Northern Ireland

New Irish News campaign aimed at encouraging people to be more neighbourly to begin next week

(Left - Right) Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at the Henderson Group, Irish News editor Noel Doran, Irish News chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, Eddie Lynch, Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland and Linda Robinson, CEO Age NI
(Left - Right) Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at the Henderson Group, Irish News editor Noel Doran, Irish News chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, Eddie Lynch, Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland and Linda Robinson, CEO Age NI (Left - Right) Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at the Henderson Group, Irish News editor Noel Doran, Irish News chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, Eddie Lynch, Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland and Linda Robinson, CEO Age NI

A NEW Irish News campaign aimed at encouraging people to be more neighbourly and call in on older people in their communities will begin on Monday.

The newspaper has joined forces with local charitable organisations and businesses to encourage people to pick up an Irish News for elderly neighbours as part of the Neighbourhood News initiative.

The initiative, which will run until Sunday, March 3, is inviting shoppers to collect a complimentary `neighbour copy' of the Irish News each day from their local SPAR to share with an elderly neighbour in a bid to forge better connections between generations.

The initiative has been endorsed by Age NI and the Commissioner for Older People and is supported by SPAR NI.

There are 285,000 older people over the age of 65 in Northern Ireland and more than half of them have never accessed the internet.

Just 4.5 per cent live in a communal establishment, with more than 78,000 living alone.

Irish News editor Noel Doran said the figures are a huge reason why we need to reach out now.

"This is an important initiative which will enable us to reach out positively to a section of society which can often feel marginalised and alone," he said.

"We are calling on all our readership and the wider community to take part in our `Neighbourhood News' initiative and drop a copy of the Irish News in with an older person in their local community."

Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at the Henderson Group, owners of the SPAR brand in Northern Ireland, said: "It is a pleasure to be part of this initiative and I hope that our shoppers will pick up a free copy of the paper to give to their older neighbours, and perhaps even some tray bakes and teabags to bring with them, to help combat loneliness in our communities."

Linda Robinson, CEO, Age NI, said the campaign will be "valuable" to isolated older people.

"We are absolutely delighted to be involved in this initiative and commend the Irish News for raising awareness of the issues affecting older people, especially around loneliness and isolation, which we know is an increasing problem for many, but particularly for the older generation.

"There's something we can all do to support our older neighbours, friends and family. It’s the small gestures like starting a conversation, being friendly and chatting with a neighbour that can make such a huge impact."

Eddie Lynch, Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, said research had shown that loneliness "can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day".

"In addition, people who are very lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, as those who aren't lonely at all," he said.

"The bottom line is that everyone now is so busy, the community spirit we once had is sadly missing in large parts of Northern Ireland.

"I commend the Irish News on their `Neighbourhood News' initiative and I hope that people will use this opportunity to have a chat and reconnect with older neighbours who they may have lost contact with. That simple step of taking the time to check in with a neighbour could make a big difference to someone's day."

Further information about the initiative is available online at irishnews.com/neighbourhoodnews and at spar-ni.co.uk to find a local SPAR store.

Information on the services provided by Age NI and the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland can be found at ageuk.org.uk/northern-ireland and copni.org.