Alone sees doubling of older people seeking help

Charity organisation Alone saw a doubling in the number of older people availing of its services last year.

The charity, which supports older people, also said its volunteer base increased 100% last year — yet in the same period there was just a 15% increase in the donations it received.

Launching its 2017 annual report, Alone said the number of people using its services to cope with loneliness, poverty, housing difficulties and other issues doubled to 1,903.

The report also outlined how almost 700 people were supported by the Alone Befriending Service, while 1,146 older people were assisted with issues such as housing, finance and loneliness.

More than 750 volunteers gave of their time during the year and €120,000 was invested to support the growth of other befriending organisations.

Illustrating how the elderly have also been caught up in the housing crisis, nine new tenants and six people who were deemed emergency cases received accommodation in Alone housing.

Seán Moynihan, CEO of Alone, said: “As a country, we are facing an ageing demographic and Alone and other agencies are providing essential supports. Many more older people will be experiencing issues such as loneliness or homelessness in the coming years.

We need support from the public to increase so that we can continue to meet the demand.

Alone referred to the need for greater Government supports to meet the needs of an ageing population.

In the report foreword chairman, Eddie Matthews, said: “Ireland’s demographics are rapidly changing.

“It is expected that there will be 1.2 million people over 60 in Ireland by 2032.”

According to the report, fundraising income increased by 15% and donations in kind of goods and services increased by 65%, but legacy donations decreased by 27% against 2016 income.

alone.ie