Tackling loneliness and isolation and improving quality of life for older people in Cowal.
Cowal Elderly Befrienders SCIO provides a range of Befriending Services designed to improve quality of life, reduce isolation and loneliness and keep older people independent and active for as long as possible in the communities they helped create.
Why the community needs usCowal has one of the highest elderly populations in Scotland: Argyll and Bute has 25% of the population over 65 against 21% in Scotland as a whole, but in some parts of rural Cowal this rises to 38% with a demographic profile showing that these figures are set to increase. Coupled with the rural geography of the region the result is that many older people are unable to socialise with others or access local services in the area
Our impact on the communityWe deliver over 20000 hours of Befriending services to clients each year, benefiting over 250 people annually across the whole of Cowal and Bute, including rural and remote rural communities