Initiative to help lonely people in Inverness wins three years’ worth of funding
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The Reach Out Merkinch project run by the Merkinch Partnership has received just under £150,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.
Project manager Anne Sutherland said the cash would be used to provide a programme of activities aimed at bringing people together in ways that will help to tackle loneliness, giving a boost to their physical and mental wellbeing.
The Partnership, which is based at the recently refurbished Merkinch Welfare Hall, previously backed the Inverness Courier’s own Reach Out campaign, run in conjunction with NHS Highland.
Ms Sutherland said: “Loneliness was definitely something we recognised as a major problem for a lot of local residents, whether that was because of ill health not allowing them to get out and about as much, or just lack of funds.
“The statistics are fairly stark in terms of the impact loneliness can have – there is one finding that the impact on people’s health can be as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day – so it’s certainly not the sort of thing you want to ignore.”
Starting as a pilot project last year, Ms Sutherland said the idea was to concentrate on “simple things” like getting people to go for a walk together or meet for a chat over coffee.
It has now grown into a regular activities group with arts and crafts high on the agenda as well as regular organised visits to places of interest.
“It’s good for people to learn new skills and just have a go at different things,” Ms Sutherland said.
“Finding out you’re good at things you’ve never tried before can be a real boost, as can being able to lend a hand along the way.
“In terms of the trips, it’s just good for people to get out and about now and then and see different things. We also incorporate a bit of a walk into visits so there’s some very gentle physical exercise as well.”
Trips so far, all provided free of charge, have seen project participants visit Culloden and Skye and this week they were at the Falls of Shin and Dunrobin Castle.
The craft group visited The Clay Studio in Grant Street and made wooden herb boxes.
“Numbers are quite small at the moment because we’ve wanted to grow slowly and most participants are 50-plus and unemployed, or have health issues, but the group is absolutely not just for them,” Ms Sutherland said.
“The aim is that we work with around 70 people a year over the next three years who are socially isolated for whatever reason, so more people coming forward would be great.”
