Leeds project joins Jo Cox's commission to combat loneliness

Time to Shine, a project which aims to reduce loneliness amongst the elderly, has joined the Jo Cox Commission.

The Commission was set up in honour of the late Batley and Spen MP to reduce the impact of loneliness and raise awareness.

Mrs Cox was in the process of creating the Commission when she was killed outside her constituency last June.

The Time to Shine project will work alongside it to bring support to city communities through a variety of events and initiatives. The group has created pop-up stores throughout Leeds in an effort to encourage people to talk about the issue and share their experiences.

Emily Axel, age friendly campaign officer for Time to Shine, said: “It can be very hard to reach people who are most isolated.

“They may have lost their confidence to join in social groups like coffee mornings.”

But Ms Axel said people still appreciated knowing about the activities available to them.

“A man’s wife had passed away three weeks ago so he felt he wasn’t ready to join any of our activities yet, but he was really happy to know that they were there for him in the future,” she said.

A Time to Shine information stall will be at the White Rose Centre on April 20.