Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

71It is often difficult to reach out to people in this position, but it israre for a person not to be in touch with at least one agency inthe system. In particular, more isolated older people are likelyto be in touch with housing, health and social care services,which, with the right information and networks at their fingertips,could provide the vital link to overcoming social isolation.There are a number of elements which are critical to enablingpeople who are socially isolated to link into support networks: Information Transport Design of houses and neighbourhoods (see Outcome 4a). Community hubs providing a range of practical, preventiveservices. ‘Link people’ who can support an individual to build linkswith the services and activities that are appropriate for them.Where we are nowAccording to the data from the former Office of Deputy PrimeMinister’s analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing,Tyne and Wear is one of the four areas in the UK with highlevels of loneliness and depression amongst older people:23% of older people report feeling depressed for much of thelast week and 18% report feeling lonely for much of the lastweek (see Annex 7, Note 14).Newcastle’s Health Improvement Strategy identifies improvingmental and emotional well-being as one of its key priorities.It seeks to improve access to services aimed at mild mentalhealth problems, raising self-esteem, self-help and early