CAN Connect Service The CAN Connect service is led by Community Action Norfolk and is in partnership with Future projects. We are part of a range of services across Norfolk aimed at reducing loneliness and isolation. The service can help individuals over the age of 18 to connect with people and activities in their community as well as providing a range of support to help them achieve their goals. The service can also provide support for the community itself. Helping organizations and people make the places we live, stronger, friendlier, and more resilient. We can help individuals to identify and achieve their goals, provide support with advice and coaching, help find the right support if specialist help is needed and find and support individuals to get involved with activities within their community. We achieve this by assigning a client to a life connector or for a longer-term solution we would then match them to a volunteer to work on a 1-1 basis offering support with information from websites for local groups and clubs, plus telephone befriending and/or regular visit calls to offer the support on a long-term basis. It is estimated that there between 35,000 and 40,000 lonely people in Norfolk.
Loneliness is defined as ‘an individual’s personal, subjective sense of lacking desired affection, closeness and social interaction with others.’ And why is it a bad thing? Well it’s bad for your health – research has suggested feeling lonely, living alone and poor social connections are as bad for your health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It’s worse than obesity. And lonely people are more likely to suffer from dementia, heart disease and depression. For further information or to apply to be a volunteer for the service, you can contact 01326 698216 or, visit the website: www.canconnect.org.uk/
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