Here at The Beeches Residential Home, we are making sure our residents are connected with people during the coronavirus pandemic at a time when social isolation is likely to increase, by joining a charity’s letter-writing penpal scheme.
YOPEY, the young people of the year charity, traditionally runs befriending schemes where young people visit care homes but unfortunately, these had to put these on hold during the coronavirus crisis.
Despite this, the charity and its young volunteers wanted to continue to support the elderly care home residents at a time when they needed it the most, so they decided to start a letter-writing scheme.
Feedback from our residents at The Beeches has been extremely positive, with one resident commenting: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having these letters to read, it’s fantastic to hear what the youngsters are up to and I always look forward to the next one.
“They also send us quizzes, crosswords and word searches that have been really enjoyable and have kept us busy.”
Bev Shave, our deputy home manager at The Beeches, has described the befriending scheme as “an opportunity to give some love and receive some love.”
She said: “With everything else that’s going on in the world currently, the scheme has been a beacon of hope for our residents during lockdown.
“Creating and maintaining social connections with our younger generation is key to supporting the mental wellbeing of our residents and in turn helps them to age well. We wanted to keep our residents connected with young people, as we see the many benefits that it brings to them.”
For more information on The Beeches Residential Home, or to take a look around the home, please call 01359 230773.
More young people and care homes are welcome to join YOPEY’s penpal scheme by emailing hello@yopey.org