CHRISTMAS is traditionally the season for family and togetherness, but there are huge numbers of people in this country whose experience of loneliness and vulnerability is brought sharply in to focus at this time.

Unfortunately, one of the largest groups of people who experience such isolation at Christmas is the elderly, something that caught the attention of one Limerick businessman who has harnessed video technology and the social networking phenomenon to create a unique product which, he hopes, will alleviate the loneliness

Knockaderry businessman James Corbett is in the process of setting up a not-for-profit firm, and its first project is designing an advanced communications system for isolated senior citizens.
The device - known as Vizitant - is a suitable next step, following similar inventions which use voice communications technology to aid the older generation.

Under the plans, James is looking to hook up a video messaging facility targeted at older people. For the first stage of his plans - which he has already received a €5,000 grant from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland - James is looking to set up Vizitant in old people's homes across Limerick, having kicked off with a pilot project in Dromcollogher.

"Last April, we heard Social Entrepreneurs were inviting applications for social projects. I had the idea (to set up a video conferencing facility] for the last number of years. I think the first time I thought about it was when I was watching Nationwide a number of years ago. They had a snippet about a project whereby a team of volunteers used to proactively make phone calls to elderly people living in the community. Another project was a call centre in Dublin which took calls from the elderly, for example if they just wanted someone to talk to. So I put these two ideas together and thought they could add the extra element of video," he recalled.

James feels that, while oral communication is great, older and more vulnerable people also appreciate seeing a friendly face - and the body language that goes hand-in-hand with that.

He said: "Voice communication is only a small percentage of communication between people. Body language, facial expressions, tone of voice are all the extras you do not get from the voice alone make an awful lot of difference to communication."

James is currently working alongside the Respite Centre in Dromcollogher to introduce the concept to people there.

"I have teamed up with WTS Broadband, which has brought wireless broadband to Dromcollogher, and provided this to the retirement village and Respite Centre in Dromcollogher. We are setting them up with a touch screen PC so it makes it much easier for them to take part in Skype video calling," he explained.

Even just introducing a word like Skype (an internet based telephony system) would throw a lot of people - but especially old-age pensioners who are unfamiliar with computer technology as a whole.
However, James says he thinks that because the benefit is so clear to older people, this will enable them to get over the 'digital divide' hurdle.

"Previous projects have shown that, if people could see a major benefit in something, it's amazing the barriers they can get past. I've even noticed this with my own father. He always felt it was beyond him to use the television and the microwave, but I noticed he learnt how to use teletext, because he was really motivated to be able to look up the sports results. When you have that motivation, there is no problem to learn. At the same time, part of our project is remould and redesign the software to make it as easy as possible for older people to use."

One man who knows about the loneliness older people feel is Peter Quinn.
For the last 40 years, he has been helping to run the Senior Citizens Club - which he founded - in Carey's Road, a facility where, every Monday night, old age pensioners from across the city and county turn up and share time with like-minded people.

Speaking of the non-profit organisation, he said: "We have a full house every Monday night. People come from Limerick City and county and even Shannon and other parts of Clare. The reason is because older people can identify with their own age group. As they are lonely, and have no-one else to talk to, they love to come into meet their own age group.

"It's something they look forward to week after week. I think it's fantastic. A lot of these people might like a game of bingo, but they cannot do it anywhere because of their hearing or sight. But in relation to our social evenings, they can just shout at each other!"

Indeed, just having someone to talk to can work wonders for loneliness.

But Peter feels it is important for people to realise why old people get lonely: "Perhaps the biggest cause of loneliness is when one person in a marriage passes away. Another cause is if when a family moves on, perhaps to different parts of the world. In actual fact, it is often said that you only really have a loan of the family.

"Another problem I do not hear mentioned a lot is health problems. When people fall into ill health, they have no-one at home to collect their messages. A lot of people as a result of this are housebound, because they do not have their family close by to help them and give them their undivided attention," he explained.

While Peter has supported the elderly community of Limerick and beyond for more than 40 years, James is just kicking off.

Until a few years ago, he had a high-flying career working in design for some of the largest companies in the world - including Limerick-based Analog Devices.

But then, UL-educated James turned his back on the high-flying corporate world, and moved back to the place he called home as a youngster, Knockaderry, just outside Newcastle West. Now aged 37, James felt he was not really getting any fulfilment.

"I was making good money in all these jobs, I was fairly young at this time. The car was getting bigger every year, and I had more time for socialising and holidays. But at the end of the day, I did not feel I was accomplishing anything great with my life. I feel through this project I am giving back.

"I've always had a love of technology, but I think people get carried away with technology for technology's sake, and get carried away with the potential of the web. I wanted to take a step back and see who could really benefit from this in our society. Certainly the elderly are the last to hear about this technology, but the group who could probably benefit the most from it."

And although there is a risk setting up a firm in this climate, he feels the overriding factor is security for your family - and this is a small price to pay.

"Buying a computer has become so much more affordable. New mini laptops on the market are available for €250 and they have a web cam built in. But I think something like this is recession-proof. What price can you put on security and peace of mind. To know your relatives are not suffering from terrible loneliness. If you can contact them and make sure they are okay, it's a small price to pay, and I think people will," he concluded.