Third Age/Senior Help Line

A valued member of The Wheel since 2005, SeniorLine’s purpose is to provide a supportive service to older people in need.

SeniorLine is a national, confidential listening service, and programme of the NGO Third Age. SeniorLine's mission is that every older person in Ireland would know its service and receive a helpful response from it. The service began as Senior Help Line in 1998 when it was realised that many older people had a landline but nobody to call. SeniorLine began offering companionship to reduce loneliness.  SeniorLine's wider context is our ageing population and the gap in services to meet the needs of older people to remain at home for as long as possible.

SeniorLine is open every day of the year from 10am-10pm.  SeniorLine's philosophy is welcoming and non-judgemental. Callers (aged mid-60s-70s) may be lonely, anxious, depressed, ill, isolated, fearful or in crisis.  Some have suicide ideation or experience elder abuse.   Of 10,000+ calls in 2016, 82% found the call “useful” or “helpful”.  Many phone daily. SeniorLine do not give advice or instruction. Success is based on an effective listening and empowering model. SeniorLine uses anonymised caller data to advocate on caller issues, and for older Irish cohort with government and key stakeholders.

Peter, 81, single, who lives alone in rural Ireland, began phoning in 2007, and was delighted with his welcome. Peter loves company, but over time, his old age has pinched deeper. He can no longer drive, his two sisters have died, and he is confined to home.  He phones daily and says he would be lost without SeniorLine.  He likes to talk about sport, politics, farming and Irish life long ago.  He has access to 170 volunteers who collectively give colour, meaning and routine to his life.  Peter - one life, one caller, comforted and reassured by knowing we are there, a phone call away.

SeniorLine provides practical support for thousands of older people annually. Some call for company, others with specific problems receive time to discuss them and explore a resolution. Calls may be signposted appropriately. SeniorLine receives core funding from the HSE, who regard us as a primary health care service. 

SeniorLine is a peer-to-peer service with trained older people listening to older people, the only such service in Ireland, and one of the few worldwide.  This peer aspect is particularly valued by callers who tell us they feel understood. Engaging older volunteers to deliver the service supports them to remain in the third active stage of life, offering benefits to the individual, their families and society in general. Volunteer believe in SeniorLine, and tell us they derive feelings of worth and self-esteem from being involved. SeniorLine is unique in our access to older people, through our ability to speak to them directly at home for up to 12 hours a day, every day of the year. Callers do not need a referral, but chose to talk to SeniorLine, and are, therefore, open to useful interaction.