3 ways good advice can help end loneliness in Wales
Providing people with the right advice at the right time
Loneliness and social isolation are growing problems in Wales, with research showing that almost 500,000 people are either often or always lonely.
The causes are complex and loneliness can affect people of all ages at any stage of their lives. A quarter of people aged 65 and over, and a quarter of people between 16–24 in Wales reported being lonely.
But why do people get lonely?
At Citizens Advice we see a lot of people who are lonely and socially isolated due to many reasons, some of these are:
- A lack of disposable income
- Life events such as relationship breakdowns or bereavement
- Expensive and unreliable transport links
- Digital exclusion
These factors can trigger low confidence, poor physical and mental health and affect overall well-being.
3 ways Citizens Advice helps
Last year the Welsh Government consulted on how they should tackle loneliness and social isolation. We believe that specialist advice can help people solve practical problems. Our research shows that problems with housing or debt can worsen a person’s mental and physical health. This can ultimately lead to them becoming lonely and isolated.
- Keeping homes warm in Wales
Evidence also shows the close link between cold homes and people’s physical and mental health. In order for communities to be resilient, people must be able to heat their homes.
In Wales, it’s estimated that nearly 300,000 households live in fuel poverty. Warmer Wales is a new Citizens Advice Cymru project which targets fuel poor households. It also targets those who are vulnerable to ill-health because they can’t afford to heat their homes.
Through face-to-face, telephone and specialist support, the project helps people in Wales by:
- improving their energy efficiency and reducing their energy bills
- offering welfare benefit checks and advice on bill reductions and budgeting
- offering advice on debt
- providing support to reduce stress and improve living conditions to help clients’ mental and physical health.
*Jeff lives alone and has mental health problems. He had struggled to manage his bills and was living without central heating. Jeff went to his local Citizens Advice and a Warmer Wales adviser made a referral to NEST, who ensured he had a new combi boiler fitted as well as ensuring he had the information and confidence to manage his accounts.
2. Giving practical advice in health settings
Mental health practitioners have told us that they are spending increasing amounts of time helping patients with practical problems instead of focusing on their treatment. Having practical advice available in mental health settings is of great benefit. Better Advice Better Lives (BABL) is a Welsh Government funded project which allows some of our advisers to be located within health settings.
An example is Citizens Advice Merthyr Tydfil who receive referrals from GPs, mental health practitioners and third-sector partners. They have a permanent presence 1 day a week at the local health centre, which includes a mental health team. This allows our advisers to assist mental health practitioners who are trying to resolve problems that aren’t medically related. The service reaches people who are potentially isolated due to poor mental health, and wouldn’t usually use Citizens Advice’s service.
Our advice helps people every day, and 8 in 10 people felt less stressed, depressed or anxious after coming to us for advice.
3. Providing people with well-timed money guidance
4 in 5 Citizens Advice clients experience a shock or life event before coming to us. This means that many of our clients are vulnerable when they seek our advice.
Last year Citizens Advice Cymru delivered a project called Money Talks. The project looked at how life events could negatively impact on people’s money skills and overall well-being.
Improving money skills ultimately makes clients more resilient in other areas of their lives:
- 3 in 4 of the clients who received the service said it had a positive change in their financial capability
- 55% who received the service felt more confident to take action
What’s next?
Welsh Government has said that it is committed to tackling loneliness and social isolation, and acknowledges the importance of preventative work and early intervention. As a result, Welsh Government should continue to work with the advice sector to promote referrals to independent advice providers. Early advice can be preventative, build resilience and prevent problems from escalating. We’ll continue to campaign for advice to be co-located in all health settings in Wales.
