Using Warm Welcome Techniques to Foster Friendship

This year’s theme for the International Day of Older People (Oct 1st) is ‘Building and maintaining socials connections’. Whether you have any IDOP events coming up or are just wanting to learn more about using Warm Welcome techniques to foster friendship – you’re in the right place!

We know just getting someone to a group can be hard, but also that coming along isn’t the end of the story.

Findings gathered during the Ageing Better programme showed that to reduce someone’s loneliness they don’t just need to attend a group once, they need to be able to make new friendships which will continue outside that group. This means they need to attend regularly, and have opportunities in that group setting to meet new people.

How you structure and run a group can create a welcoming space where people can feel comfortable and safe, this gives them a chance to make bonds of friendship which will last outside the group setting and sustain people as individuals. Colleagues at Time to Shine and Ageing Better in Camden tried a lot of ways of making this work.

Join us to find out more and talk to colleagues about how you can take these practical steps in your settings:

• Creating a warm welcome
• Introductions and facilitating chances to chat
• Creating opportunities for participation through micro-volunteering

We can’t promise an overnight fix but can give you some tried and tested approaches to help you change things for everyone.

There will be lots of opportunities for you to share your experiences and find out what has worked for others.