The Cares Family, a UK-Based organization, was founded to connect two social groups most at risk for loneliness, young adults and seniors, by creating programming that helps to connect these groups with each other and their neighborhood communities.
The Cares Family History
From the Cares Family website: “The Cares Family started in 2011 when our founder, Alex Smith, was canvassing for votes as a council candidate in the local elections. As he was doing his rounds, knocking on doors, he met Fred, an 84-year-old neighbor who hadn't been out of his house for three months. Alex wheeled Fred in his wheelchair to the voting place, and the next day returned to help Fred get a hair cut.”
As Fred and Alex developed their friendship, it became clear that they were both benefiting from the interactions: Alex developed a connection to his local community and their interactions provided a relief from the social isolation Fred was experiencing.
The first branch of the Cares Family was founded in North London in 2011. South London Cares followed in 2014. In 2017 Manchester Cares arrived, followed by Liverpool Cares in 2018. The newest branch, East London Cares is currently in the works. The organization has connected 15,000 older and younger people across its branches.
The Cares Family Builds Communities
As Owen Jones writes for the Guardian, “Here is an imaginative attempt to overcome loneliness and bridge Britain’s generational divide. ‘I think obviously there’s a big difference between being lonely and being isolated,’ says Annie, a 26-year-old volunteer from Bath. ‘It’s easy to feel lonely ... in London everyone is doing their own thing. But older people are genuinely isolated: there’s no social structure around them, they often don’t have family and friends around them.’ Here are clubs that build connections, and self-confidence too. Activities range from singing in choirs to script reading. Some attract 150 people, young and old in equal numbers, ranging from working-class white residents from ‘old London’ to first-generation migrants.”
The Cares Family's programs have been proven to reduce isolation; improve relations across the generations; and help people to feel happier, closer to community, that they miss other people less, and that they have more people to rely on in times of need.
In an interview with the Obama Foundation, Adam is an Obama Foundation Fellow, Adam said, “We wanted to get the point across that a community coming together looks out for others; older people look out for younger people and vice versa.
“As we expanded to different urban areas in the UK, The Cares Family emerged as a way to connect the local branches with local responsibility and local identity—feeling close to your home and to your neighbors. The name really represents that every local branch is also part of a wider family sharing resources, having economies of scale, and learning from one another equally.”
The Cares Family is an Example of Democracy, Great Hearts, and Entrepreneurial Spirit
These community-focused programs focused on bringing people together, especially those that might not have met through other channels, is a great example of the democracy, great hearts, and entrepreneurial spirit that compose a Golden Civilization.
Helping these two groups at risk for social isolation is a path to reintroducing their vigor for life, their Entrepreneurial Spirit. As George writes in A Golden Civilization and the Map of Mindfulness, “Entrepreneurial Spirit is freedom itself and the passion for freedom that we experience and express in creative action and acts of compassion throughout our days.” These connections, or bridges across a generational divide, are an expression of compassion and development of our listening skills and great hearts as a civilization.
The Cares Family Founder, Alex Smith, speaks about the mission of the Cares Family. https://thecaresfamily.org.uk/