Tackling loneliness one burger at a time!

Big-hearted elderly residents had a flipping fantastic time when they came together to celebrate their estate with a community barbeque.

Residents at John King Court are stood and sat around a table in their communal garden.

The residents, who live at Eastlight’s John King Court, a Housing for Older People Scheme in Brightlingsea, decided to come together to celebrate their small community and help older residents socialise and stave off loneliness.

The event was spearheaded by organiser, Lyn Hayward, 63, a resident at John King Court who has lived there for three-and-a-half-years and previously worked as a carer. She said: “I think as they get older, people do feel more isolated and a lot of them can’t get out now because they’re getting older.

“Things like this help make them feel less isolated and gets them out of their flats for a few hours.”

To organise the event, Lyn received support from Eastlight, with Tenancy Co-ordinator, Sherri Beresford, allocating funding to help supply food for the barbeque and buffet.

Lyn added: “I spoke to Sherri about it, saying: ̒I’ve got this idea; we want to get together and have a barbeque.’ I asked would Eastlight be able to help us with funding. She got back to us and said they’d allocate us £100 towards the food.

“They’ve sorted a lot of stuff out for us. There’s always someone there if you need them.”

Eastlight resident, Lyn Hayward, is stood with her hands behind her back, smiling at the camera.

Things like this make them feel less isolated and gets them out of their flats for a few hours.

- Eastlight resident, Lyn Hayward