Visit with us

Loneliness is rarely about being alone

It is about nobody knocking. Our volunteers call round to the same older neighbour every week, for an hour, for tea and talk.

Become a visitorRefer a neighbour
A smiling older woman with short grey hair in a grey jacket, outdoors.
Maureen, 81Tuesdays are my day now.
An older woman with white hair in a blue coat and patterned scarf, smiling in a park.
Irene, 88She brings the cake, I bring the stories.
An older man in a pale blue shirt laughing on a sofa, holding a cup.
Desmond, 79We argue about cricket. It is wonderful.
An older man in a beige jumper sitting in an armchair with a mug, smiling.
Samuel, 84I had not laughed like that in a year.
An older woman with white hair and a neck scarf in a purple gilet, outdoors.
Peggy, 92He fixed my radio and stayed for three hours.
Since 2017

Built for the long afternoon

Most of our neighbours are over eighty and live alone. Many go a whole week without a conversation. One hour changes that week.

Three older people laughing together around a table with cups of tea.

212pairs meeting every week

9,840visits since 2017

4 yrsthe average pair has lasted

The phone stops ringing

Friends move away or die. Family lives in another city. Calls get shorter.

Going out gets harder

A hip, a bus route cut, a winter of ice. The shop becomes the only trip.

Nobody notices

Loneliness is quiet. It does not show up on any form a doctor fills in.

An older woman standing alone by a window with plants, looking out.

Where a week goes quiet

Three things we hear again and again when a neighbour is referred to us.

How we work

Clear promises behind every visit

  1. Same visitor, same day, every week. Neighbours should never have to start again.
  2. An hour, not a service. We do not clean, shop or care. We sit down.
  3. Matched by hand, by interests, not by postcode alone.
  4. Every visitor checked, trained and supported by a named coordinator.
How it works
Two people holding hands, one in a blue shirt and one in a patterned blouse.

Hours that matter to both

More stories
An older woman in a blue cardigan taking the hands of a young man in a care home lounge.
“I thought I would be a job for her. Four years on, Priya is the first person I tell when something good happens.”
An older woman in a floral blouse smiling in front of green leaves.Joan, 86
visited by Priya since 2022
“My son lives in Perth. On Thursdays someone rings my bell who actually wants to be here.”
A smiling older man with a white beard and cap in front of shelves of books.Harold, 90
visited by Tom since 2021

A clear path from first call to first cup

Most new pairs meet within five weeks of a visitor signing up.

Two older women in armchairs turned towards each other, talking.

Step 01

We get to know you

A coordinator visits the neighbour, and meets the volunteer, to hear what each of them loves talking about.

What you get

A conversation, not a form, and an honest idea of who you might meet.

An older woman and an older man playing cards at a wooden dining table.

Step 02

We make the match

By hand, around cards, gardens, football or old films. The coordinator comes to the first visit.

What you get

A first visit that never starts with an awkward silence.

A smiling older man on a sofa with a mug, looking at a phone.

Step 03

We stay close

A call every month to both of you, a get-together every season, and a coordinator on the phone if anything worries you.

What you get

Someone behind you, for as long as the pair lasts.

For you

Before your first visit

  1. Pick an hour you can keep every week, even in a busy month. Reliability matters more than anything else.
  2. Expect the first visits to be a bit stiff. By the fourth, the kettle goes on before you sit down.
  3. Bring something small to talk about: a photo, a newspaper, a question.
  4. Listen more than you plan to. The stories are the point.
An older man in a dark suit drinking from a cup in a wood-panelled room. Two older men playing a board game at a small table outdoors.

Latest from the kitchen table

Two cups of tea on a table beside a teapot, warm light behind.

News · October 2026

Our winter appeal: forty more visitors before Christmas

 A table laid for tea with china cups, plates and a small vase of flowers.

Events · September 2026

The summer tea party, in pictures

 Close-up of an older person's wrinkled hands resting on blue fabric.

Stories · August 2026

Ninety-four years, told one Tuesday at a time