A Burnham-On-Sea community group that is helping to tackle loneliness and isolation among local care home residents with deliveries of letters and postcards continues to expand.
Women Who Write launched earlier this year and involves a small group of volunteers of all ages writing letters and postcards to those who may feel lonely or isolated.
Volunteer Hel Brodie told Burnham-On-Sea.com this week: “We have had five new recruits join us over the 2 sessions, including (to our knowledge as many writers are anonymous) our first man.”
“Our name was chosen specifically so the ‘wo’ of women can be crossed out, leaving men who write, and it has been great for our volunteers to meet up and inspire each other.”
“We have this month taken on our newest hospital in Salford after we were approached by a staff nurse from Woodlands Hospital. They have many patients with dementia who do not get visitors. We are more than happy to accomodate them.”
“So we have agreed that we will post them a collection of correspondence once a month and as they are an NHS hospital we will meet the costs of postage. They have 17 men living with dementia so we would love to have more men writing for us. Their patients are interested in gardening, dogs, football, and are ex-engineers and policemen.”
If anyone else would like to join, mail can be dropped in to St Andrew’s Church where there is a collection box just inside, or if further away mail can be delivered via the vicarage at The Vicarage, 38 Rectory Road, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset TA8 2BZ.
The group also had a visit from a lady who travelled up from Dorset – she has been making some small gifts that are going to be dropped off as Xmas gifts to the care homes in December.
Pictured: The group meeting in Burnham’s St Andrew’s Church this week
