older people housing event newsletter - north ayrshire
TRANSCRIPT
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Older People
Housing Event Newsletter
2015
North Ayrshire Council is committed to helping
the older people of North Ayrshire live
independently in their community. We see it as
a priority to make sure that older people are
able to easily access a range of information
and advice services to help them do so.
Our dedicated Older People Housing Team
held the 2nd Annual Older People Housing
Event on 15th May.
The theme of the event was information and
advice. This theme was popular with those who
attended last year and feedback indicated that
this should remain our focus.
Customer feedback, both positive and
negative, is important to Housing Services.
Keep a look out for our pink customer feedback
bubbles featured throughout the newsletter.
This news letter provides a summary of
information presented to guests at the event.
Page 2– Older People Housing Event
Agenda
Page 3– Unity Enterprise/University of the
Third Age
Page 4– Care and Repair Extra
Page 5- Older People Afternoon-
‘Yesterday Once More’ and Information
Stalls
Page 6– Older People Afternoon– Health
and Wellbeing
We would like to take this opportunity to
thank the pupils of Ardeer Primary and
Auchenharvie Academy for coming to
the Older People Event and performing
for attendees during lunch.
Also a big thank you to the catering staff
from St Matthews Academy, Saltcoats,
for making and serving lunch and cakes
for those who attended.
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Older People Housing Event 2015: Agenda 09.45– 10:00– Registration– Tea and Coffee
10:00– 10:05- Opening Comments from Trudi Fitzsimmons, Divisional Manager (Headquarters)
10:05– 10:35– North Ayrshire Carers Centre– Carers Role and Support
10:35– 11:05– Cunninghame Housing Association Care and Repair Extra, Launch of new
extended service.
11:05-11:25– Break
11:25– 11:55– University of the Third Age (U3A) Charitable Organisation, Promoting learning and
leisure activities for older people
11:55-12:55– Dave Marshall, retired prime time radio presenter presents “ Yesterday Once
More”- Reminiscence Session for Seniors. Interactive session about your childhood and
teenage years and how we used to live back in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Closing Comments from Trudi Fitzsimmons
13:00-13:50– Lunch (Ardeer Primary and Auchenharvie Academy providing music from 13:30)
Stands in Lesser Hall from (13:30)
14:00– Taster Session
Tai Chi– Tutor
Health Checks
Carpet Bowls
Relaxation Therapy
Dominoes and games.
“ It was most interesting. A
mixture of good information
and topics of fun.”
“Carers Support helped identify problems
effecting my neighbours- very good! Care
and Repair Extra- not many people know
about this service yet. Should take off with
the publicity planned. U3A- very
interesting. Dave Marshall was magic.”
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Unity Enterprise
North Ayrshire Carers Centre Did you know that there are estimated to be
759,000 carers living in Scotland? The 2011
Census showed that 13,900 carers live in
North Ayrshire alone.
Carers can be old, young, male or female.
They could be family members, friends or
even a neighbour.
They help with a variety of tasks, from,
housework, personal care, responsibility for
financial affairs to emotional support.
Unity Enterprise was established in 1989 and
provides support and advice for unpaid and
young carers across Ayrshire. They provide
practical and emotional support which
includes:
Information services
Benefit maximisation
Carers Assessments
Advocacy
Support
Training
Counselling
Stress Management
Advice
Support Groups
Learning Disability Liaison Worker
Signposting
Health Checks
1:1 Support
Unpaid Carers
This organisation supports both paid and
unpaid Carers throughout North Ayrshire,
including Arran and Cumbrae. An unpaid
Carer is a person who cares for a friend,
relative or neighbour who may not manage on
their own and who does not receive paid
income. Unity Enterprise works together with
NHS Ayrshire and Arran in supporting
Ayrshire’s unpaid carers.
Young Carers
Unity Enterprise support Young Carers
throughout North Ayrshire including Arran and
Cumbrae.
A Young Carer is between the ages of 8-18
years and whose life is affected by parental
alcohol and/or drug misuse, mental or physical
illness or disability. They may have emotional
and physical responsibilities beyond those
normally given to children of their age.
Unity Enterprise works together with NHS
Ayrshire and Arran in supporting Ayrshire’s
young carers.
Contact Details
Unity Enterprise North Ayrshire Carer Centre
174 High Street ,Irvine
KA12 8AN
01294 311333
University Of the Third Age
The University of the Third Age (U3A) is a organisation for retired and semi-retired people. It is an
opportunity to get involved in educational, creative and leisure opportunities in a friendly
environment.
Local U3As are charities run entirely by Volunteers. If you are interested in finding new learning
opportunities or have skills you could share, please contact:
Tom Berney– 01355 249 693
http://www.u3ascotland.org.uk
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Care and Repair Extra Service
Care and Repair in North Ayrshire was
established in 2002. Cunninghame Housing
Association were appointed as the managing
agents for mainland and Cumbrae services.
Care and Repair assists home owners and
private sector tenants aged 65 and over, living
in North Ayrshire by providing the following
services:
Advice and Information Services
Referrals to other agencies, for example
Occupational Therapy, Health, Police
and Fire Service.
Oversees the installation of Disabled
Adaptations
Home Security and Safety Audits.
A small repairs service
Handrails and Bannisters assessment
and referrals
Benefit Entitlement Maximisation
Undertakes property surveys (to identify
hazards relating to trips and falls)
What’s new with Care and Repair Extra
Service?
Cunninghame Housing Association have
recently expanded to a Care and Repair Extra
Service, and now employ their own Joiner and
Electrician. Under the Care and Repair Extra
Service, any repair that is needed is scheduled
to suit the clients needs. This service has
proved to be very popular in North Ayrshire
and is quickly establishing a client base.
Small Repair
The Small Repair service relates to home
safety and home security repairs and
installations. The first £80 of costs are not
chargeable to resident, however anything over
this price is chargeable. Work is carried out by
Care and Repairs own tradesman at
competitive rates. This allows for more
effective scheduling of work. Although this
service is relatively new, it is already very
popular and has a 100% satisfaction rate
from home owners and private tenants.
Handyman Service
On 1st April 2015, Care and Repair introduced
a Handyman Service, which covers all jobs that
do not qualify as a small repair. The new
handyman service is a chargeable service,
however, care and repair maintain their prices
at a fair and competitive rate.
Contact Details
Care and Repair Mainland and Cumbrae
Cunninghame Housing Association
82/84 Glasgow Street
Ardrossan
Telephone: 0800 068 1464
Care and Repair Arran
Care and Repair (Arran Only)
Isle of Arran Homes
Springbank
Brodick. Isle of Arran
Telephone: 01770 302888
“The Care and Repair talk was very
interesting. The 2 ladies from Carers
Centre gave an excellent talk.”
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Dave Marshall– Yesterday Once
More
This unique interactive reminiscence
session for seniors was popular at this
year’s event.
Dave’s presentation featured music, TV
clips and short films from the 50s, 60s and
70s.
Guests enjoyed singing along to songs
from their childhood and remembering how
they used to live.
Stalls for delegate information were set up in
the afternoon by organisations including:
Community Led Action and Support
Project (CLASP)
Bernardo’s Scotland
Dementia Support
Tenant Participation
Welfare Reform
North Ayrshire Citizens Advice Service
Money Matters
Carina Website
Citrus Energy
Information and Culture
Community Action Team
Unity Enterprise
TACT
Care and Repair
Information Stalls
Older People Housing Event Afternoon Session
“”Dave Marshall was fantastic
and brought back good
memories.”
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Health and Wellbeing A series of taster sessions were provided at the event in the afternoon:
Carpet Bowls, were provided by KA Leisure, and
enjoyed by guests and NAC staff. Even those who
had never played Bowls before enjoyed having a
go.
Chair Tai Chi, led by instructor Hillary Crook, was
popular with guests and NAC staff. The session
taught easy and relaxing Tai Chi that can be done
in the comfort of your chair at home.
Health Checks, conducted by Louisa Carslaw
from KA Leisure, were an easy and quick way for
guests and staff to get a quick health check and to
receive advice on how to stay active and healthy.
Gail Mcinnes, who has her own Fitness and
Massage Therapy business (Fit for Living), had a
queue of people waiting to relax with a hand
massage and a chat.
At the end of the event, delegates were asked to fill out a short questionnaire about
the quality of the event . You will see below some of the questions we asked and the
results.
How would you rate the overall
quality of the event?
86%- Very Satisfied
14%- Fairly Satisfied
How would you rate the catering? 94%- Very Satisfied 6%- Fairly Satisfied
How would you rate the interactive
sessions which were held in the
afternoon?
81%- Very Satisfied
19%-Fairly Satisfied