A quarter century of caring for their peers

Since its establishment 25 years ago, SeniorLine has provided over two hundred and nineteen thousand hours of volunteer listening and support to older people.

SeniorLine celebrated its quarter century at the Senior Expo at the RDS this year including a public draw with prizes donated by hotels nationwide.

Ireland’s national con dential telephone line is open every day of the year from 10am to 10pm, the Freefone number 1800 80 45 91 o ering callers the privacy and autonomy to contact at no cost from their own homes.

Volunteering is currently in the air. Last Monday, May 8, saw the launch of e Big Help Out UK where thousands of organisations and individuals are asked to make a di erence in their own communities.

Irish National Volunteering Week takes place from Monday 15 May – Sunday 21 May, organised by Volunteer Ireland, this year’s theme is ‘Connecting Communities’.

SeniorLine has been connecting individuals and communities for decades with the service being particularly relevant during and since Covid 19. Calls almost tripled in 2022, when the service received 28,600 calls from all parts of the republic. Coinciding with National Volunteering Week, SeniorLine highlights some current needs among older people.

Callers typically may be vulnerable, depressed, anxious, or at-risk with health and social problems. In 2022, 88% of callers were female, 35% of all callers were single, 26% were widowed and 10% were separated. ere has been a 15% increase in the number of married people contacting since 2020. Caller demographic has changed with an increase in callers aged 50-65, and reduction in callers aged 75+.

Traditionally, there has been an approximate 50:50 split between urban and rural callers. In 2022, the gure was 62:38 with a majority of calls from rural Ireland. While a consistent increase in new callers is noted, many people contact regularly or daily for company, conversation information or to discuss various problems.

Loneliness and isolation remain the main reasons for callers contacting SeniorLine. In 2022, 59% of all calls were due to isolation or loneliness, compared to 39% in 2020, this undoubtedly due to the pandemic-imposed isolation experienced by many older people living alone. Callers phoning with family problems increased by 2% since 2020, and callers needing support with nancial worries rose by 1%. Information-seeking calls rose by 2%.

Callers also contacted SeniorLine last year because they were worried, stressed, bereaved, experiencing elder abuse or suicidal ideation. Health issues (physical, psychological, emotional) constituted 20% of all calls in 2022.

In National Volunteering Week, two volunteers explain what their role gives them. Retired nurse Mary Whit eld has been volunteering for SeniorLine for 10 years. ‘Actively listening to someone has a real value. e main fact of a caller being able to verbalise a problem, tell us what is on their mind can clarify things for them. We can ask some questions to encourage them to re ect on how realistic they are being, and help them to see their options’, she says.

‘A number of callers tell us that they don’t know how they would survive without us. We give them someone to talk to. Someone dependable, providing reassurance, encouragement to have another person’s point of view. People also love that they can phone us back if they need to, and that we are open every single day. at is really appreciated’, she said.

Conor McNulty volunteers for SeniorLine one afternoon a