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Public transport will be used to connect people in a new way as part of a new Department for Transport funded 12 month pilot scheme aimed at tackling loneliness in the West Midlands.
Transport for West Midlands has secured £460,000 funding to set up the Let’s Chat scheme which will offer those most at risk from loneliness new opportunities for social interaction as well as help and advice on a range of topics.
People will be able to access the service in one of three ways, which includes four dedicated buses/mobile units going out to communities, acting as a focal point for conversations, advice and assistance.
Community meeting spaces will be opened within vacant shop or commercial units at five bus stations, including Bilston, Coventry, Dudley, Walsall and West Bromwich.
Eight community transport minibuses will also offer a door-to-door service for people where the lack of transport is a barrier to social contact. TfWM, which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority, has developed the scheme with support from Walsall Community Transport, Shencare and Community Transport (group) and is looking to work with further organisations across the region.
The bid was submitted to Government following a successful trial on a Let’s Chat bus in Walsall which saw meaningful contact with more than 900 people in six months. Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said:
“I very much welcome this announcement from the Department for Transport. We know that here in our region some 13% of our residents are suffering with loneliness, and we don’t want people to suffer in silence.
“So, it’s great news that funding is now in place to enable us to take forward projects like our ‘Let’s Chat’ programme that will help people in need to make new connections.
“Our transport network as a whole already plays an important role in alleviating isolation by taking people to social events and gatherings, and this new funding will allow us to add to that by having dedicated spaces set aside at bus stations and other venues being made available for drop in coffees and chat sessions.”
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