Short film created on Hayling Island encourages senior citizens to stay at home and accept help from others

A SHORT film urging senior citizens to stay at home and accept help from others has been created by the caring community on Hayling Island.
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Nikki Shepherd, a member of the Lions club on the island, wanted to spread a ‘stay in, stay safe’ message to discourage vulnerable older people from taking short trips to the shops.

Put together very quickly over the space of a few days, the video edited by Mike Beel shows more than 10 well-known Hayling residents, including councillor Rosy Raines and Neil Veck, the president of the Lions, encouraging older people to stay at home.

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Mum-of-two Nikki, who lives near elderly people who are finding it hard to change their habits, said: ‘Changing your behaviour is really hard and I think there’s a proportion of people who don’t see the need or don’t want to.

Nikki Shepherd of the Hayling Lions being filmed by Mike Beel for the Stay Home, Stay Safe video they created for senior citizens. Picture by Joe Bogar Shaped by LightNikki Shepherd of the Hayling Lions being filmed by Mike Beel for the Stay Home, Stay Safe video they created for senior citizens. Picture by Joe Bogar Shaped by Light
Nikki Shepherd of the Hayling Lions being filmed by Mike Beel for the Stay Home, Stay Safe video they created for senior citizens. Picture by Joe Bogar Shaped by Light

‘I know we have got some independent, capable, amazing people on Hayling. I know there are people who are proud and wouldn’t want to be thought of as needing help.

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‘I also know there’s so much love in our community, that there’s an absolute tsunami of volunteers and a lot of younger people have stepped up.’

Front-line staff from the medical centre were also included in the clip, as well as Marilyn Skennerton, a nurse who has worked with Hayling Lions for more than 25 years.

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Nikki wanted to spread the message that younger people are ready and willing to run errands for their neighbours so they can stay inside, as shown by the incredible Hayling Helpers network serving the island.

‘Personally I have not been in a supermarket since the week before official lockdown,’ Nikki told The News.

‘I have changed my behaviour and been having click and collect and ordering from local businesses.

‘I wanted more people to understand that we don’t need to take the risk. You can still be independent when accepting help and tweaking your behaviour a little bit.’

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Nikki joined the Hayling Island Lions around four years ago, and has loved making a difference with the organisation.

She said: ‘The Hayling Lions is a really vibrant group of people who do a tremendous amount of good.’

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