Spread some neighbourly goodwill at Christmas

Christmas and New Year can be jolly for some but isolating for others. The Age Friendly Streets campaign offers ways to get to know your neighbours at Christmas and a free phone helpline 0117 922 5708.

Launched in September in Bristol, Age Friendly Streets is a neighbours campaign for mixing generations, and is run by Streets Alive, the national UK street party organisation, based in Bristol. Age Friendly Streets research has found that older people are the social fabric in streets. In addition, parcels (ordered over the internet) are the neighbours new glue, as a majority are taken in by older people, so creating a chance for a chat when they are picked up.

Chris Gittins, Streets Alive director, says: “Christmas does not need to be a lonely time. People can come together across the generations and help each other out. Our mission is to inspire a gear shift in neighbourliness between generations so no one in our ageing society needs to feel isolated. ”

Chris adds: “Since we launched Age Friendly Streets we have found that there is a lot more neighbourliness going on in streets than we had thought, and Christmas is a key time of the year for it. ”

Five ways to boost seasonal goodwill with neighbours:

• Hold a Mince Pie get-together – invite some neighbours round for a drink, mulled wine and a mince pie, even at short notice.
• Drop a Christmas card off to someone you may know
• Offer to keep an eye on houses and pets of neighbours who are away
• Hold a street carol sing-along
• Offer a drink or cuppa on New Year’s eve or day.

Community Matters!

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