Meath Cares About Older People – providing clear and concise information to older people in Meath

Description

Meath Cares About Older People was an event held in Fairyhouse Racecourse in Ratoath, Co. Meath on Tuesday 16th May 2023. It focused on providing clear and concise information in a friendly manner to the aging population of Meath. The location and venue was completely accessible, with over 220 older people in attendance. Buses were provided by Flexibus and older groups across the whole county were represented. There were stalls held by Meath businesses and groups to provide information and leaflets on various technologies, supports and services that are available across the whole county, not just one area. Meath Library Service attended with information on their courses/workshops focusing on access to technology for communication. Talks and presentations were given on ACORN tablets, personal safety devices for older people, home safety, fire safety to name a few. Meath’s enigmatic Age Friendly Ambassador, Sean Boylan addressed the attendees on living well and aging well. As much information was provided on the day as possible to increase awareness around the supports and services in Meath. Meath Local Sports Partnership rounded up the event with the ever-popular chair yoga and provided information on the many classes available in the different areas across Meath.
One aim of the event was to raise awareness around the wider OPC membership. Through the event, 28 new people signed up to be a part of the wider OPC and agreed to be included on correspondence going out from Age Friendly Meath in relation to future events, initiatives or opportunities for older people. These are people who would otherwise not be contactable and who would be out of touch with the full range of events on offer in Meath.
Following on from the event, several of the agencies involved in referral services got in touch to say that the number of referrals they received as a direct result of the event was huge, and they are now in contact with older people in Meath who would otherwise have remained isolated without the necessary information or contacts.
Due to the size and location of the fully accessible venue, the event was attended by older people in wheelchairs, on walking devices and older people who are generally less mobile. These people may not have been able to attend other events, due to accessibility barriers. Fairyhouse Racecourse was chosen because it is well-known in Meath, especially to older people, it has a very large car park with the option of driving right up to the door of the venue for drops off of less mobile people, every part of the venue is flat, it has accessible toilet facilities and plenty of seating was made available on the day.
Entertainment on the day was provided by the Meath County Council Buvinda Choir, and Voculeles, a local older ukulele group. Speeches were given by the Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Nick Killian, the Chief Executive, Jackie Maguire, the chairperson of the Alliance, Mick Finnegan, special guest speaker and Meath’s Age Friendly Ambassador, Sean Boylan, ACORN tablets, Citizen’s Information, the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Co-Ordinator, An Garda Síochána, the fire service, Age Friendly Ireland on technology in the home, Task Securities, and Meath Sports Partnership provided sessions of pickleball and chair yoga.
There were stands on the day held by 3rd Age, An Gard Síochána, Citizen’s Information, Healthy Age Friendly Home (Shared Service), MCC Climate Action, MCC Healthy Ireland, MCC Library, ask Securities, Mental Health Association, ALONE, Meath Sports Partnership, MCC PPN, Neuro Rehab Therapy, Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, Ratoath Community Centre, Siel Bleu, MCC Fire Service, Meath Partnership and Meath Traveller’s Workshop.
Another aim of the event was to put as much information for older people in one place in Meath without being overwhelming for the attendees. They could take whet they wanted from the event, whether it was one piece of information, or information from each stall, or a contact name for a service they might be interested in contacting at a later date.
Most of the information provided at the event on the day is available online. However, information is only easy to access if you know where to look and how to access it. By containing all of the information in one place at one time, reduced the barriers that older people face on a regular basis. Should any of the attendees on the day wish to begin their online or digital journey, people were there to help them. But for those who weren’t quite ready, or those who do not wish to engage in that way, all of those supports and services are just a phone call or a visit away. And Meath Age Friendly will be here to support older people and answer any questions or make connections and be that strong bridge between older people in Meath and the many service providers.

Aim of Initiative

To raise awareness around the many supports and services available to older people in Meath. To have an event in a place where older people could meet and network and get the information they wanted, in the way they wanted. To be able to either sit and listen to the talks, or go to the stands and either talk to the representatives at the stalls, or pick up an information leaflet with a name/ number to contact after the event. To showcase that Meath really does care about older people and that help is available. To increase wider OPC membership in Meath through networking.

Who is it aimed at

All older people in Meath, or representatives of older persons and groups in Meath.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Finding a suitable venue for older people in Meath, keeping access and parking in mind. Fairyhouse Racecourse is well known in Meath and is all flat and accessible with plenty of parking. This involved researching many different venues in the county and liaising with the manager at Fairyhouse who was incredibly supportive of older people initiatives in Meath. Fairyhouse Racecourse are now in talks with Meath Age Friendly to become an Age Friendly venue.
2. Securing the right stand-holders and speakers that are relevant to the requirements of older people in Meath. This involved creating networks with local Meath businesses/groups who had a priority of supporting older people in one way or another and securing their attendance. Diversity and relevance was key here. What would older people want to see and what can they not access on their own doorstep to make it worthwhile for them to visit this event?
3. Getting the word out there! This involved creating flyers/posters/social media posts about the event, contacting local groups across the county personally and inviting them, requesting our Meath OPC members to spread the word through their groups/networks, asking the Meath Age Friendly Alliance to support the initiative in various different ways. Writing a press release for the local papers and launching the event in Fairyhouse and putting these photos in local media.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. The biggest challenge for the event was unexpected and didn’t become a challenge until the event was in full swing. The venue was wonderful, and perfect for an event such as this. However, the way the room was set up was, in hindsight, not ideal. There were three distinct sections of the one big room. At the back of the room, where the main door was to enter and exit from, was a seated area with tables, where people could sit and grab a bite to eat and rest. In the middle of the room were the stalls where attendees walked around to find out the information they required and chatted to the stall holders for information. And at the top of the room was the stage area, set out with over 200 seats for attendees to sit and listen to the talks on the stage. The room was the perfect size to accommodate all of this and there was plenty of room to wander around. However, the challenge arose when the speeches started. Several calls were made to ask people to take their seats at the stage area to listen to the talks. But the people visiting the stalls didn’t take seats and the noise level of people talking at the stalls was loud enough to infringe on the talks at the start. It was a conscious decision to have everything in one room, as it was physically easier for people to move around. However, in hindsight it would have been ideal to have the food and stalls in one room and the talks in another. Once our Age Friendly Ambassador, Sean Boylan got up to speak, silence descended and order was restored for the rest of the day, he was so engaging. Lesson learned for next time.
2. Insurance. Insurance was a big challenge for a few different reasons. First of all, understanding what insurance was required from each stall holder before requesting the documentation and what they needed to provide in order to be able to attend the event with a stall. While enough time was given to each stall holder to provide insurance details, some of the smaller service providers had difficulty in obtaining a letter of indemnification. Some stall holders provided the wrong type of insurance documents and this all had to be clarified and the correct documents supplied. This led to increased administration time trying to sort out.
3. The timeline of the event. The event was first discussed as a possibility in late February. The event was held on May 16th. This meant that a huge amount of work needed to be done in a short amount of time, including securing the venue, the caterers, the speakers, the speeches, the insurance and the invites. However, this really was a group effort, with input from numerous groups, including the Cathaoirleach, the Executive OPC, the Age Friendly Alliance, Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service and external service providers which helped everything run as smoothly as it possibly could. The name of the event could not have been more appropriate, as Meath really does care about older people.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Increased membership of the wider Older Person’s Council in Meath. Expressions of Interest were printed and ready to be easily picked up and filled in on the day with a box at the registration desk to pop them in once completed. These were printed in large font, using simple but informative language. The forms clearly and concisely outlined the benefits of being a part of the wider OPC and being very clear that the data would be used for passing on of information only, with no obligation to contribute. 28 forms were filled out on the day, adding to the growing membership of Meath’s wider OPC.
2. The amount of referrals for vital services for older people in Meath that were made as a direct result of the event. Several of the service providers who manned stalls at the event specifically contacted the Meath Age Friendly Programme Manager after the event to highlight the number of new referrals for their services. These numbers far exceeded any expectations and really drove home the need for events such as this, where people can communicate face-to-face when it comes to highly personal and unique circumstances. When people are searching for answers and don’t know where to turn to, seeking information online is not always the best solution. Sometimes you just need a helping hand and a person right in front of you to listen and interact with you on a human level.
3. As the Meath OPC is relatively new, and only formed at the start of this year, one big benefit and positive outcome of this event was the cooperation and collaboration of Meath’s Executive OPC members. During our OPC meetings before the event, it was discussed what supports/services could be present at the event and what they/their groups would like to listen to as speakers. The meetings became dynamic and creative and each member contributed in a positive and well-meaning way, sharing information and working towards a common goal. After the event, we discussed what could be done better next time, what worked well and now going forward, as a result of working together on the event, the group is quite cohesive and working very well together.