The national charity’s befriender services, which are successfully established elsewhere in the UK, promote better mental health and wellbeing by reducing the feelings of isolation often experienced by those who are deafblind[1].

Deafblind UK’s London Outreach Project is  working closely with people across London and carefully linking them with an appropriate volunteer ‘befriender’ to meet their specific needs, whether this is through regular face-to-face meetings, phone calls or exchanging emails.

 Sue Sinton Smith, Deafblind UK’s new Community Services Officer (London Outreach Project) at Deafblind UK said: “The London Outreach Project is a great initiative within the community. We are identifying those with a sight and hearing loss who feel isolated due to their disability and who have lost the confidence to go out and enjoy activities they once did.

“Our new volunteer befrienders will be starting shortly and are really looking forward to getting to know the members and finding out what they would like to do and how they need supporting. Each pairing will be slightly different as the member and volunteer decide together what will work best for them.

“It’s great to be involved in a project which can make a real difference to people’s lives. It’s lovely meeting our members and volunteers and I really enjoy deciding who will get on well together”.

Sue is initially focusing on the boroughs of Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster and aims to identify as many people as possible with a combined sight and hearing loss and invite them to take up free membership of Deafblind UK. Members not only benefit from the Befriender Service, but also receive: access to the charity’s free Information and Advice Line; support for carers; a quarterly magazine in accessible formats; plus birthday and Christmas cards.

                                                      Total population                        Number of deafblind people

Camden                                          141,900                                              618

Hammersmith and Fulham             85,800                                                413

Kensington and Chelsea                95,000                                                837

Westminster                                  165,000                                               861

Based on an estimation tool developed by Professor Eric Emerson, as part of his report, “Estimating the Number of People with Co-Occurring Vision and Hearing Impairments in the UK” (http://www.sense.org.uk/publications/regional-data-future-deafblind-population-london

[1] Four basic groups of deafblindness: People born deafblind (congenitally deafblind); People born deaf who later lose their vision; People born blind who later lose their hearing; People who acquire a sight and hearing loss, often in later life.

Deafblind UK’s CEO, Jeff Skipp, yesterday completed the London Marathon in less than four hours, just six months after he started running.

Jeff took part in the marathon to raise money for Deafblind UK, a national charity that campaigns to give people with a combined sight and hearing loss the same rights, access and opportunities as others. The decision was made in a ‘moment of madness’, following a challenge made by Wally Carson, his account manager at telecoms provider Viracom. The pair, along with three others all running for Deafblind UK, began a tough regime of running increasing distances and getting marathon fit.

Jeff said: “Apart from very sore feet, I am healthier now than I have been for some years and so proud of both myself and the guys I ran with for completing the marathon. We have already raised nearly £4,000 for Deafblind UK, which is just fantastic and we expect the final total to be much higher by the deadline on 28th June. I’m very grateful to everyone who has sponsored me to date – and very relieved that the race is now over”.

Fundraising provides Deafblind UK with a critical source of income, enabling the charity to extend and enhance its wide range of services to support even more people with a combined sight and hearing loss to live independent lives.

To make a donation, please go to Jeff’s Virgin Money page at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JeffreySkipp

The charity has been selected to run one of 14 projects across Northern Ireland that have received funding through the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out: Connecting Older People programme, which has awarded almost £4.5m to help support older people affected by issues such as bereavement, disability or long-term illness. 

Chief Executive of the charity, Jeff Skipp, says he is delighted that the £199,133 grant they have secured will help fund a three-year Connections NI project. This will support some of the most vulnerable people in our society as well as helping with respite for their carers and families.

“Staggering statistics reveal that loneliness, which can be caused by isolation through losing a combination of sight and hearing, can have more of an impact on health than even smoking and obesity in older people.”

He reveals that while many people accept that losing their sight and hearing is part of getting older, they are often not aware that help and support is available. Through its wide range of support services across England and Wales, Deafblind UK helps to prevent people from becoming housebound, which can lead to other complications such as mental health issues, loneliness and lack of confidence in daily living.

“We are delighted to be moving into Northern Ireland and the project will initially connect in with people in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Antrim, Armagh, Downpatrick and Newry with support groups being set up in each of the areas.

“The idea will be for the groups to set up and then establish what the users themselves need and want, whether that is help with learning to cook, financial advice, medication awareness and/or transport issues. The groups will also provide support with technology so that members can use kindles, tablets and computers to help them maintain as independent a lifestyle as possible.

“We recently helped a 100-year-old man see an old picture of his regiment by using technology to help magnify the picture. He was so grateful and excited that we had been able to give him back a glimpse of his past.

Jeff added: “The scheme will also offer befrienders to help support users and organise social activities to encourage those who have been previously isolated and lonely to get out and about and enjoy life.”  

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said: “We are already seeing the really positive impact that the Connecting Older People programme is having on the lives of our most vulnerable older people in Northern Ireland.”

“The programme is supporting a range of vital projects that are transforming the lives of older people in our communities who are at risk of isolation, depression, mental and physical ill health and low self esteem. Our funding is supporting those older people who need our help the most.”

To find out more about the Reaching Out programmes visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

For details about Deafblind UK contact 01733 358100 or scroll through our website here at www.deafblind.org.uk