Speed dating event for adults struggling with social isolation

<img src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/8sMeRBC8Lhe1q0UgRftYcg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/lancashire_telegraph_157/7ab41a84bb4b16009ed280e32e0d25bf&quot; alt="Colne Citadel speed dating event for adults struggling with social isolation <i>(Image: Hayley Murphy)

A community organisation based in Colne is hosting a speed dating event for adults who struggle with social isolation.

The speed dating event, organised by Colne Citadel and supported by National Lottery funding, will take place from 6-8pm on Tuesday, March 14.

Adults over the age of 18 are welcome to take part and have the opportunity to pair up with people from the area and have a shot at romance or even just friendship.

Hayley Murphy, centre manager for Colne Citadel, shared that the event is the first speed dating event they’ve held but it has been very well received.

She said: “There was a lot of interest in running a dating event. We ran a poll on Facebook and it’s what the majority wanted. Our aim as an organisation is to reduce social isolation and we’ve just been awarded National Lottery funding so we’ve been organising diverse social events each month.

“We initially tried to run this for Valentine’s Day but because of staff shortages we weren’t able to so we’ll be doing it next month.

“There aren’t many places where you can go to do a quiz unless it’s at a pub and that can be scary for a lot of people so we’re putting on these events.

“Social isolation doesn’t just affect elderly people, it is becoming more common among young people recently. We’ve already got people confirmed and a lot more registering their interest which is great.

“There’s been a massive demographic of people sign up mostly between the ages of 30 and 60. We’re going to do a poll so people can put in their relationship preferences so we can organise that.

“There’s going to be candles and tapas and plenty of Shloer on the evening.”

Colne Citadel is located in a former Salvation Army building in Colne town centre. They are a charity run by a team of volunteers “to serve all members of our local community without prejudice” who aim to reduce social isolation and improve the well-being of their visitors.

The organisation runs a diverse range of weekly and monthly activities including MenKind’s peer support group, Lego therapy, social afternoons with board games, bingo, and more.

You can register your interest for the speed dating event on March 14 by emailing manager@colnecitadel.co.uk