Plea to care homes for ‘grandparents’

A CHARITY is calling on older people to become the ‘adopted grandparents’ of young people, as part of a scheme to tackle Britain’s loneliness crisis.

Close to 72,000 young people have already signed up with the Adopt A Grandparent charity, which aims to sparks inter-generational friendships by linking them to care home residents who can often become isolated.

A recent analysis found more than three million Britons are chronically lonely, and a quarter of 18-to-24-year-olds say they experience loneliness often.

The charity supplies care homes with iPads so residents can spend time with a partner via video calls, but it needs more people to sign up. ‘We still have far more volunteers than older people to pair them with,’ said Adopt A Grandparent founder and chief executive Shaleeza Hasham.