Imagine being an elderly or disabled housebound person and not seeing anyone for four, five or even six days in a row. Our volunteers befriend housebound people in the London Borough of Ealing….and last year they made over 2,500 visits to isolated and vulnerable housebound people. By having a regular social visitor, we help to relieve the severe loneliness that many older people experience every single day. The VLS was set up in 1994 (and became a registered charity in 1998) with the sole aim of relieving the social isolation experienced by isolated and housebound adults across the Borough of Ealing. We are the only organisation to provide a volunteer befriending service to housebound and/or isolated people across the Borough of Ealing. Our clients are severely socially isolated people, the majority are older people with 86% currently aged 75 plus. Due to physical or sensory impairment most are unable to leave their own homes without assistance or indeed at all. We hold a waiting list and therefore stipulate that to be accepted to the VLS, clients receive no regular social visitors each week. Because of their situation it is easy to see how our clients suffer from severe loneliness which often leads to other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Indeed the Campaign to end Loneliness states that “research shows that loneliness and social isolation are harmful to our health: lacking social connections is a comparable risk factor for early death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than well-known risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity.” But, with regular support, we can help change this. We know our scheme makes a huge difference to our clients’ lives: “Since she has been visiting me, my wellbeing has greatly improved. She is a confidante and my link with the outside world. We have great discussions which keeps my brain alert.” VLS client Our service is free to anyone who fits the criteria and would like a volunteer visitor. However, every year we need to raise £70,000 to ensure that we can keep this service going and we are extremely grateful for any help towards achieving this fundraising target.