St Thomas' Lunch Club

Detailed Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club, Fair Oak: An illustration of the social value of Lunch Clubs

Report by Neil Cotton Editor: Jean Roberts-Jones Published November 2013 Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

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Contents Aim of Report Acknowledgements Background Methodology The Members Social Isolation/loneliness Transport Volunteers The Social Economy Carers Conclusion Questionnaire Bibliography Footnote

St Thomas’ Lunch Club 2 2 2 3 4 5 7 8 8 8 9 10 12 12 Background

Aim of Report The aim of the research was to find out about the social value for all the people involved with a lunch club. St Thomas’ was chosen as a typical self-sustaining club based in the Borough of Eastleigh.

Acknowledgements Our grateful thanks to both volunteers and members of St Thomas’ Lunch Club for their help in compiling this report and to Graham Lines for taking the photographs Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

St Thomas' Lunch club is a not-for-profit organisation based at St Thomas' church in Fair Oak. The village, along with its neighbouring village Horton Heath has, according to the 2011 census, a *population of 10,212. Lying on the fringes of the more built up area of Eastleigh, the Fair Oak and Horton Heath ward has a population density of 9.9 persons per hectare compared to 15.7 for Eastleigh District.

The lunch club runs weekly on Fridays, with occasional breaks throughout the year, beginning at 12.15 pm and ending at 2.00 pm.

During this time members receive a hot meal (for example: Shepherd’s Pie or Beef Stew) and dessert (fruit crumble and custard, sponge and custard). In addition they have a talk from a guest speaker. *See footnote on page 10

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The lunch costs £5.00 and those who come on the bus pay an additional £1 towards to travel costs. The church subsidises the travel costs by £10 per session, they also subsidise the club by paying the salary of the club coordinator.

Main course

Enjoying lunch

Methodology

Average attendance at the Friday club is 25, of which 17 use the bus to get to the centre.

Most members live in the Fair Oak area and attend using a One Community mini-bus, which picks them up from their homes. A few access the group by other means such as on foot or by bus.

Dessert

The church also runs another club, April Showers, which some of the lunch club members also attend. Membership of both groups is open to all ‘elderly’ people. There are no formal criteria and recruitment to the lunch club is carried out by word-of-mouth, with existing members encouraged to bring along others who they feel would benefit from attending the group.

Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

Two visits were carried out to the group to observe the club and to speak informally to members and volunteers whilst taking part in the group. This was followed up with a short questionnaire, which was given to members through the club organiser over a two week period to enable as many members as possible to have the opportunity to participate. In total twenty three completed questionnaires were returned, representing an extremely high-proportion of the lunch club members.

A volunteer lends a hand

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The Members The age of members who completed the questionnaire ranged from 70 to 94, with an average age of 83.

Gender of members

Living situation

In terms of gender, reflecting the overwhelmingly female composition of the group, twenty respondents were female, whilst three were male.

The majority of respondents were also widowed and respondents predominantly lived alone.

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Social Isolation/loneliness “Without the lunch club & other clubs I would miss them very much as living alone can get very lonely” (Lunch club member age 79) One of the main benefits of lunch clubs is often seen to be the alleviation of social isolation and loneliness. Broadly speaking isolation refers to the frequency of a person’s contacts, whilst loneliness relates to the more objective view of a person’s level of satisfaction with their social contacts and may therefore vary from person to person (Findlay 2003). Both loneliness and isolation have been linked with negative health effects (Bernard 2013: Windle et al 2011).

Existing research has suggested that a number of factors, many of which are associated with increased age, can place people at increased risk of loneliness. These include: living alone, being in poor health, loss of mobility, experiencing the loss of a partner and losing touch with friends (Bernard 2013; ONS 2013a; Windle et al 2011).

From the demographic information collected in the questionnaire, and from visits to the group, it would appear that many of the lunch club members fell into groups which could be considered at most risk of loneliness and isolation. The majority were widowed and most members lived alone. Many members also experienced limited mobility. It was also clear from the responses to the questionnaire that the members valued the social aspect of the lunch club. When asked the open question, “What does the lunch club mean to you?” fifteen members mentioned meeting others and socialising. An additional two responses also emphasised “getting out of the house” which may be indicative of a greater level of loneliness and/or isolation.

Members were asked how often, apart from the Lunch Club, they met other people Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

socially. Ten members indicated that, apart from the lunch club, they meet other people socially three or more times per week whilst thirteen members responded that they met other people socially only twice or less a week. At the lower end of the scale four members reported meeting other people socially on only one other occasion, and two members reported that the lunch club itself was the only time where they met people socially.

The answers to this question appeared to be correlated with the members’ age, with all of the youngest group members – those in their 70s – in the three and above group. The average age for those reporting meeting other people socially three times or more was 81.4, whilst for those who reported meeting other people socially on only two other occasions or less had an average age of 84.3.

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In addition to this lunch club members were asked, using a five-point scale where five is strongly agree and one is strongly disagree, if the lunch club was the main place where they socialised with other people. Of the sixteen responses to this question eleven of them provided a high answer - either four or five compared to five who provided a low rating of one, or two.

There appeared to be a relationship between the responses to the two questions. Those who reported meeting other people socially 3+ times per week tended to provide a lower rating to the question on whether the lunch club is the main place where they met people socially. The average rating provided by this group being 2.3, much lower than the 4.2 average among the group who reported

Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

meeting people socially on two other occasions, or the 4.75 average of those who reported meeting people on only one other occasion.

A second 5-point-scale question, “I enjoy the lunch club and attend whenever I can,� was asked. This was intended to gauge overall satisfaction with the group. The combined average was 4.3, suggesting that overall members are satisfied with their experience of the lunch club. There was, however, a clear difference between the ratings provided by those who reported meeting other people socially three or more times per week and the others. For the three and above group the average rating to the question was 3.8, lower than the overall average. The average for those in the other groups combined was 4.8.

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Transport “As I am disabled it is a good place to meet other people. (Taking the mini-bus) Without travel on the community bus I would not be able to get out.” (Member aged 82) As previously mentioned transport difficulties are one factor which has been linked to social isolation (Findlay 2003). The location of Fair Oak on the fringes of a built-up area present its own difficulties with transportation. Some members, for instance, spoke of the difficulties they experienced accessing scheduled public transport in the area with one describing the One Community bus as “essential”, particularly in winter months.

Another member noted on their way to the club how volumes of vehicle traffic have increased in the village over time. This appeared to present additional difficulties for those experiencing limited mobility.

Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

The questionnaire responses show that the most common forms of transport members have access to is lifts from others (52%). One member wrote alongside this tick-box that they have “understanding neighbours”. It is possible therefore that quite a lot of the assistance members receive is transport related and that the transport arrangements for the lunch club enable members to access the community without relying on carers, thus reducing carer strain.

The second largest category was Dial-A-Ride/ Community Transport (39%). Fewer reported being able to access the community using the bus (26%), walking (22%) and only one person (4%) reported being able to access the community using their own car. The comparatively low scores for bus use and walking and access to a car indicate that many lunch club members experience difficulties accessing the community without either the assistance of others, or community transport.

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Volunteers

The Social Economy

“Helps keep me active” (Lunch club Volunteer)

St Thomas' operates as an integrated part of a wider social economy. Transport is provided

by One Community, allowing many members to access the group and the meal itself is sourced from a private sector organisation, Roast Out, which though a for-profit enterprise operates within the social realm providing a meals-on-wheels service to individuals. By contributing to the viability of this enterprise St Thomas' therefore supports a more vibrant mixed economy of welfare which increases choice for other individuals in the community.

St Thomas' is run with the assistance of several volunteers. The volunteers range in age, but most were over retirement age. In addition to providing a platform for volunteers to use their skills in service of the community St Thomas' also provides benefits for the volunteers themselves. One long-serving volunteer at St Thomas' also mentioned how voluntary work at St Thomas' and elsewhere “helps keep me active”.

Carers

Lunch club volunteers It was also clear that for some religious faith was an important part of their lives and the lunch club provided an opportunity to express their faith through serving the community.

Another benefit of lunch clubs is the ability to provide respite for carers. This may simply be by providing time, or through the provision of transport and a meal. Though this aspect was not discussed in detail among the St Thomas’s members 61% of respondents to the questionnaire reported receiving assistance from carers, whether paid, or friends and family, or a combination of the two. As mentioned transport was one key area in which members mentioned receiving a lot of support, whilst a few mentioned receiving help with meals.

These observations fit with existing research which suggests that volunteering is beneficial, particularly for older persons, with the ONS Longitudinal study of ageing highlighting the benefits of volunteering for older people, by reporting that “the higher the frequency of volunteering the better the well-being measured by life satisfaction, quality of life, social isolation and depression of the individuals involved.” (ONS 2013b) An eloquent testimonial

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Conclusion The aim of the research project was to find out about the range of groups who benefit from St Thomas’ lunch club and the ways in which they benefit. Firstly there are the members themselves. Overall the questionnaire answers suggest that among the lunch club members at St Thomas' there is a significant group of people, typically older, who are at greater risk of loneliness/isolation and for whom St Thomas’ plays a key role, reflected by the high value that they place on the club.

By reducing the risk, or alleviating both isolation and loneliness St Thomas’ improves individual member’s health and well being.

One wider affect of this is to reduce pressure on NHS and Social Care budgets. As Windle et al (2011) suggest: Social isolation and loneliness impact upon individual’s quality of life and wellbeing, adversely affecting health and increasing their use of health and social care services Similarly volunteers also benefit from the group through gaining a sense of purpose, or by expressing their faith. Volunteering Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

improves their well being and also prevents them from becoming lonely or isolated. As with members this has a knock on effect on health and social care budgets. Finally the lunch club also potentially reduces pressure on carers, which again has wider effects, enabling them to continue providing care.

At the level of the community the lunch club plays an important role in community cohesion by bringing people together, restoring people’s connections with those around them. Similarly on a wider level the group also benefits the social economy through both providing a platform for the deployment of skills and its role in developing relationships with other organisations across sectoral boundaries. In summary, the positive impact of St Thomas’ radiates far beyond its four walls.

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Questionnaire

One Community is working with St Thomas to write a report about how lunch clubs help people.

Your comments will really help us.

Age: ….....

Gender: M ale

□

Female

□

Marital status: Single

□ Married □ Separated □ Widowed □ Divorced □

Do you:

Live alone

□

Age: 60-65

□

66-70

□

live with others 71-75

□

□ □

76-80

81+

□

Do you receive any assistance with day to day activities such as help with housework or shopping from Paid carer

□

Friends & family

□

Community group

□

(e.g. One Community)

Which of the following forms of transport are you able to use to access the community (please tick all that apply)

Walking

□

Bus

□

Taxi

□

Own car

□

Dial-a-ride

□

Lifts from others

Apart from the lunch club how many other times per week do you usually meet people socially 0

□

1

Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013

□

2

□

3+

□

□

11

How do you usually prepare meals (tick all that apply)

□

Hot meal delivery

Frozen meal delivery

Microwave meals

□

Cook from scratch

Friend or relative

□

Other

□

□

□

Where 5 is strongly agree and 1 is strongly disagree

The lunch club is the main place where I socialise with other people

1

2

3

4

5

I enjoy attending the lunch club and attend whenever I can

1

2

3

4

5

What does the lunch-club mean to you? P lease make any comments you wish. ….......................................................................................................................................................... ….......................................................................................................................................................... .............................................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................................................

Thank you for completing this survey

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Bibliography

*Footnote

Bernard, S. (2013) Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Older People in North Yorkshire Social Policy Research Unit, University of York Working Paper No. WP 2565

According to the official source (the Office of National Statistics), the correct figure for the number of usual residents in the Fair Oak and Horton Heath Parish / Ward (the boundaries coincide) at the time of the April 2011 Census was actually 10,212. I’ve checked the latter figure using the 2 main official sources - NOMIS.

Findlay, R. A. (2003) Interventions to reduce social isolation amongst older people: where is the evidence? Ageing and Society 23 647658

Office for National Statistics (2013a) Measuring National Well-being – Older people and loneliness, 2013 Office for National Statistics (2013b) Measuring National Well-being: Older people’s leisure time and volunteering, 2013 Windle, K. Francis, J. & Coomber, C. (2011) Preventing loneliness and social isolation: interventions and outcomes Social Care Institute for Excellence Research Briefing 39

One Community 16 Romsey Road Eastleigh Hampshire SO50 9AL

However, to throw a spanner in the works, it is also worth pointing out that the Hampshire County Environment Department's Small Area Population Forecasts, which are based on a different methodology to the Census, give a figure of 9,675 for 2012. Although the population for Fair Oak and Horton Heath is tending to go down as the population there ages, the discrepancy between HCC’s figure and the Census figure is too large to be due to this, and is probably the result of the different assumptions made in the estimating process (although the Census figure is largely based on the number of Census forms returned, it does also include an estimate of the number of people who did not return their census forms). Source: Eastleigh Borough Council

Telephone 023 8090 2400 Facsimile 023 8090 2413 Textphone 023 8090 2401 Email info@1community.org.uk Web www.1community.org.uk

Registered charity number 1052978 Registered in England as a company limited by guarantee Registered number 3132524 Registered office: 16 Romsey Road, Eastleigh SO50 9AL Report on St Thomas’ Lunch Club November 2013