Isolated and lonely

THANK you for highlighting a social crisis among the elderly who live in rural Ireland.

The rise in suicides among the elderly forces us to confront the reality of isolation among the elderly in rural Ireland.

Over the last 12 months we are getting a greater number of calls from relatives of isolated people.

These relatives are receiving desperate, distressing calls from their elderly parents who live alone are housebound and lonely.

Friends of the Elderly has started a national “early warning” referral system to alert local community leaders to the plight of these isolated elderly people who are brought to their attention.

Dermot Kirwan

Friends of the Elderly

Dublin 1