by Kevin Chase, National Development Officer
The last quarter has been an interesting one reaching out to groups and organisations who are providing some fantastic work within their respective communities. These organisations vary from third sector, Local Authority and national organisations.
At the end of February I met with Roar For Life in Renfrewshire. A brilliant organisation providing support for older adults in Renfrewshire by offering several services including improving mobility in older people with a nail cutting service to prevent falls and also supporting older adults by being connected and removing the concerns of social isolation by offering several clubs for people to attend. Improving mobility in older adults has been proven to reduce the number of falls they may suffer. Roar rely on volunteers and also financial support and we are backing their Renfrew Community Grants bid at Tesco, Renfrew to support their toe cutting service. Please support this organisation if you shop at this store.
At the end of March I met with Eastern Renfrewshire Council and their brilliant Child Safety Scheme. The scheme is a coordinated approach between NHS and the local Council to provide educational advice to families who have welcomed a new born child to their home. The scheme is mainstreamed and embedded in Eastern Renfrewshire practices that the information and dangers of items such as button batteries and other key informative leaflets to new parents. There is also accident preventative advice passed during the home visits by Health Visitors. It is a brilliant coordinated scheme and I would recommend this to other Councils looking into similar successful schemes.
Finally only a week ago I met with Age Scotland to discover their widespread practices across Scotland. Every day I learn something new in this role and this meeting was no exception. Age Scotland is dedicated to improving the lives of everyone aged over 50 and as I was reminded in the meeting (thanks Calum!) I now met their definition. On a serious point, they have a superb encyclopaedia of booklets and information for older adults. I was particularly impressed with the Age Scotland Lifebook a book to be completed by the owner to record their personal details and the details of their family members. I would recommend this book in later life. They also offer other support schemes including a helpline phone number (08001244222) to provide advice from benefits, local services and staying safe and warm. They are also a key contributor to Unforgotten Forces supporting Scotland’s Older Veterans community (I was told that I needed to be 65 to meet this definition) and hope that the funding for this scheme continues a network supporting the older veterans across Scotland.
The date for the next Home Safety Scotland Forum is the 12th June please contact myself at hss@scsn.org.uk if you wish to join the next Forum.