Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) has responded to the outbreak of COVID-19 by offering regular telephone support to people in self-isolation.
CACT is providing a listening ear and a friendly voice for members of the community to talk to, including those following government advice and self-isolating due to COVID-19, to reduce the feeling of being socially isolated. The new services offering a free telephone friendship line have been piloted with participants from the Extra Time Hub CACT runs for over 55s on behalf of the English Football League (EFL) Trust. CACT hopes to extend its offer over the coming days.
Speaking about the latest example of an innovative approach to public health, CACT’s Head of Health Improvement Deb Browne said:
“We were asked by the EFL Trust to think of innovative ways to support the Extra Time Hub in this period, and have been working hard to adapt our service in this fast-changing landscape.
"Reducing social isolation has long been one of the core aims of the programme, and we hope to be able to help mitigate the impact of social distancing, which can seriously affect physical and mental wellbeing.
“Further developments to the service will be published online as we look to link up with the voluntary sector following the groundswell of support the sector has received.”
The Health Improvement team is highly experienced in influencing behaviour change, supporting local residents on issues such as smoking cessation, and also working to reduce social isolation.
For more information on the support CACT can provide during this period, please email deborah.browne@cact.org.uk.