Helen is one of eight Re-engage engagement officers located across the UK and she covers the North of England. Her role includes overseeing our flicks and friends cinema club and lunch club activities in Crosby, as well as supporting local tea party groups and call companions.

When tea party coordinators tells Re-engage that they need more tea party group members, what do you do?

The first thing I do is check to see if we have any volunteers or older people who have recently applied that could join the group right away.

If we don’t have anyone waiting, I go straight to the local Community Voluntary Service (CVS) where we advertise and manage our volunteer vacancies. I also contact other organisations in the area, such as Action Together, local councils, church groups and Rotary Clubs. I’m constantly finding new groups and potential leads.

When I’m recruiting new tea party guests, I work closely with local and national organisations who come into contact with older people – we call these professional referrers.

One of the most interesting parts of this job is engaging with existing and new referrers as it’s exciting to see their enthusiasm for our services, and I have developed some fantastic relationships. I also attend referrers’ Annual General Meetings and other networking events which help keep me up-to-date and informed about what is happening in the area and make new contacts to bring older people and volunteers to Re-engage.

In any one day I might speak to someone from Age UK, as they often have older people on their records who would benefit from attending a tea party in their local area, or a social prescribing link worker based in a GP surgery who is looking for local groups offering social interactions for an older person experiencing loneliness and isolation. I may also reach out to the local Health Watch, a housing association, or even to the police.

Why do people refer older people to Re-engage?

Everyone loves the idea of the Re-engage tea parties. A referrer recently told me:

“I feel so excited and happy about this, and I can’t wait to start telling lonely people I meet about your amazing work.”

Finally, we asked Helen which celebrity she thinks would make a great engagement officer?

I would have to say Ricky Gervais – he’s so passionate about a good cause and would be very entertaining in meetings, whilst being able to get his point across, as he did in the tv series ‘After Life’. He’s an experienced collaborative worker and, just like me, he’s also a fantastic advocate for animal welfare. However, he would have to cut out the bad language.