The social service "Companion for an Hour" is being introduced in the Senno district

A new social service "Companion for an Hour" is being introduced in the Senno district of the Vitebsk region, said Tamara Smirnova, director of the local territorial center for social services for the population (TCSO).

"One of the main problems faced by the elderly, especially in remote rural settlements, is loneliness. Our territorial center provides these people not only with social services but also with club activities, visiting them at home, for example, for needlework. But, as our specialists note, a social worker comes for only two hours – this is very little time for communication, which is so necessary if a person is lonely. Therefore, we decided to try to introduce such a service – a free companion," Tamara Smirnova said.

Volunteer groups have been formed at the day care department for the elderly, consisting of visitors to the department and club leaders who are ready to support their peers. It is they who will provide the "Companion for an Hour" service at the initial stage. In particular, today, immediately after the holiday dedicated to the International Day of Older Persons, organized in the remote village of Luchezarnoye, volunteers visited two elderly residents of the urban-type settlement of Bogushevsk. "One of them is an 82-year-old former teacher, who was very happy about the unexpected visit and congratulations, including on the upcoming professional holiday. She was especially pleased that the volunteer who visited her turned out to be her former student.

The second woman visited is a 95-year-old former medical worker. Both women use the services of a social worker because their children live far away, and the elderly residents themselves rarely leave their homes. They admitted that the communication they were unexpectedly given even improved their health. So, a start has been made, and we will continue this work. To do this, those who need a companion just need to contact our day care department for the elderly," added Tamara Smirnova.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.