Time to Shine Volunteer Listeners Report

This Volunteer Listeners report provides stories about older people’s experiences of social isolation as part of the evaluation Of Time to Shine, Leeds. The report details the Volunteer Listeners Approach as an idea, its development, pilot testing and full implementation during 2019. The methodology is simple, volunteers hold conversations with older people to capture their stories, and notes about these are then produced as stories. The common themes found within the stories are reported in detail here, and show that the older people telling their stories had experienced complex life circumstances, including loss, bereavement and loneliness. Their participation in Time to Shine Funded activities led to a number of individual benefits. Some also discussed being able to give back by supporting others and volunteering themselves. However, several barriers to participation were also identified.