Our story

Since our national launch in November 2013, The Silver Line Helpline has received over 2.5 million calls. Over two-thirds of these calls were made overnight or at weekends when no other helpline is available for older people who may be lonely, isolated or confused.

The Silver Line provides three functions to support older people:

• a 24-hour helpline which is available 365 days a year and offers information, signposting, advice, and a place to talk
• a befriending service to combat loneliness 
• a means of empowering those who may be suffering abuse and neglect, if appropriate to transfer them to specialist services to protect them from harm

We now receive around 10,500 calls every week from older people the all over UK, with 53% of callers saying they have literally no-one else to speak to. Over 3,000 volunteer Silver Line Friends are making regular weekly friendship calls to older people, and our Silver Circles offer friendship for older people with shared interests through the chance to socialise by phone in a small group.

We rely entirely on voluntary donations to cover the cost of all Silver Line services, and are extremely grateful to all those who have helped us to support thousands of older people, many of whom refer to us as “a lifeline”.

Find out more:

Our founder

Our people