1. Laura Papanikolaou
Cambourne Timebank
Tackling Loneliness
and Isolation

2. There are 1.2
million chronically
lonely older people
in the UK and 9
million lonely
people.
Loneliness is an unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship.
Social loneliness is experienced when we lack a wider social network or
group of friends.
Isolation is an objective state whereby the number of contacts a person has
can be counted. You can be lonely in a crowded room, but you will not be
socially isolated.
https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/

3. WHAT IS TIMEBANKING?
 It is helping someone within your
community / being neighbourly
 Time is the currency (1 hour = 1 credit)
 Everyone’s time is equal
 Sharing knowledge, skills and interests

4. IMPROVING HEALTH & WELLBEING
• Loneliness and social isolation are harmful to our health: research
shows that lacking social connections is as damaging to our health
as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad, 2015).
• Timebank - making friends
• Social support networks
• Reducing loneliness

5. Who would you turn to?
• Where would you go if you didn’t have people nearby to help
• Some people don’t want to ask for help / feel they are a burden
• ‘How do I walk through the door to come to a coffee morning and
meet new people’

6. •
Who joins the Timebank?
• Individual Members – All ages
• Organisational Members – Local groups or businesses
• Befriending scheme

7. What do people swap?
• Spanish lessons
• Gardening
• Visiting older
people
• Shopping
• Cooking

8. • Painting
• Acupuncture
• Ironing
• Sewing
• Playing scrabble
• Having a cup of tea
with someone
• Car lifts

9. Befriending
Mariam and
Renata
• Mariam has dementia
• She rarely leaves the
house.
• She was getting lonely
• Renata has been visiting for
an hour once every 2
weeks
• They talk about Mariam’s
grandchildren, music and
Arabic.

10. Shirley and Janet
• Shirley was widowed
• She was depressed
• Janet visits Shirley for a
chat for 1 hour once
every 2 weeks
• Shirley ‘It’s nice to have a
friend’
• Janet ‘having Shirley in
my life is a gift’

11. Car schemes and Timebanks
• The car scheme can join the Timebank
• Free
• No obligation
• Volunteers can earn Time Credits (or hours)
• Each Timebank may be run differently

12. Time Credits

13. • Laura Papanikolaou
• lpap@chsgroup.org.uk
• 07540 122624
• www.cambournetimebank.org.uk