Activities for Over 55’s in West Clare: weekly and monthly group activities, outings and events

Description

Our service provides activities to improve the quality of life of older people in West Clare. We offer weekly and monthly social, physical and educational group activities, outings and events throughout the year. We offer over a dozen weekly activities such as Sit Fit, Mindfulness through Arts, Singalong, 45 Cards, Fun Bingo, Digital Skills, Mindful Gardening… We also hire tutors to run courses and help people discover new interests such as Chair Tai Chi, Line Dancing, Social Dancing, Tin Whistle, Learn to Swim and Aqua Aerobics.
We run events that give people something to look forward to, a few hours of pure enjoyment and memories to share with friends and family for weeks afterwards. These include the Mystery trips where the participants don’t know where they are heading, monthly Tea Dances with live music, dancing, tea and cake, a monthly Movie Club, and a Christmas Lunch gathering 150 older people to celebrate our community.
We also administrate the applications to the Senior Alert Scheme and make valuable information available to Older People, by linking with organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, ALONE, Citizens Information, etc. We offer support and resources for people living with Dementia and their families, with a monthly family carers support group, a Dementia drop-in clinic for anyone impacted or concerned about Dementia, JAM cards available in the office, the message in the bottle scheme (from Lions Charity) and other resources.
Since September 2022, we have been working on the integration of Ukrainian people aged over 55 living in West Clare, by working with interpreters and running suitable activities in their area.

Aim of Initiative

The aim of the project is to improve the quality of life of people over 55 in West Clare and to combat rural isolation by providing opportunities for social interaction, lifelong learning and physical exercise.
We offer all our activities at a very affordable cost to ensure that everyone can avail of our services.

We work in ways which increase people’s skills, social interactions, knowledge and confidence to enable them enjoy life, maintain independence as long as possible, and have access to personal and community networks.

Who is it aimed at

All people aged 55 years and over living in West Clare.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Planning necessary resources: venue, facilitator/tutor availability, supplies, estimating costs, securing funding
   e.g. Intergenerational Tin Whistle lessons project:
   – Approaching the local Gaelscoil to present the project and identify availability
   – Getting quotes from Tin Whistle tutors and ensuring they are happy to teach a large class with mixed abilities + identify their availability
   – Estimating the cost of supplies
   – Finding a venue available when all parties are available
   – Applying for funding through the Clare County Council’s Community Support Scheme
2. Purchasing supplies, booking tutor, venue, etc
   e.g.
   – Booking the tutor
   – Booking the venue
   – Purchasing tin whistles
3. Advertising our activities to reach out to as many older people as possible (text message, parish newsletters, radio appearances, posters, emails, social networks…)
   – Designing posters and displaying them in key places (post office, credit union, shops, libraries…) as well as online
   – Publishing a notice in the Parish Newsletters in the area
   – Sending out a text to all our contacts

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. We have been working hard on our communication strategy to improve our visibility and ensure we reach out to as many people as possible, especially to isolated people, as they are the ones who are harder to reach but also the ones who can benefit from our activities the most. We link with health professionals and many other organisations to reach out to these people, and while they often express an interest in our services, they do not have access to transport that would allow us to join our groups. As a result, we are currently working with Local Link to try and improve the transport coverage in our area in a way that will suit the service users.
2. Access to space is also an issue, as we run our activities in the local Community Centres which are also used by other groups. This means timetabling is very challenging, as we do not have access to suitable space at all times, and not all times suit older people for their activities.
3. Access to funding is always an issue, as our activities have to be affordable to ensure everyone can avail of our services, but we also need to generate an income to cover our operating costs and overheads.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Participants benefit from staying socially and physically active.
   Participants to our group activities and events often comment on the fun they have, how they enjoy discovering new interests and how they feel that taking part in our activities is good for their mind and body. One lady recently told us that since she has been taking part in our weekly Sit Fit group, she can do movements she wasn’t able to do before, and her balance has greatly improved. The increase in participation over the last year show that our services benefit more and more people, and also that participants can feel those benefits as they keep returning and take part in several of our activities.
2. People feel supported and respected. In a society where the progress of technology tends to leave older people behind, our participants know that we are there to help them remain part of the community, and they know where to go when they need help or advice. We ensure they have access to information that is relevant to them by organising Information Talks with professionals, about matters such as seniors’ entitlements, the Fair Deal scheme, but also Positive Ageing, Dementia Awareness, and other important topics.
3. A stronger community. A huge aspect of our groups beyond the activity itself is the social interaction. People often comment on the connections they make, they might join the groups with people they already know, but they get to meet new people and build new relationships. They enjoy meeting each other in the shop for example, and share a strong sense of belonging. Many participants marched with us in the Paddy’s Day parade, and nearly 100 people came to watch our Bealtaine Variety Show, to support their fellow participants as they performed with the Drama group, the Singing group, alone with a song, a tune or a poem, or exhibited their creations with the Mindfulness through Arts group (See link to the video below).