UK Edition
'We’ve got to look after each other' Duchess of Cornwall urges public to volunteer to fight loneliness
The Duchess of Cornwall has urged the British public to volunteer to help older people facing loneliness, as she said: “We’ve got to look after each other.”
The Duchess hailed volunteers as the “skeleton” of the country, as she made calls at a telephone hotline founded by Dame Esther Rantzen to help the isolated and lonely.
Saying she was sure The Silver Line made a "huge difference" to the people who now rely on it, she stepped in to speak to 88-year-old Betty Whitcher to hear a poem she had written, share memories of their fathers' service in the war, and wish her happy Christmas.
Speaking at charity's offices, the Duchess, who became a patron this year as she turned 70, said: "It's such a lovely thing to do, especially coming up to Christmas.
"We've got to look after each other."
In a discussion about the problem of loneliness, she said her many visits to charities across the country had taught her of the importance of volunteers.
“Without volunteers, this country would just come to an end," she said. "Volunteers are the skeleton, I think, of Britain.
“And if you talk to them they always say they get back as much as they give. "Not only are you making the other person feel happy, you’re making yourself feel happy."
Asked by Dame Esther what she would say to anyone wondering about volunteering, she added: “Get on and do it. Find something you’re interested in.
"There are so many people who have retired and want to keep the old brain cells ticking over. They can see what they’re interested in and go for it.
"Volunteering is the best thing anybody can do.
“You’ll never regret it.”
The Silver Line runs a helpline, a befriending system - where a volunteer speaks to the same person once a week - and a telephone circle for group conversations about mutual interests such as art and music.
The charity currently takes around 10,000 calls a week, with more than half of callers saying they speak to no-one else.
Designed for the over-55s, organisers are expecting a peak of calls around Christmas and New Year, and are seeking donations to keep lines fully staffed.
Mrs Whitcher, a widow who uses the service, told the Duchess on the telephone that knowing there was someone she could call is "very reassuring".
In a long conversation, she disclosed she had previously sent a poem for Remembrance Sunday to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, receiving a long letter back.
“Well I can tell them I’ve talked to you," said the Duchess.
"I think it’s such a clever thing to do to write poetry, I’d love to be able to.
Asking Mrs Whitcher to keep in touch and send her any poems she wrote in the future, she added: “You sound wonderful, I hope one day we might meet."
Dame Esther Rantzen, who founded The Silver Line after being widowed herself and realising how lonely an empty house could be even for someone with an able body and active social life, said she had been amazed by the difference one phone call can make.
“It’s really difficult to fundraise for charities about older people," she said.
“Why is that? Is it because of our attitude to older people?
“We are hoping that if people have got any money to spare this Christmas, even though we know it’s tough times, that they may think of those who are going to be completely alone.
“Britain is a very caring nation. Everyone is busy, but are you too busy to pick up the phone if that call will make all the difference?”