Lonely No More Program

Home / Our Community / Seniors / Lonely No More Program

Our Community Inner Image

Contact(s)

We're now recruiting participants for the Lonely No More Program! If you are interested in participating in weekly over-the-phone chats with a group of other North Perth seniors, please contact Sarah at 519-292-6862 or sarah@gatewayruralhealth.ca.

About the Program

Participant Testimonial: "I hope that Lonely No More keeps making some more programs because of how important they are. Lots of seniors are very lonely. Friends and close family members start passing away. Not as many chances to make friends... It's harder for older adults to ask for help." - North Perth Storytelling Club Member

The Municipality of North Perth and Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health have partnered to launched Gateway's Lonely No More Program in North Perth. Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health, who is sharing their evidence-based Lonely No More program model and promoting this pilot in North Perth, is supported by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Community Foundations of Canada to facilitate this inter-municipal project.

The Gateway Centre of Excellence initially launched the Lonely No More program in 2018 in Huron County to provide a free weekly phone-based program for isolated rural seniors.

These calls are facilitated by trained community members to facilitate peer support, coaching conversations and system navigation assistance. Older adults who are a part of the program report increased social connection as well as strengthening and expanding their support networks. Participants are also encouraged to identify and engage in healthy behaviours.

Lonely No More peer volunteers are empowered to be advocates in their community for isolated and at-risk older adults while also being able to address and confront facts that may cause isolation. Since the program’s inception, program feedback shows 75% of participants and volunteers report the program had a positive impact on their life.

With this expansion, we are recruiting additional community members as volunteers for the North Perth Lonely No More Program. In addition, to further build resiliency within the community and inspire dialogues aimed at reducing the social isolation experienced by at-risk community members, Gateway is also providing free educational opportunities (e-learning course and webinars) to community members who are interested in learning more about peer support, coaching conversations and system navigation.

If you are interested in being a volunteer or participant for the Lonely No More Program, please contact Sarah at 519-292-6862, for more details. Interested volunteers can also use the links below to register for the required training.

Online Courses and Webinar Opportunities

Gateway's Connectedness Coaching Training: Empowering Resilient Communities

Click Here to Register

Online Training: Interactive Webinars
- Level 1: Connectedness Coaching: Thurs. Sept. 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 1:30 to 3:30pm
  - About the Event: Gateway's Connectedness Coaching is a foundational training component for the Lonely No More Program, a peer support program that consists of teleconference calls between older adults and trained community members (volunteers). Gateway is helping to build resiliency in our community through offering a series of free educational opportunities (e-learning course and/or webinar). These educational opportunities are aimed at community members who are interested in learning more about peer support, coaching conversations and system navigation. Local agencies are also invited to participate and attend these events to complement their invaluable work in our community
- Level 2: Lonely No More: Thurs. Oct. 6 at 1:30 to 3:30pm
  - About the Event: Gateway is offering free training to community members that are interested in becoming Lonely No More volunteers. This training will cover Lonely No More's outreach model and provide you with details around this volunteer opportunity. This training session is a foundational component for those interested in volunteering with Gateway's Lonely No More Program. Pre-training Requisites: Connectedness Coaching Webinar on Feb. 24th. Following the training, volunteers will be able to:
  - Understand how coaching conversations, peer support and system navigation are utilized in the context Lonely No More's peer support model and ways to become engaged in the current Huron based offering.
  - Be able to identify signs of abuse in older adults and to engage in a respective and empowering manner.

Optional Practical Sessions

About this Event: Gateway is offering a free Optional Practical Session to those who are interested in getting some hand-on experience with system navigation and coaching conversations through case study and engagement with fellow learners. This session is a great optional educational opportunity for those interested in volunteering with Lonely No More as it provides the foundational knowledge for one-on-one support.
- Become familiar and practiced with resource navigation portals that can be utilized to provide resources and aid to those in need.
- Be able to have empowering health coaching dialogues with peers by combining the principals of peer support and wellness coaching