Hannah, 16, Donegal

Hannah has an idea for teenagers to volunteer and help the elderly and isolated in their communities right now. She would like to set up a service whereby young people are assigned the phone number of an elderly or isolated person in their locality, so they may contact them either simply for a chat or to provide help or support if they need it.

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She is conscious of the loneliness and isolation being experienced by many people right now and a service like this could help to alleviate those feelings.

Isolation is not unique to this current situation, and is unfortunately an existing issue for many people who live alone. The opportunity to form relationships now with people in their communities could have lasting benefits for people.

The recent Covid-19 ‘Youth Check-in’ Report conducted by Young Social Innovators with research partner Amarach Research, highlighted that many young people do want to help with issues arising from Covid-19, and give back to their community.

A service such as this would give young people that chance, to connect with their neighbours and help to tackle an issue which is affecting many elderly and isolated people.

Hannah is aware that in order for a service like this to be run safely, there would be age limits and potentially a Garda vetting procedure in place.

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