Andrew was our very first referral to the service back in April 2020 just at the start of the first lockdown. The initial referral said he was isolated and shielding and had been for 6 weeks. He likes fishing and watching history programmes on TV. He just needs a friendly voice to talk to.
Our volunteer Terry has called Andrew every two weeks for a chat for the past 2 years now, Andrew very rarely misses a call. They chat about all sorts often picking up where they left off the time before. They both were miners so have some common ground.
Andrew is able to get out and about a little more, and he goes to his daughters sometimes for lunch. He still appreciates and needs the chat with Terry as he doesn’t have anyone else during the day.
Again, the service has provided a lifeline, who would have thought that the pandemic would have carried on for so long with people like Andrew shielding for over 12 months.