'Christmas catch-up sessions give me hope'

People in Kent who would spend Christmas on their own say spending time at a twice-weekly charity cafe catch-up session gives them "something to look forward to" over the festive period.

The Salvation Army in Canterbury says its Heart to Heart sessions at a city centre bakery offer friendly chats and advice and can help people to feel "safe, valued and loved".

The drop in sessions over Christmas come as up to one in 13 people in Kent will spend Christmas alone, according to the charity's figures.

But 65-year-old Graham, who uses the service, said: "It eases my depression and I come away feeling there is hope and there are people out there who care and love me."

He added: "Christmases before I came to these sessions were quite often sad times, a bit lonely and feeling that the whole world out there was celebrating and you're not.

"It gives me something to look forward to."

Graham, who was forced to stop working in his late forties due to medical issues, said Christmas could be difficult after the death of his partner in 2018.

However after attending the Heart to Heart sessions, Graham says he will not be alone this year.

"A good friend of mine has kindly invited me to go along and spend Christmas Day with him, his wife and one or two other people who are also in the same position as myself," he said.

"I'll be spending the day there with a traditional Christmas lunch and tea as well. I'm really looking forward to it as these sessions have given me the confidence to accept invitations."

The Salvation Army published figures showing 262,095 adults in the South East will have no company on Christmas Day.

Many studies have shown loneliness significantly harms mental and physical health, increasing risks for depression, anxiety, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, weakened immunity, and even premature death, comparable to smoking or obesity.

The charity's drop-in sessions began in the lead up to Christmas last year and proved so successful that they have returned to The Canterbury Bakery for 2025.

Major Ali Friday, who runs the sessions, said: "We started last year and we found that a lot of the people who joined us have returned plus we've had new people.

"Some of them have been students, some people who work and many with difficult circumstances."

The Salvation Army hopes to resume the Heart to Heart sessions in the new year.

"We hope to be returning in January as it is often quite a dark and blue month after the festivities of Christmas," says Major Friday.

"Loneliness isn't just at Christmas time it's all year round and we're doing something about it."

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