Welcome to the first Greater Manchester Ageing Hub monthly newsletter of the year!
This month we have been reflecting on all the amazing work the Greater Manchester ecosystem undertook last year to make a genuine and positive difference to the lives of older people in GM. We have also been looking forward to 2023 and planning on how to build on these strong partnerships to continue making Greater Manchester the UK’s leading age friendly city-region.
This January we were delighted to welcome Bianca Rosetti into the Ageing Hub team. Bianca joins the Hub from Age UK Bristol and will be stepping into Nicola Waterworth’s previous role as Strategic Partnership Manager.
Finally, we would like to thank partners for sending in pictures of our Winterwise guides they have spotted across Greater Manchester. It has been great to see Winterwise distributed so widely across the city-region. Please continue sending your pictures to: Joseph.DePaola@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk.
We also have extra copies of Winterwise available to order. More information about Winterwise and how to place an order is in the newsletter below.
As always, thank you for your continued support.
Greater Manchester Ageing Hub team
News
Extra copies of Winterwise Guide available
Working with charity Independent Age, GMCA has produced the new Winterwise printed guide especially designed for our older residents. Thank you to everyone who has placed an order and distributed the guide.
We are continuing to deliver the Winterwise guide and have extra copies available to order.
The A5 guide contains 68 pages of practical information on how to:
• ‘Stay warm’ – Providing information about the financial support that older people could access to help them with rising energy costs
• ‘Stay safe’ – Focusing on home safety advice for older people, including fire safety, how to spot and report scams, and what to do if they fall
• ‘Stay well’ – Tips and advice on mental health and wellbeing, eating well and keeping active
The extra copies of the guide are available free of charge. Transport for Greater Manchester are kindly supporting the delivery of boxes of 88 guides to locations across Greater Manchester.
To place your order, please send your delivery address and number of boxes you would like, to Joseph.DePaola@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk. If there are any times when TfGM cannot deliver, please let us know.
On Monday 23rd January, the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub, in partnership with key stakeholders from the Greater Manchester Falls Collaborative Strategy group, launched the ‘Greater Manchester Falls Collaborative’ at a workshop.
The workshop was successful, with over 100 delegates from across all sectors, such as the NHS, Public Health and the leisure sector, plus older people from the communities of Greater Manchester.
We have started to develop, and are committed to continuing to co-design, a ‘Falls Prevention delivery model’ for the system, with the aspiration to adapt this to other elements of ageing well. We are looking forward to progressing this work over the coming months, with further opportunities to engage.
New collection of images highlights diverse experiences of ageing across England
Centre for Ageing Better have added a new collection of images to their Age-positive image library. The new photos and voices in the 'Diversifying ageing: Fresh perspectives' collection portray older people living on low incomes, those aged over 50 who are LGBTQ+, and people aged over 70 across the country.
The collection aims to improve depictions of older people with different life experiences, highlighting people living across diverse communities and from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. Many of the new images are of older people who live in Greater Manchester.
The images are free to use across presentations, websites and media in the hope they will be widely used to provide a more realistic and empowering view of later life.
Colin Stein, 61, accessed fully-funded 3D Printing training through Greater Manchester’s Skills for Growth Programme
Greater Manchester’s Skills for Growth programme is available to upskill and retrain Greater Manchester residents, aged 19+, who are currently in employment. The programme is funded through the European Social Fund, and has been created in partnership with employers who have highlighted skills gaps they are struggling to fill.
Colin Stein, 61, is a Workshop Mentor at The Brick Charity in Wigan and recently completed a 3D Printing course with provider 3D360. A total of four members of staff at the charity have completed the training and are now using their newly acquired skills to raise further income.
Find out about Skills for Growth and current live training programmes here
Pension Credit claimant delays
A survey of welfare rights advisers by Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) and the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) has highlighted that almost all respondents said that Pension Credit claimants they support are waiting more than six weeks on average for claims or changes to be processed.
Key findings from the responses - received from 77 advisers and one claimant - include that -
98.7 per cent (76 respondents) said that they are waiting more than six weeks on average for claims or changes to be processed;
58.4 per cent (45 respondents) said they are waiting between 12 weeks and six months on average for claims or changes to be processed;
15.6 per cent (12 respondents) said that they are waiting more than six months on average for claims and changes to be processed
These delays are of huge concern. The GM Ageing Hub and GMCA are exploring several avenues to raise this issue at a more senior level.
Photography competition launched to challenge stereotypical depictions of older people
Ageing Better and Alamy are launching an exciting new competition encouraging photographers to capture positive images of people aged 50 and over.
The competition is an opportunity for photographers to showcase their style and produce inclusive imagery that avoids the stereotyping and objectifying of older people and the portrayal of ageing as a wholly negative experience – something commonly seen in stock images and the media.
GM Older People’s Mental Health Network launch event
Thursday 2 March 13:45-16:30
Join us at the launch of the Greater Manchester Older People's Mental Health network, which aims to ensure that the voice of older people with lived experience of mental health are able to influence and transform mental health support across Greater Manchester.
The event will consist of engaging discussions, speeches and networking!
Sonder Radio are delivering ‘Let’s Get Digital’ – a course which focuses on developing creative digital skills and making content that will be pieced together with other participants to create a live radio show. The course is completely free to attend, no previous experience is needed and if you work with people who face any digital barriers please get in touch and Sonder will help to overcome them where possible. The course is a mix of online and in-person sessions.
In person event – Conversations on Urban Ageing and Alternative Housing Futures – University of Manchester
Tuesday 7 February, 11:45-13:15
This in-person seminar, brought to you by the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group (MUARG) and the Manchester School of Architecture, will be led by Professor Rose Gilroy from the University of Newcastle, with Mark Hammond as chair. Lunch will be provided before the session. In a time of population ageing, many have called for a stronger spotlight on housing. The quality of our place from dwelling through to streetscape, neighbourhood and transport are critical factors in determining quality of life. As more people age into frailty with a need for support it should be that conversations about care are conversations about housing. But this is not the case, the housing debate is still dominated by numerical targets and the need to create home ownership opportunities for younger people.
Online event - Tackling Loneliness and Social Isolation amongst Older People Webinar – OHID
Tuesday 14 February 10.30-12.00
The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities North West and Yorkshire & Humber regional offices have jointly organised a webinar focusing on loneliness and social isolation amongst older people.
The webinar will include:
the distinction between social isolation and loneliness and the differences in the literature/evidence base
how loneliness & social isolation impacts on social care demand
Impact upon older carers
Insights into: Bright Life 5 year project testing approaches to social isolation, the Great Get together Campaign by the Jo Cox Foundation and Orchard House: Oldham’s approach
In person programme - Elders Mondays at the Royal Exchange Theatre - The Royal Exchange
Curious about theatre? Want to feel inspired? Then Elders Mondays Inspire at the Royal Exchange Theatre might be for you.
On the first and third Monday of the month (excluding Bank Holidays), Elders Inspire sessions 11:00-11.40am are a chance to chat with some of our Elders, take part in creative activity (don’t worry you don’t need to be an expert) and find out how you can get more involved.
Inspire sessions are free to attend and we may be able to help with travel costs through our Arts Pot.
If you have any resources relating to older people and age friendly that you would like to share, please send them to ageinghub@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk.
Our mailing address is:
Greater Manchester Ageing Hub
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
1st Floor Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street
Manchester M1 6EU
United Kingdom
