad that we’ve been able to do this with our Telephone Friendship Service and Lunch Clubs.
“These regular calls from a trained volunteer, or face-to-face contact and interaction with Lunch Clubs, can make all the difference to someone feeling lonely or isolated.”
