During the month of October 2022, Red Social Innovation issued a publication entitled “Older persons and mental health”. The publication covers various topics related to the mental health of the elderly. The “telephone circle” initiative, which the Red Cross of Serbia has been implementing for years in various communities in Serbia and which gained importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, was presented as an example of good practice. In Serbia, the Red Cross of Serbia has created small informal groups of older persons with common interests so that they can have regular meetings in which they engage in different fields. As the activities of these self-help groups were unable to continue during the lockdown, the Red Cross encouraged the transition of these groups into telephone and app-based circles, where the members are simultaneously both beneficiaries and volunteers.

Red Social Innovation is an international resource center for social innovation supported by the French Red Cross and the Spanish Red Cross. Its aim is to test, analyze and highlight social innovations developed within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, or by other private or public actors.