Why the #ManOnTheMoon advert is relevant to social housing landlords

John Lewis released their eagerly awaited Christmas advert last week, once again taking social media by storm, clocking up an impressive 23,000 online mentions in just two hours (Mail Online). The advert tells the story of a young girl called Lily who brings Christmas joy to a lonely old man living on the moon by finally being able to send him a gift from earth. The advert will undoubtedly be a success for the retail giant however how well will the underlying message be listened to?

The tear-jerking advert was made in partnership with Age UK and has the deeper message of highlighting the notion that ‘no one should have no one at Christmas’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Age UK more than a million older people in the UK say they haven’t spoken to a friend, neighbour or family member in over a month. Age Uk go on to say:

‘Contrary to what many people think, loneliness is not a normal part of ageing. It not only makes life miserable, it can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And people who are very lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, as people who are not lonely at all. Because it undermines resilience, this means more pressure on our already stretched NHS and social care services.’

Although there is a large problem of loneliness in older adults in the UK at the moment, there are also fantastic stories of how organisations and individuals have worked together to help improve the situation. For example Magenta Living are using tenant volunteers that have been recruited and trained as specialist ‘Digital Friends’ to help older people get online and be socially included.

TP Tracker users can use the software to identify and recruit potential tenant volunteers for valuable projects such as the one being performed by Magenta. The software easily lets you track who is being involved so you can report on and reward tenant engagement. By adding the optional Support module, users can also measure the resulting benefits of such projects. For more information please e-mail info@tptracker.com