Reaching out to neighbours

Last weekend the clocks 'fell back' and this heralded the season of darker evenings. It is timely, then, to remind you of one of the core missions of the SVP: to visit the lonely.

Visits can be in the home, care homes, hospitals, prisons, detention centres, or simply greeting a person on the street with a friendly 'Hello'. Loneliness can be easily masked by the person suffering, so perhaps you could just ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and you'll be in wonder and awe of the response!

Also, don't make the common error of associating loneliness with just the elderly. Today, sadly, many of our young people also suffer from loneliness, so please say a prayer for them also.

Finally, as always, please remain aware of other needs around us too and just reach out if our help is needed. We will always try our best to help.

God Bless.