Loneliness is not just an emotional experience. Research has shown that loneliness and social isolation are harmful to health - lacking social connections is as great a risk factor for early death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and worse for us than obesity and physical inactivity.

It is likely that somewhere down your street there is a lonely elderly person – probably more than one – whose only company is a television.

Around 16 per cent of people in the London borough of Bexley are aged 65 years and over, and 23,000 unpaid carers are providing up to 59 hours of care per week.

It has been estimated that by 2025 the number of people aged 85 years and over will increase in Bexley by nearly 50 per cent. There is an increasing need to provide services for older people and give them social as well as practical support.

Evergreen Care Bexley was founded just over two years ago to meet some of these needs. Based on a successful model of care in Stamford, the charity has grown rapidly and now has around 100+ volunteers offering befriending as well as practical support to 72 elderly people in the past year. This is a tremendous achievement but there is currently a waiting list of 47 elderly people waiting for a volunteer befriender.

Befrienders are caring volunteers who give up an hour or two a week to visit a lonely elderly person in their own home, share a cup of tea, and give them the precious gift of friendship. All volunteers are given a full days induction training and are DBS checked to ensure the safety of vulnerable older people.

Can you help us bring some sunshine into the life of someone living under the cloud of loneliness?

There are other volunteering opportunities that are less regular but equally important. For example, a volunteer Clean Team restores order to people who, through disability or illness have neglected their homes. A response team of volunteers is being created to help with things like driving people to appointments or helping with small practical jobs, or helping with administration and / or accounting.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Linda Dowell or Peter Kot on 01322 431765 or e-mail info@evergreencarebexley.org.

If you don’t have time to be a volunteer at the moment but want to do something for elderly people in Bexley, you can make a donation online or become a Friend of Evergreen, giving regularly at least £10 per month.

If you want to know more about the organisation, visit www.evergreencarebexley.org.