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Aged Concern Liz Reece, our locally based Aged Concern Accredited Visiting Service Coordinator, gave us an in depth insight into the challenges and services available via her organisation to our increasingly aging local population. Liz began by informing us that the two key areas of work are the visiting service and outings service which is offered throughout Canterbury and the Coast with clients often transitioning from one service to the other. “Social isolation and loneliness are the key issues these services address”, she explained, “which is increasingly common as a result of demographics.” Approximately 21% of people aged 65+ feel isolated or lonely which has a large effect on health and wellbeing. Liz noted that they are also finding these issues are starting to appear more often in younger groups with one of the main causal factors being social media. Other primary causes include loss of a partner, loss of family contact, issues with hearing and especially loss of vision which affects in particular the ability to drive. The outings service tales 8-10 clients out for coffee to a variety of locations and they tend to quickly become friends. Around 900 outings are run each year which includes drivers, hosts, and support staff who assist with mobility as required. The visiting service offers a minimum of a one hour a week social interaction with common activities including reminiscing over their life and sharing photos etc. with many clients especially valuing being able to talk with someone outside of their family. The current age range of clients is from 65 to 107 and the visitors range from being in their 20s to their 80s with many still working. Quite a few were rebuild workers who were missing their families. Every case is unique and presents different dynamics. It can sometimes take time until a client is happy inviting someone into their home but most get there eventually. Aged Concern currently has ~200 home visitors who make over ~7,000 visits yearly. For many clients this is the only person they see who is not being paid which makes a huge difference for them. All volunteers are vetted and trained, which includes Police checks, in order to ensure both clients and volunteers are safe. “What is especially interesting is that some clients don’t tell their family about their new visiting friend” explained Liz. Liz shared a particular example where a female client had lost her husband and was still in shock. Liz managed to build a gently bond with her and, a few years later, she is now able to go on outings and meet others independently and has become a different person as a result of these experiences. Aged Concern helps make over 100 matches between clients and volunteers each year. With respect to the value the visitors experience, Liz concluded her talk with the following comment from one volunteer: “The simple act of showing people they are not alone can be deeply meaningful to both of us.” Liz also mentioned that some Papanui Rotary members are already working as volunteers which raises the opportunity for others to become involved perhaps? We thanked Liz for her insight into Aged Concern and the great work it does for it’s clients. For more information click here to view Aged Concern’s website. |
