HDOPF are working with Age UK, West Sussex Brighton & Hove & Horsham District Council, Health and Wellbeing on a project to tackle suicide, loneliness and social isolation. The project is part of the ‘Chatty Cafe‘ scheme and we will be encouraging local cafes & pubs to assign a table where anyone of any age can sit and have a chat with others sitting at that table.
As we are all aware, the pandemic has had a significant impact on people’s mental health and has shown us all how important simply talking with other people is and how it enables us to feel connected with others.
Horsham District Older Persons Forum and Age UK West Sussex Brighton and with the council’s Community Services Officers, are working together to promote a scheme which we hope will get people talking again.
The Chatty Café scheme was founded in Manchester and now has over 900 cafés and pubs registered as Chatty Café venues. The scheme is very simple: a ‘This is a Chatter and Natter table’ card is placed on a designated table in the venue which makes it clear that anyone sitting there is happy to engage in conversation.
The aim is also simple: to get people of all ages back socialising, chatting, and to reduce loneliness and isolation.
A letter has been sent out to cafes across the district and we are looking to encourage as many as possible to sign up. There is a small registration fee of £20, for which venues will be included on the chatty café website under the searchable list of venues and will also be sent signs to put on the tables, poster, window stickers and leaflets.
If you have any comments, ideas or projects that are working towards the same aims, regardless of age group, please contact us.
Comments