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Description
The project „Sidabrinė linija“ – coronavirus quarantine hotline for the elderly” aims to mitigate the negative social impact of the COVID-19 crisis on society by providing on the free Silver Line 8 800 800 20 the emotional support and accurate, prompt and reliable information on pandemic issues (including physical assistance at home), with clear instructions on how to deal with a crisis, emotional support and comfort in the event of a crisis, organizing telephone befriending services with volunteers to maintain social relationships.
The project target group: people over the age of 60, especially those lonely and living alone, who face difficulties in exercising their rights and basic needs in the face of the crisis. Being the most vulnerable group to coronavirus, older people do experience higher levels of social exclusion during the quarantine due to the strict prevention measures as well as the information exclusion due to the transition of communication to the digital space. Amid increased anxiety and panic over COVID-19, older people’s calls overwhelm the hotlines and emergency services, thus increasing a risk to public health. “Sidabrinė Linija” a Coronavirus hotline will help to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the target group and the society at large.
Summary of project results
The project „Sidabrinė linija“ – coronavirus quarantine hotline for the elderly” aims to mitigate the negative social impact of the COVID-19 crisis on society by providing on the free Silver Line 8 800 800 20 the emotional support and accurate, prompt and reliable information on pandemic issues (including physical assistance at home), with clear instructions on how to deal with a crisis, emotional support and comfort in the event of a crisis, organizing telephone befriending services with volunteers to maintain social relationships.
The project target group: people over the age of 60, especially those lonely and living alone, who face difficulties in exercising their rights and basic needs in the face of the crisis. Being the most vulnerable group to coronavirus, older people do experience higher levels of social exclusion during the quarantine due to the strict prevention measures as well as the information exclusion due to the transition of communication to the digital space. Increased anxiety and panic over COVID-19, pose at a greater risk the psychological health of older population. “Sidabrinė Linija” a Coronavirus hotline helped to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the target group and the society at large.
The project''s proposed response to the problem - to mitigate the effects of the pandemic crisis on the emotional health of the target group by providing emotional support by telephone and accurate, prompt and reliable pandemic information, clear instructions and guidance - was 100% effective and fully successful. "The Silver Line received 7-8 times more calls during the quarantine period than during the pre-quarantine period, we attracted 130 new volunteers (~30% of all active volunteers) who continue to volunteer after the quarantine, and we had almost 40% more emotional support calls with volunteers. Awareness of the service among older people continued to grow.