Hands across the ages

Lockdowns over the past couple of years have left lots of people who live alone, especially older people, more isolated, more lonely and more in need of a helping hand around the house. Many young people would be happy to do something for them.

But families - especially grandparents and grandchildren - often live much further away from each other than in the past. And we often don't know our neighbours as well as people did a long time ago.

How to fix this? Anne Guénand found herself in this situation a few years ago. She had an accident and had to stay in bed for months. During the day, when her husband and children were out, she'd have liked some help in the house. But she didn't like to ask her neighbours.

Then Anne came up with a solution. She tells us in this week's WoW! News app capsule that she created her own app in France called Bip Pop.

Older people can use it directly, or phone in, to ask for someone to do maybe an hour of little jobs at home - or just to stop in for a coffee and a game of dominoes. Younger people who want to give a little time and are curious about what older folk have to say can sign up to get requests from the app.

Léo Guernion, who's 23, told us in the WoW! News app that he was surprised by how much he enjoys going round for coffee to an older neighbour and hearing his stories and jokes. It's taught him a lot about life, and about himself, Léo says. Check out the app for ideas on how you too can discover your superpowers to stretch out a hand across the generations!