In England, care provider Anchor has launched a campaign called Standing Up 4 Sitting Down, to encourage elderly people to go out to the shops and to reduce loneliness, by increasing the amount of seating for those who need it.
Focus on Standing Up 4 Sitting Down campaign
Standing Up 4 Sitting Down is a new british initiative to improve people’s access to their local shops and high street by increasing the amount of seating available to people who need it.
All too often we hear of people struggling to access their local shops and leisure facilities because of a lack of seating areas to rest in.
For this reason, Standing Up 4 Sitting Down is calling on retailers and high streets to do their bit to improve the lives of people by providing adequate seating in stores and public spaces.
Anchor’s chief executive, Jane Ashcroft, said: “It’s unjust for older people not to have equal access to shops and leisure activities. This generation is often cut off from the online world, so it’s crucial we enable them to connect in other ways. Standing Up 4 Sitting Down calls for change that benefits everyone. For shops, providing seating is a great opportunity to boost footfall and spending. For older people, it offers the opportunity for important social contact to tackle loneliness, encourages physical exercise, and allows a generation the chance to live later life to its fullest.”
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Shopping gives elderly people social contact which is crucial in reducing loneliness. It also gives them exercise, gets them out in the fresh air and enables them to meet up with friends.
Nona Hall, who lives at Anchor’s Holly Court retirement housing in Attleborough, is backing the campaign: “Being involved with this campaign got me thinking about why seating is so essential for me and it’s mainly about me keeping my independence. I don’t like being held back by my age. I’m 93 but, with the help of my walker, still walk to the high street and go to the shops every day. I will also travel up to Norwich with my friend Mary every couple of weeks”.
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“It’s nice to be able to go out and chose your own food, as well as meet with friends outside of my home. I am, however, restricted by how far I can go without resting, so it’s very important that I take breaks by sitting down somewhere. A short rest is all I need and then I can be back on my way in no time. As you get older, you can’t go so far without being breathless but seating can make the difference between having to turn back and head home or making it to the butchers, or the chemist.”
She calls Standing Up 4 Sitting Down a “fantastic campaign because people don’t realise what a difference extra seating makes to older people.
Published by the Editorial Staff on