A simple hello and a warm smile

Please note: this post is 94 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

It’s always a wonderful feeling when we see a new older neighbour become part of our community network. I had that feeling this week when Antonios walked into our Tuesday night film club in Islington. He immediately had me laughing with his cheeky sense of humour and before long he had film club regular Emma in fits of giggles too. 

Antonios and I initially met through North London Cares’ Winter Wellbeing project. What started off as a chat about his housing and the practical elements of the project, led on to conversations about politics, economics and community. The connection at Antonios' doorstep meant we could direct his practical issues to the right places, but more importantly it allowed him to experience the warmth of our community, and hopefully we’ll be seeing him for a long time!

As well as engaging our older neighbours it is always wonderful seeing the satisfaction that our younger neighbours gain from getting involved with our Winter Wellbeing outreach. Meeting someone for the first time, hearing their stories, exploring new parts of London, and inviting people to join the North London Cares family is always special.

In February a group of younger neighbours went door knocking near Old Street to talk to older neighbours about staying warm and well over winter. As with most of the Winter Wellbeing outreach effort, there was a lot of walking and a lot of meeting friendly neighbours. Happily, most people we meet don’t feel like they need any help staying warm and feel that they have as much company as they need.

This makes it even more special when we do meet someone that would like to be part of our community. Younger neighbour Vicky met Sylvia at the last address we knocked on that day. Sylvia told Vicky that she could do with more company as she finds it difficult to get out and about nowadays. We’ll work with Sylvia to find her a Love Your Neighbour match. Vicky described it as a great moment, it was equally great for us to see our younger neighbours speak with such passion and authenticity about the Cares family.

Winter can be the most isolating time of the year for so many of our older neighbours, and what the Winter Wellbeing project tells us year after year is that a simple hello and warm smile can be a bridge back into the community – so if there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s to look out for your neighbours – older and younger – in the community.