People with hearing loss in Abergavenny have taken action to save their club from closure after funding came to an end.

The Hear to Meet group, run by the charity Action on Hearing Loss Cymru, was a three-year project funded by the Big Lottery and was facing closure as the funding comes to an end in December 2016.

Luckily, a team of local volunteers have now stepped in to run the group, which will continue to meet every third Thursday of the month at Abergavenny Community Centre between 2-4pm, providing social activities and information for people with hearing loss.

Bob Lewington, who attends a Hear to Meet group said, “Before going to the Hear to Meet group I felt that hearing loss could be quite isolating. The group really helped with this and I gained more confidence by meeting other people in a similar situation. There is a really warm welcome at every meeting and it would be fantastic to see more new faces over the next few months.”

Keith Young, who himself has hearing loss and will be taking over the group in Abergavenny said, “Every month I see the difference the group makes to people who have hearing loss. I’ve seen people who were really lonely, depressed and rarely left the house until they started coming to our group. Meeting others with a hearing loss has given them confidence and encouraged them to get out and about again. It really does change lives.

So when I saw that that the funding was coming to an end I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I hope we can continue to expand the group and help even more people with hearing loss in Abergavenny.”

Across Wales, more than 870 people have been supported by the Hear to Meet project so far, and 91% of those people said attending a group helped them to feel less lonely and 75% of them said the group made them feel less depressed about their hearing loss.

Richard Williams, Director of Action on Hearing Loss Cymru said, “Through 46 groups across the country, Hear to Meet was incredibly successful in bringing hundreds of people out of isolation in Wales. We’re delighted to see the Abergavenny group continuing and looking forward to continuing to work closely with the group members. We hope to see the volunteers take it from strength to strength.”

Full details of the groups continuing can be found on the Action on Hearing Loss Cymru website: www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/supporting-you