A charity in Shrewsbury is on a mission to reduce social isolation and loneliness as latest Office for National Statistics data shows one in four UK adults (16.6m) feel lonely ‘often, always or some of the time’.
Omega… Ending Isolation | Ending Loneliness offers free telephone and pen pal befriending for socially isolated and lonely adults across the country. The organisation also works with local schools to provide clients with personalised cards and drawings created by primary school children through its Pupil Pals service.
David Crosby, Director of Omega, says: “We engage with schools to raise awareness of loneliness and social isolation, and ask the children to create artwork and cards that we then send on to clients. Most of our clients are older, quite a lot of them are in care homes, and they love getting the artwork from the children because it’s something a bit different.”
Omega’s support programmes help support hundreds of lonely and isolated people in the local community and beyond. Last year saw more than 4,000 telephone calls, 3,000 letters, and 2,000 pieces of artwork exchanged through the charity’s befriending programmes. Many of the charity’s clients are referred to Omega through a GP or social prescriber.
David says: “The clients our volunteers support are very vulnerable and lots of them are older or housebound. We do our best to identify the people who really are completely by themselves, who don’t have family or friends.
“Part of our process is making sure we reach the people who will benefit the most from our support. It’s easy to think that it’s mainly older people who experience loneliness, but younger people can become just as isolated, perhaps due to health conditions, and can also need support.”
In fact, 70% of young people between 18 and 24 now admit to experiencing loneliness in the UK according to the government’s Young People and Work: Interim Report 2026.
The charity ensures their clients are getting the best possible support through a careful matching process. Clients are paired with suitable volunteers, to make sure they feel comfortable with each other and have interests in common. Omega’s latest client survey results show 84% of their clients feel less isolated and 82% feel their mental wellbeing has improved after accessing the charity’s services.
David says Omega really grew during COVID-19, when isolation and loneliness was at the forefront of everyone’s minds throughout lockdown.
“Through COVID our charity really grew, we found there was more funding available and an increase in the numbers wanting to volunteer because everyone’s attention had suddenly turned to loneliness andpeople on furlough had more time to volunteer as befrienders. Once people started going back to work and isolation was no longer in the spotlight as a social issue, it got harder again.”
David says the charity is hoping to continue supporting more people but needs more volunteers and funding to achieve their goal of helping one thousand people annually by 2027.
“We often have a client waiting list, particularly for our telephone befriending service. We always love to hear from anyone who may be interested in volunteering with us, to help us ramp up our activity and support more socially isolated clients.”
In a bid to raise vital funds and rally more supporters, Omega has signed up as a cause on www.easyfundraising.org.uk, which allows people to raise money for the charity every time they shop online.
To date, the charity has raised over £1,100 through microdonations.
When the charity’s supporters sign up to easyfundraising and choose Omega… Ending Isolation | Ending Loneliness as the cause they want to raise for, the retailers they shop with via the easyfundraising website or app will automatically donate a percentage of their purchase to the charity without adding any extra expense to their bill.
The charity recently received a £500 grant from easyfundraising’s Impact Fund, which will go towards supporting volunteer training.
To support Omega … Ending Isolation | Ending Loneliness with every shop, sign up at www.easyfundraising.org.uk.
