The first time Samuel* called he was upbeat and positive. He shared with us that life was good in the big city. He lived on his own in his newly-renovated apartment, and drove one of the nicest cars in his complex. Samuel shared that he kept fit and wondered at times if he was the envy of other elderly men—and women—around him. As our call responder listened to him speak, she wondered why he would be calling Telecare. So after ten minutes listening, and thinking Samuel had life on a string, she  asked him why he had called Telecare. He was not able to articulate why. 

Samuel has called Telecare many times since, and eventually we figured out that he was lonely. While he was healthy and happy materially, he felt cut-off. The root of isolation seemed to be broken trust in past relationships from a business deal gone bad, and an ugly divorce. 

Samuel declared outright that people can’t be trusted. At times like those we try to encourage him with the fact that he has at least trusted us, Telecare, to call.  He usually agrees. So we are hopeful that by listening well, we show Samuel that some people can be trusted, and that people are not as bad as he thinks.

*Composite profile to maintain caller confidentiality; not the caller's real name