If you’re over 65 living in Australia, there’s a good chance your level of social connection could be low.
Meals on Wheels Australia’s Social Impact Report found 80 per cent of clients average just one meaningful social connection per day.
More often than not, that one meaningful social connection is from one of the 40,000 nation-wide volunteers at the organisation, delivering hot meals to Australia’s older population.
Today is National Meals on Wheels Day, a day to celebrate the thousands of people volunteering their time with the organisation, giving back to older Australians.
One of those volunteers is Sandra. She’s lived in Parramatta most of her life, and when she finished up working, she wanted to give back to the community.
Now, she is a driver for Meals on Wheels, working with another volunteer to deliver hot meals and company to folks in Parramatta.
But as the tagline of Meals on Wheels Australia goes, it’s “more than just a meal”.
“There are all different sorts of people, and they have all different sorts of reasons for getting meals,” Sandra told Women’s Agenda.
“I’ve met younger people, who are really lovely. I’ve met lonely people, who just love the chat.
“And you also meet other volunteers from all walks of life. They’ve all decided to give up their time.
“You know that you’re providing a good service to the clients, because they maybe wouldn’t normally see anybody. It’s nice to think that you’re actually giving some of those things back to those people.”
Paul Sadler, chair of the organisation, said the “positive impact” of volunteers goes beyond the meal itself.
“The dual benefit to both customer and volunteer truly shows how Meals on Wheels has been making a difference in almost every Australian community for over 70 years,” Sadler said.
“We know there’s no community quite like the Meals on Wheels one – a hardworking and kind bunch always happy to work together towards a better future for older, vulnerable Australians.”
Meals on Wheels Australia has been operating for more than 70 years but officially became a national association in 1989. The organisation is grounded on tackling two incredibly urgent health issues for the four million Australians who are aged over 65: malnourishment and social isolation.
Social isolation and loneliness can have serious impacts on people’s mental and physical health, especially for older Australians. Loneliness has been found to lead to premature death, poor physical/mental health, and general dissatisfaction with life. Meanwhile, social isolation can generate mental illness, emotional distress, suicide, and even the development of dementia, among several other issues.
About 65.5 per cent of Meals on Wheels clients live on their own, according to Meals on Wheels Australia’s Social Impact Report, which leaves them vulnerable to experiencing loneliness and social isolation.
The research found that just 20 per cent of clients have more than one meaningful social connection per day. This means the rest – 80 per cent – average less than one social connection per day.
A little goes a long way: analysis on the report found Meals on Wheels clients who received visits from volunteers of two minutes or more had three per cent higher wellbeing than those who received visits of less than two minutes.