Mind the Gap

Combating loneliness

The Coronavirus lockdowns exacerbated the loneliness and isolation felt by the old and young people in the community. To overcome this, LiC youth set up the social action project ‘Mind the Gap’.

They conducted a crowdfunding campaign which raised £2,000 for ‘Tablets for Elders’ so that the young and old could come together to break down the digital and social divide. Forty five tablets were donated to the elderly; and the young people ran a programme to ‘up-skill’ them and have weekly virtual chats.

When in-person events were allowed, funding from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets laid the groundwork for Mind the Gap to become a series of face-to-face social events for the young and old at the Teviot Centre.

We run a series of events and projects to help form meaningful connections between various members of our local community. 

Keep an eye on our social media for updates on what we’re up to.

So, what were their thoughts?

When contacting elderly residents, three key questions were asked; this was to ultimately gain insight into how the campaign had helped people through the pandemic since one of our original main aims was to address the issues of digital isolation and loneliness amongst the elderly people in our community.

Why did you take part in the campaign?

The pandemic has caused many of us to experience feelings of loneliness. This is something that has unfortunately been exacerbated by lockdown restrictions which as you may know, have put a hold on many of us seeing friends and loved ones for quite some time.

The elderly, many of whom tend to live alone without internet access, are at a greater risk of suffering from social isolation. And this is exactly what we want to tackle!

One of our elderly members who took part in last year’s project said that they were initially referred to Leaders in Community by a social practitioner due to ‘going through a rough time’. Upon visiting us at the Teviot Centre, she received a food package (as part of Cook and Create) which encouraged her to get more involved in the campaign, where she later received one of our crowdfunded e-tablet.

How did the campaign help you?

We sought to bring people together during a time when it was most needed. In response to asking how they found taking part in the campaign, one of our elderly members said, “I realised there is community spirit and people out there to provide support. It made a difference.”

Similarly, another individual expressed how getting food every week (via Cook and Create) and receiving a tablet allowed them to get more involved in the community. The latter of which let them reconnect with people whom they had not spoken to in years!