Joint Ministerial Launch | Nationwide Rollout | 10th July 2024
Following an initial 2 year pilot across nine sites, the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme was officially launched in all 31 local authorities on the 10th of July 2024.
Read the full press release HERE
Healthy Age Friendly Homes Pilot Evaluation Report
Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme (YouTube)
- A short introduction to the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme |Phase 1 – A strategic Partnership between Slaintecare in the Department of Health and Local Government | Age Friendly Ireland. The approach taken in the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme is to support older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence, for as long as possible. The programme’s ambition is to enable everyone to live longer healthier lives by keeping care close to home and expanding the range of health and social care services in the community.
Healthy Age Friendly Homes Case Study | Rightsizing (YouTube)
- Healthy Age Friendly Homes Participant, Nola Watt explains how the programme supported her through the rightsizing process. Nola has been living in Ireland for over 20 years and needed to rightsize from a 3-bedroom house. She didn’t know where to begin with this issue having no family nearby, so she went to Fingal County Council where she was put in touch with Healthy Age Friendly Homes Local Coordinator Danielle who called out to see Nola and gave her all the reassurance she needed. She now lives in a lovely 1-bed apartment with a wet room, a balcony and has easy access to shops and a local bus route.
Health Age Friendly Homes Case Study | Health & Finance (YouTube)
Healthy Age Friendly Homes | The Solution (YouTube)
- Healthy Age Friendly Homes Participant, Peter Power, who is partially sighted, now feels safe and comfortable in the knowledge that he can stay in his own home without the thought of going into care. After meeting with Healthy Age Friendly Homes Local Coordinator Marie who assisted Peter in getting a stairlift installed.
- Healthy Age Friendly Homes Participant, Geraldine Murphy, has found a new lease of life, and regained her dignity following on from meeting with the Local Coordinator who assisted Geraldine in getting a stair lift installed and also a wet room. In her own words: without this programme, I don’t know what I would have done, it has really enhanced my life.
- Healthy Age Friendly Homes Participants Rosaleen Smart and Margaret Loughnane explain how assistance from the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme has given them a new lease of life where there are people living in certain circumstances and afraid to tell their own family that they are not coping and this way they can get the necessary assistance required, remain independent and to have the freedom of being able to come and go from their own home.
The Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme aims to support older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence, for as long as possible. The programme’s ambition is to enable everyone to live longer healthier lives by keeping care close to home and expanding the range of health and social care services in the community. It is about providing a range of alternatives for older people who may otherwise transition into long term residential care prematurely.
To do this, we have appointed a Local Healthy Age Friendly Homes Coordinator in all local authorities. Each Local Coordinator will case manage a support package for each person referred, linking the supports from the variety of public, voluntary, private and community agencies in the area.
The purpose of this referral is to identify an older person who could benefit from some extra help and support in order to continue living in their own home. The Local Coordinator will carry out a home-based assessment and, in partnership with the older person, will identify and design a range of supports to enable the older person to continue living independently. This will not affect any current home help, medical card, pension, or other services being received.
These supports include but are not limited to:
Housing – adaptations, rightsizing, minor modifications, home sharing, decluttering, etc.
Medical/Health – GP Visits, illness specific supports, transport to hospital appointments, home help, etc.
Technology – Digital training, connectivity supports, personal alarms, panic buttons, assistive technology etc.
Community – Meals on Wheels, social activities, befriending, community groups, libraries, physical activity, etc.
Climate/Energy – Energy retrofits, grant information, BER Assessments, home heating advice, etc.
Financial – Bills advice, carers supports, pensions, LPT, etc.
