Give the gift of friendship

Norma relies on our Hear to Meet clubs for company. You can help people like her rediscover socialising.

Norma lives on her own in supported accommodation. She’s a widow and while she’s keen to make friends, her neighbours are reluctant to engage with her because of her hearing. “People there know I’m deaf, but sometimes I feel they avoid speaking to me because of it,” she says.

But at the Hear to Meet club she can talk to everyone: “I’ve made lots of new friends.”

Tackling isolation

People like Norma can spend day after day alone with no one to talk to. When they do go out, they often find other people can’t communicate with them. This can result in a loss of self-confidence.

Did you know older people with hearing loss are twice as likely to become depressed as those without hearing loss?

That’s why we started Hear to Meet. It’s a befriending service that gives people with hearing loss the chance to:

• meet others with hearing loss
• make friends
• support each other 
• regain their confidence so they can lead a fuller life.

Please make a donation today that could help fund Hear to Meet – donate now.

Hear to Meet grew out of Hear to Help, our practical support service for people with hearing loss. Hear to Meet members can also help each other manage their hearing loss. Another member, Wendy, told us: “Coming here, I’ve found out about loop systems, telephones, fire alarms and what social services can do to help me.”

Why do we need your help?

We have five Hear to Meet clubs at the moment and plan to open three new clubs in 2012. If we can open more clubs alongside our Hear to Help hearing aid support services, we will be able to offer people a ‘one stop shop’ for all their hearing needs.

Your donation could help us break down the isolation which many people with hearing loss feel, and to give them the support and companionship they need so much. Please be as generous as you can.

What your donation could do:

• £20 could cover the cost of driving people with mobility problems to and from a
  Hear to Meet group
• £30 could cover the running costs of a one-hour Hear to Meet group session
• £75 could cover the cost of training a Hear to Meet volunteer
• £120 could cover the running costs of a weekly Hear to Meet club for a month.

Make a donation that could help fund Hear to Meet now.

For more information about our Hear to Meet services, please contact us on 0121 450 8980 (telephone) or 0121 450 8983 (textphone) or email regional.services@hearingloss.org.uk

Find out more about Hear to Help.