UKSPF supports Vintage Vibes

Vintage Vibes’ mission to tackle loneliness and isolation in Edinburgh’s over 60s

Gemma Wright, Communications & Fundraising, Vintage Vibes

Visit the Vintage Vibes website

Vintage Vibes is an award-winning charitable partnership project tackling isolation and loneliness in older people (VIPs) in Edinburgh. With a vibrant, innovative approach, Vintage Vibes is changing perceptions as well as lives by tackling the issues and creating a robust volunteer network through its friendship matches and inclusive programme of groups and events.

“When I get back from the Vocal Vibes group, I always feel I am somebody in my own right. It makes me feel I am not on my own.” Ruby.

Since the pandemic, the need for projects like Vintage Vibes is at its highest and needs to grow to meet the city’s increasing referrals. In a 2022 study by Age UK, 1 in 3 older people said they felt more anxious than before Covid and less motivated to do the things they enjoy.

With the focus on getting VIPs out and having fun, their friendship matches have banked more than 20,000 volunteering hours, a figure set to grow exponentially over the coming years.

Isolated older people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, or lack of mobility, putting added pressure on health and support services, with loneliness having the same impact on an older person’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.