Please reach out to elderly and isolated this Christmas says Irish author Marian Keyes

There can only be “an upside” from reaching out and spending some time with older people who may feel lonely or isolated this Christmas, says successful Irish author, Marian Keyes.

Marian is backing Alone's Christmas campaign to encourage people to “make their minutes count” by working together to tackle loneliness and isolation.

The organisation that supports older people to age at home was delighted when Marian, who writes a lot about the challenges people face in their lives, agreed to be their ambassador.

Marian said she had been a friend of Alone for a long time because the loneliness that some older people experienced “resonated” with her.

“There can only be an upside from checking in on older people, especially at this time of year,” the author said at the launch of the Christmas campaign.

“As we age, it can be more difficult to reach out to people for companionship; a lot of older people might be embarrassed or too proud to admit that they are lonely.

“What might only seem like a quick chat to you can make an older person feel loved, appreciated, and that they are part of the community.

“Older people have the most amazing stories to tell and it’s really important that we take the time to listen.“

Marian thought Christmas was “very much a mixed bag of frogs” because of pressure on people who are expected to be happy and spend time with their families.

“But if you are alone and you see images of happy families everywhere it is brutally painful,” she said.

She hoped that some people would also consider being a volunteer for Alone as one of their New Year's resolutions – it would only take an hour out of their week to visit somebody.

“It would be a wonderful thing to do for everyone involved, not just the person who is living alone and getting a much needed, much anticipated and much-appreciated visit.

“Just because a person is 20 or 40 years older than us does not make them any less funny, entertaining or interesting – they are still the people they always were.

"Everyone one of us will be old one day and just showing a little bit more empathy might really help everybody involved.”

Alone chief executive, Seán Moynihan, said the organisation had around 2,000 volunteers who are all trained and garda vetted and wanted to increase the number to 9,000.

“As we recruit and train more volunteers we also have more older people reaching out for our services,” he said.

Mr Moynihan said there had been a five-fold increase in the demand for their services over the last three years.

Alone depends on the generosity of the public for support through volunteering and donations. It receives around 25% of its funding from the State.

The Alone national phone line – 0818 222024, is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm.