Support for Older People

A bit of extra help as you get older

Neighbourhood Care Scheme

Our Neighbourhood Care scheme has been helping local adults aged 55 years and older get the support they need for over 30 years. We know that later life can be a time when a range of problems start to affect you – from issues with housing, to disability and accessibility issues, to physical and mental health, or financial matters.

Our Neighbourhood Care workers will visit you, find out what your needs are, and help you find the right support. As well as personalised planning, providing guidance and support themselves, they can also refer you into Time & Talents’ specialist programmes and activities to make new friends and help you remain independent, or help you access other suitable services, such as specialist support with housing, health, and social care.

To refer someone into the Neighbourhood Care Scheme, please click here to download a referral form, complete and send it to referrals@timeandtalents.org.uk.

Neighbourhood Care is available to older adults living in the Time & Talents catchment area as shown in the map at the bottom of this page. 

photo of a cyclist on a tri-shaw cycle with an older man as passanger. They both look like they're having fun!
photo of an older woman smiling and leaning towards another person, whose back is to the camera because they are engaging with the older woman.

Befriending service

Because we know loneliness and isolation are key issues that often affect people as they get older, our Neighbourhood Care workers pay particular attention to people’s social needs. As well as helping you access our own activities, they can introduce you to other ways to socialise, and can also refer you into our Befriending service. This service matches people over 60 years old who are housebound and lacking social contact with volunteers who can visit (or speak by phone) weekly.

Our work with seniors and their carers is part of Ageing Well Southwark. The service is provided by a partnership of local charities collectively known as the Consortium of Older People’s Services in Southwark (COPSINS), working with Southwark Council. The COPSINS partners are: Age UK Lewisham and Southwark; Blackfriars Settlement; Link Age Southwark Southwark Carers; Southwark Pensioners’ Centre.

To refer someone into the Befriending service, please click here to download a referral form, complete and send it to referrals@timeandtalents.org.uk.

Click here to download a referral form for Neighbourhood Care and/or Befriending services

Befriending across Southwark

map of southwark showing areas in pink, orange and blue as described in the text of the page.

We share a referral form with the other COPSINS befriending partners, Blackfriars Settlement and Link Age Southwark. We provide befriending for people living in Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays, the area shaded pink in the map to the right. 

Blackfriars Settlement provides Befriending for older people in the northwest areas of Southwark. More information about their programme can be found on their website by clicking here, or you can contact them by email at tina.johnston@blackfriars-settlement.org.uk or eileen.dacey@blackfriars-settlement.org.uk.

Link Age Southwark provides Befriending for older people in the south of the borough. More information about their programme can be found on their website by clicking here, or you can contact them by email at services@linkagesouthwark.org. 

The map shows the coverage areas of the Ageing Well Southwark partners. Time & Talents’ catchment area is shown in pink. Blackfriars’ catchment area is shown in orange, and LinkAge’s catchment are is shown in blue.

Please note that befriending may not be the best support for all older adults: