Snapshot impact evaluation

December 2015

SOUTH LONDON CARES

Snapshot impact evaluation
December 2015

Contents
Section
1. Background and introduction
2. Evaluation approach
3. Outputs to date
4. SLCs impact on older neighbours
5. SLCs impact on volunteers
6. Conclusions

Page
3
4
5
6
9
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1. Background and introduction

South London Cares (SLC) is a community network of young professionals and older
neighbours hanging out and helping one another in a rapidly changing city in order to
reduce isolation and loneliness amongst older people (and young professionals alike);
to improve the wellbeing, confidence, skills, resilience and connection of all
participants; and to bridge social and generational divides in our capital city.
We do this because London is a place of social extremes. Globalisation, gentrification,
migration, digitisation and the London housing bubble are trends which make London
the dynamic place that it is, but those same trends also deepen the isolation that many
people feel, by accelerating the pace of change and transforming communities
which have provided so much security and familiarity for so many, for so long.
Clearly, older people who often have deep roots in their neighbourhoods but few
connections, and young professionals with hundreds of connections but shallow
roots, have so much to gain from one another in shared time, laughter, new
experiences and friendship.
Our work harnesses the assets of the local community, including businesses, local
authorities, community organisations and individuals, to deliver three core projects:

Social Clubs (group activities which occur 4-6 times per week and provide an
anchor of interaction);

Love Your Neighbour (one-to-one interactions, usually in peoples homes, that

bring a little extra company and companionship);

A Winter Wellbeing project that identifies isolation during the toughest time of
year and connects older neighbours to our network and the rest of the
community.

South London Cares operates in Southwark and Lambeth. It was launched in August
2014 and is the sister charity of North London Cares (which operates in Camden and
Islington and was launched in 2011).
This is South London Cares first impact evaluation and aims to provide a snapshot for
our board, staff team, funders, partners and supporters of the work weve done so far
about what it means to those involved, and to build the foundational base of statistical
evidence to support the anecdotal evidence that South London Cares methods work
that they help older neighbours to feel more connected, better supported and more at
ease in the modern world.
The field work and drafting of the report were carried out by experienced social
researcher Chris Clarke, who consulted on the creation of appropriate questions,
conducted the surveys with older neighbours and young professional volunteers, and
completed the analysis and reporting. Field research took place in October 2015.
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2. Evaluation approach
For this snapshot evaluation we aimed to survey 20 older neighbours and 20 young
professional volunteers. Ultimately, we exceeded our target for older neighbours but fell
one short with young professionals. However, we still managed to get a balance, and a
good sample and reflection of the people who make up South London Cares
community network.
The young professionals, as a generally tech-savvy and proactive demographic, were
surveyed electronically, completing surveys sent to them via email. Because of some of
the features of working with older people it was important that there was genuine, nonelectronic contact, so surveys of older neighbours were conducted in person.
The surveys were conducted as follows:
Date of fieldwork

Number

Method

Older neighbours

Oct 27th-29th, 2015

21

Telephone interview

Young
professionals

Oct 23rd-30th, 2015

19

Self-completion, electronic (via

email)

All survey participants

were selected to provide
a balanced reflection of
South London Cares
outputs so some
people surveyed were
involved in the Love Your
Neighbour work, and
some
were
regular
attendees
of
social
clubs. Others had only a
short
experience
of
South London Cares to
date, as we wanted to
know why some people had only participated once or twice, and therefore what we
might be able to do to improve.
NB For clarity, some figures in the prose of this report are quoted in percentages
(%), although it should be noted that our survey sample size was very small, with
just 40 people surveyed in total.

3. Outputs to date
Over the 15 months since South London Cares opened, we have signed up over 700
volunteers through our website, of which 309 have participated so far. Those young
professionals have spent time with 586 older neighbours in Southwark and Lambeth
through our three projects. At the time of writing we had hosted a total of 230 social
clubs and created 12,261 interactions across generational lines, and volunteers had
added a total 2,888 hours to the community through that work.
From analysis of our work over three months, we know that our social clubs receive an
average 237 attendances of older neighbours per month, from an average 134
individuals who join our clubs every month. A third of older neighbours (36%) attend at
least two social clubs per month and 16% attend at least weekly.

I must say this

organisation has
changed my life and
has given me a
purpose as I was in a
very isolated place.
Thanks for
everything you do.
Jacquie, 67,
Clapham

Our Love Your Neighbour project is smaller, but continues to attract older neighbours
and young professionals to regular and often even deeper, more meaningful
interactions. At the time of the evaluation, 43 older neighbours and the same number of
young professional volunteers were part of the Love Your Neighbour project, spending
time and company together, and sharing practical support and
companionship often in neighbours homes.
Meeting you is
giving me a new
In December 2015 we also began our second Winter
lease of life. The
Wellbeing project. The first project in winter 2014/15 reached
weekends are a
out to 1,880 older neighbours, held face-to face conversations
lonesome time for
with 1,007, and provided deeper interventions (such as a gift
me. I go up and
of a blanket, jumper or scarf, referrals to local services, and
down. When Im
with you all, I go up. grants for people most in need) to 147 older people who told
us they were struggling from the cold.
Richard, 81,
Herne Hill

4. SLCs impact on older neighbours

For this evaluation, we spoke to 21 older neighbours. The overall tone was extremely
positive in relation to SLC and the work the charity does to help people combat
isolation, improve wellbeing and reduce social and generational divides. Older
neighbours clearly valued the time they spend with their younger neighbours and feel
better connected and more in touch as a result of those interactions.
4.1 Profile of older neighbours
As might be expected, the gender balance was heavily weighted in favour of women
(76%), with men making up less than a quarter of those we spoke to (24%). More than
three quarters (76%) of all respondents lived alone and nearly half were in their
seventies; two were in their nineties. The proportion of homeowners was surprisingly
high at 52%, and may be explained by residents living in council properties they
purchased as a result of the Right to Buy policy beginning in the 1980s.

4.2 SLC interactions among older neighbours

As the charts on page 5 and the outputs statistics above show, the majority of
respondents participated in South London Cares through social clubs rather than Love
Your Neighbour, and most said they attended either weekly or monthly. For a great
many neighbours participating (67%), SLC was their only form of social or community
activity.

4.3 SLCs appeal and impact among older neighbours

The presence of young professionals is a

central part of South London Cares
approach, so its encouraging that 81%
cite the company and companionship
of young people as part of what they
enjoy about South London Cares. As the
adjacent chart shows, almost all the
people
surveyed
cite
activity,
companionship and young people as a
reason for being part of the community
network. The overall impression is that
respondents understood SLCs unique
concept, and were going out of their way
to be part of the network.

The survey also demonstrates that South London Cares has a strong impact on areas
connected to the charitys core objectives, with almost every participant saying they felt
more in touch (90%), more at ease with modern life (90%), and more connected to
young people (86%) as a result of their participation.
As the chart below shows, the impact on isolation was significant too, with 76% saying
they are less isolated as a result of South London Cares work (incidentally the
proportion of older neighbours feeling less isolated through North London Cares was
remarkably similar, at 73%. 81% felt specifically less lonely.
On things like confidence (38%) the difference was less marked, although still
significant. These figures also echo the results of SLCs sister charity North London
Cares, offering further evidence that the Cares Familys methods are effective and
consistent.

5. SLCs impact on volunteers

We spoke to 19 of South London Cares volunteers in total. The overall tone was, again,
extremely positive with the young professionals feeling as much that they benefit from
their volunteering as the older people do. Thats important for SLC as the model is
designed to be a leveller, to remove barriers (including barriers in the community sector)
that too often keep different social and generational demographics apart.
5.2 Profile of volunteers
As the charts below show, the SLC volunteers we spoke to tended to work in the public
(42%) and community sectors (21%), and were overwhelmingly female (84%) rather
than male (16%). These numbers may overstate the actual gender imbalance a little, and
SLC have had men sign up in higher numbers since the completion of this survey, but it
demonstrates the common trend in the community and charity sector. Most volunteers
lived with flatmates (74%), and the lack of students demonstrated a mainly graduate
demographic.
The really striking trend in the profile of SLCs volunteers is the number of volunteers
from outside the two boroughs (47%) almost as many as live in Southwark and
Lambeth combined (53%). This suggests people are commuting in specifically to
volunteer, or that many volunteers are volunteering where they work, rather than where
they live. One volunteer mentioned that they travel from Croydon. Either way this may
imply that there is scope for rolling the charity out to neighbouring boroughs.

5.3 Involvement and appeal of SLC among volunteers

As the charts below show, most people had originally heard about South London Cares
through a friend (53%), with five also having heard about the charity through work (26%)
(in particular through SLCs corporate partners such as Octopus Investments).
Most volunteers participate weekly or monthly, and for a significant proportion
(nearly a third) SLC was their only form of volunteering. This is important, suggesting
SLC is successfully attracting people who often dont participate in a great deal of other
civic activities.

The setup is excellent it means you can volunteer in a flexible way. The charity
is realistic about the restrictions of working life and accepting that sometimes
you will be able to be more involved and less involved with volunteering. The
events are well organised. The staff are always enthusiastic and encouraging.
And of course first and foremost it's brilliant meeting and getting to know older
neighbours, whether it's an informal natter about what they've been watching on
the TV or learning about their colourful life experiences. Andrew, volunteer

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As the charts below show, the motives people had for getting involved with SLC tended
to be to do with the opportunity to connect with older people (84%) and the community
(63%), and that this was something they seemed, by and large, to have achieved: 84%
feel better connected to the community as a result of their interactions through South
London Cares; while 79% said they feel more in touch with the wider world. Ease of
getting involved was also central (58%). Interestingly, SLCs work also improves the
moods of 53% of the young volunteers who participate, indicating that there is also
mutual benefit between young and older people when it comes to mental health.

Moreover, the sense of being in touch with real life rather than just passing through it
in a young professional bubble was integral to the SLC appeal, and was a chief thing
people got out of sessions. Many of the responses given emphasised the reciprocal
nature of volunteering for SLC.

Through South London

Cares I have made a friend
for life, and it no longer feels
like volunteering, but just
visiting a friend. I think I get
as much, if not more, out of
visiting my elderly
neighbour, as I give.
Charlotte, Lambeth

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5.4 Areas for improvement

Our young professional respondents were
unanimous in saying they would recommend
South London Cares to a friend, and were
similarly unequivocal on the topic of whether
they felt SLC communicated well with them (all
19 volunteers said this). The tenor of responses
was extremely positive and there were a
number of very strong testimonials. All the
staff are great, said one. Volunteering with
SLC doesnt feel like volunteering,
explained another.

I love coming to SLC I think it is

a brilliant initiative and I have
already recommended it to friends
who have since joined as volunteers.
The flexibility is a huge attraction to
me as I had previously been unable
to find volunteering opportunities
which met my needs in terms of
flexibility with work commitments.
Mary, Lambeth

The emails are just right in frequency

and tone. Theyre friendly and brief. I
enjoy receiving them. I think its really
nice that the organiser checks in before
and after sessions it makes you feel
valued and part of a network. The
socials are just about the right
frequency too. Lorna, Lambeth
A number of recommendations were put forward for how SLC might improve (below).
Most were to do with offering more advanced notice for how people could get involved,
along with some other low-level scheduling ideas. These should be considered over the
coming months.

I think it's a good idea to send texts on events but maybe still send reminders by
email a few days before, checking people can still commit. Annette, Lambeth

It would be helpful to get the programme a little earlier; its sometimes a bit late for
events in the early parts of the month. Nick, Southwark

You could look to introduce bookings for sessions online, maybe also seeing which
other volunteers (first name only) are attending, in order to develop volunteers
connections. Perhaps the next months dates could come out sooner too, so people
can plan their month. I rarely attend clubs in the first week of the month as already
have plans by the time the email comes out. Annette, Lambeth

When social clubs are full, it would be good if we could be offered a list of
alternative clubs which still have spaces perhaps Doodle polls could be used so
that volunteers can see where there are still spaces (or not) when they are signing up
for clubs? Mary, Lambeth
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6. Conclusions
In summary, this first snapshot impact evaluation has provided some excellent evidence
that South London Cares methods work. Notably, many of the statistics are remarkably
similar to those featured in the major impact evaluation conducted for North London
Cares and published in 2014. This offers additional credibility to the Cares Familys
general evidence base.
In the coming weeks and months, staff and the board at South London Cares will further
analyse and consider these new data and in the context of funding, partnerships and our
current priorities and commitments, discuss how we can further deliver on our goals.
Specifically, we are keen to take this effective model to even more people in 2016
mobilising even more young professionals and older neighbours to hang out and help one
another next year with even more creative social clubs and many additional one-to-one
friendships, as well of course as with our Winter Wellbeing project, which began again in
December 2016.
We are also keen to use this data and additional evidence from our forthcoming 2016
evaluation, conducted by social researchers Renaisi, to build an even stronger argument
for major government, corporate and philanthropic investments in first and early
secondary interventions to combat isolation and loneliness and improve wellbeing.
ENDS
South London Cares, December 2015

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