Changing lives changing systems: Reconnecting lonely older people with their community – Reconnections
This report looks at Reconnections, a service which aims to address social isolation among older people.
Reconnections started in Worcestershire in 2015, commissioned as a Social Impact Bond through the Care and Wellbeing Fund, by Worcestershire County Council and the three local NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups. It was transferred to Independent Age – a leading UK-wide charity that supports older people and has the specialist skills and resources to replicate it.
The report considers what lasting change for people and society looks like in practice, using Reconnections as an example of this kind of ‘transfer’ approach to impact at scale. Our hope is that by sharing the general lessons they can be applied by other charities, funders and agencies involved in social change on a range of issues.