Help building a support network for widow

LegacyUser

To put this bluntly, my mam, like many of her age, is a hard woman.

She's been a through a lot in life, she's a widow and would certainly not be described as a friendly or cheerful person. She's ultra conservative, does nothing but complain and has a very different world view from most people. Outside of her immediate family (which is just me and my brother) she has maybe 3-4 friends who would occasionally contact her.

As life for all of us has progressed, this has become an increasing burden on me. I live far away from home and travel a lot for work. If I don't call my mam she can go for days without speaking to anyone. She's deeply unhappy and lonely but there's only so much I can do from a distance. I'd really like her to have more friends and people around her to have people to talk to and interact with. However, I can't make friends for her, just like I can't make her try new hobbies or activities (I've tried to suggest these before).

When you have a personality that only a son could love, how do you find other people to surround yourself when they're not around?

Suggestions? Personal experience?

Acoshla

Do you know that she is lonely, has she said she is? My mother lives alone 4 hours from me, I'm an only child, she has about 3 friends and 2 siblings living relatively near, never really socialises with people other than meeting someone for a chat every couple of weeks, but is perfectly happy like this. She would easily go a few days without talking to anyone but me, that's the way she likes it. So I just want to be clear that your mother is unhappy with this situation and it's not just you unhappy with it.

What age is she? Voluntary work is a great way to meet people. My mother volunteers (to fill her cv, not because she likes to meet people ) and she maintains that it's a great way for people to get out and make new friends.