Christmas is a time of year that can be lonely for many, especially those who are bereaved or live alone. In 2011, Esther Rantzen CBE first suggested the idea of a telephone helpline for older people who are lonely, isolated, abused or neglected - and in 2013 that telephone line has come to life.

Helped by grants from both the Department of Health and the Big Lottery Fund, The Silver Line Helpline has launched in time for Christmas, providing three main services to help to support older people.

The first of these is a signposting service, designed to help those who phone to link up to various services around the country that can offer them help and support. The second is to provide a befriending service to help to fight loneliness, while the third is to empower those who are neglected or being harmed, with the ability to transfer them to specialist services.

Calls to the helpline are free and confidential - and have no strict age limits. The service is is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, providing a friendly voice for older people to talk to when needed.

The helpline also offers two additional services in Silver Line Friends and Silver Circles. Silver Line Friends offers a weekly friendship phone call or email from a Silver Line Friend, who will be a volunteer for the service. If you fancy helping out, why not volunteer to be a Silver Line Friend and receive free training and support, and know that you are making a difference?

Silver Circles offers regular group calls on subjects that interest the participants: if you are interested in talking to like-minded individuals, get in touch with The Silver Line to find out more.

The Silver Line is a charity, and as such is always looking for help and support. There are many ways in which to get involved, including fundraising, volunteering, donating and company partnerships - for more information visit http://www.thesilverline.org.uk .