00:00It's the happiest time of year for some, the toughest for others.
00:07I do feel very alone and I'm not the only one. There's a lot of people like me and when you do get older it's the fact of life.
00:18Sue lives alone. Her husband is now in aged care and she has no children of her own.
00:24I welcome my friends to talk about their grandchildren. It's lovely hearing about them and seeing photos but you can't stop that little pain inside.
00:40But an unexpected friendship has blossomed as a result of a volunteer program that pairs young people with seniors.
00:47Amber and Sue have bonded over a love of music and it's brought them both some Christmas joy.
00:53My family is not in Australia and I'm alone here so sometimes especially in some ceremony I will feel really lonely.
01:02And the people like Sue and I feel like she is like my mum or my grandma.
01:10Loneliness is a silent epidemic. It's on the rise and can be worse during the festive season.
01:17When there's a big focus on social gatherings and family gatherings, for those people who aren't surrounded by family and friends it can be a particularly acute time to feel lonely.
01:27But there are some going the extra mile to make sure no one feels alone this Christmas.
01:32A project that started eight years ago in Victoria's Kitchen has now become a full scale operation, arranging gifts for every person in aged care across the Northern Territory.
01:43While we think of it often being about children and about providing for our immediate family, I think there's a broader demographic in the Northern Territory and across Australia who are really quite isolated and could use just a little bit of joy.
01:57Over 2,000 gifts are slayed out, making sure everyone has something to open on Christmas morning.
02:05Every year I'm blown away by how far people will go and how far into their pocket they'll dig just to provide a gift for someone they've never met and will never meet.
02:14Kindness. The greatest gift of all this Christmas.
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