Pioneering buddy scheme pairing young and old marks first anniversary

Called AIBŌ, which means ‘buddy’ in Japanese, it operates in Chichester and the surrounding area under the tagline “It’s anything a grandchild would do!”

Trusted, vetted students are matched with older people who need help with basic tasks but mainly, it’s about genuine companionship, explains Solène Declas, who came up with the idea.

As Solène says, AIBO’s mission is to keep people who want to live independently, living happier and for longer in their own homes with the help of their Buddy. AIBŌ is not a care service, Solène stresses, but can be used as a step before needing care or in addition to care. For the young person, it offers flexible employment.

Young people (aged 18-30 years) are matched with their older Buddy based on interests, personality and career aspirations. The young people (Solène originally had students in mind, but has since expanded it) then commit a certain number of hours a week, based on the needs of their older Buddy, to come round and help with daily tasks such as shopping trips, running errands, DIY, technology help, posting mail, pet care, driving to appointments and organising and accompanying fun outings – basically anything a grandchild would do, Solène says: “But most importantly, it’s about establishing a genuine friendship and bond.”

You can find out exactly how it all works on https://aibo.org.uk/.

“I had been thinking about it for a year or so. I'm quite entrepreneurial-minded and my dad has his own company, and we were talking about my grandparents. They live at the back of our garden in a lodge. They don't need care or help necessarily. They are very independent but it's so nice to be so close to them that they can come for dinner or we can just help them with the post or whatever they need. It is just the tiny things like doing my nan's bed sheets that can really make a difference. You just want to help them live independently for longer, and that's what gave me the idea.

“I had just finished university and I was thinking about intergenerational relationships generally, and I thought this would be a great way to get older people and younger people together. It's about matching their interests so that the older people can talk about their own interests and about the careers that they have had.

“I was just on my laptop one night and I just thought I need to get on and do this. Either I do it or I don’t. So I did! I started off it off in September last year. And it has gone well. It has been good. It is quite hard because it is just me on my own and I've never had a business before. I was trying to work it out, trying to work out who my target market was, and I realised that I needed to be targeting the families of the older people who need the help rather than the older people themselves”

But soon Solène was able to make a difference. With her first customer, a 90-year-old, she managed to match him with a student who was able to help him with his memoirs, typing them up for him and uploading the pictures as necessary and also helping him to have home-cooked meals.

The number of clients has dropped back a little bit more recently with sadly a couple passing away but also it has been a chance to take stock and rethink the approach. Now going into her second year, Solène is hoping to expand things again

As she says: “This is not care. This is nothing medical. It's more companionship and practical help and just being together.”

Both sides fill in a questionnaire which helps get appropriate matches and to make sure that both sides are completely comfortable with what is agreed. Solène’s hope is that the scheme will go nationwide.