Over 100,000 over 65s in Scotland say Christmas Day is the hardest day of the year
Last year, there was a chronically lonely older person on every street in Scotland. One of them was Hazel, a 77-year-old from Dumbarton who has lost both her parents and her partner. For Hazel, Christmas comes with a sense of dread as she faces happy families out shopping for gifts while she has no one to buy for. She spends Christmas Day alone, eating a meal for one and waiting for the day to be over.
Alex, a 73-year-old retired engineer from Motherwell, shares a similar story. Without family or friends to speak to, he turns on the TV to break the silence.
One thing they have in common is that both Hazel and Alex receive friendship calls from Age Scotland on Christmas Day. The call is the one light in the dark day for the both of them, and without the calls, they would speak to no one.
Getting a friendship call on Christmas Day is just brilliant. Otherwise I wouldn’t speak to anyone all day.
Hazel
It was so lovely to have someone to talk to, someone who asked questions and was open to listening to me.
Alex
Donate to Age Scotland today to help us break the silence for more people with no one else to turn to.