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Social Engagement Programme - Older Persons
Start date: Jul 31, 2014, End date: Sep 29, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Background to Organisation - Friends of the Elderly was established in 1980 to tackle social isolation among the elderly population of Dublin. The charity provides a number of programmes to 500 elderly. Social isolation among the elderly has become an increasing problem in Ireland, with 44% of Older people over the age of 85 living along. Social engagement has been identified as a means to improving the health & wellbeing of the Elderly, according to Society for Social Work & Research 2008 study. The social engagement & physical activity programmes are feasible and low cost initiatives which are sustainable with the right personnel. These programmes have been shown to benefit the cognitive ability and enhance mental & physical health of older people. Context /background to Project - A comprehensive review of our services by contacting all our elderly members by phone, asking them about the services we provide and if they had any requests or suggestions to make to improve our programme provision. There was an overwhelming positive response about our social club and this prompted a further study into this programme. The outcome of questionnaires & focus groups with the members attending at the club is that they would like the programme to be expanded in number & variety. Object of the project - To provide a non formal learning environment where our volunteers will learning about aging issues, event planning & management, IT skills, research techniques, communication & linguistic skills, office management skills, Irish social & cultural services, innovative & creative skills, inter-generational issues. To encourage EVS volunteers to make a positive contribution in tackling social isolation that our older friends feel. To promoting the inclusion, well-being and independence of older adults and to help them reconnect to people and resources in their community by meeting & engaging with other people young & old. To develop & promote healthy attitudes towards aging among our volunteers. To provide a community entertainment programme for older people which will be run by both the elderly, our Erasmus+ volunteers and transition year students, which will enhance the lives of many elderly in Dublin City. To provide a safe environment for both our volunteers and elderly members. To provide an international & inter-generational dimension to the programme, in the past our European volunteers have introduced our elderly to their culture, food & entertainment, so too our EVS can learn cultural, historical & life learning from older people. Profile & No of Participants - there are currently 180 members in our social club with regular attendances of 70/80 members. Anyone 60+ can attend though exceptions can be made. A number of part time volunteers from different cultural backgrounds or with disabilities assist at the club. The Erasmus+ participants will coordinate the activities introducing new ones to the club in conjunction with our elderly members who are active in the running of the club. Activities - Entertainment activities which will enhance the social contact of our elderly, music, dancing, art, cultural events, walk & talk events & to include an inter-generational element to the activities. Methodology - A comprehensive review of our services by contacting all our elderly members by phone and asking them about the services we provide and if they had any requests or suggestions to make to improve our programme provision. There was an overwhelming positive response about our social club and this prompted a further study into this programme. The outcome of questionnaire & focus groups with the members attending is that they would like the programme to be expanded in number & variety. At the same time the EVS volunteers & the manager was reviewing the current project & it was decided to redesign to current project to a Social Engagement project which will meet the requests of our members identified in the surveys. Results - Participants - National/International recognition of our project through the Erasmus+ programme. Learning objectives achieved by participants and Youthpass certificate received. Members - Increase membership of the club, increased awareness of our organisation & programmes. We aim to improve health outcomes and reduce mental health issues among our elderly members particularly depression. The core aim of our organisation is to reduce social isolation among our members & enhancing their standing their community & make new friends .
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