Our New Services
St Mary's Community Adult Education Group
Here at the centre we are delighted to announce that we are launching two new services for the community.
The two services we are adding are a community care service called Ageing Plus and a Friendly Call service. We hope to work with the local community to make sure that those in need can get the right help for them.
St Mary's Adult Education Ageing Plus
This will be a service in which we will have dedicated staff to help vulnerable people with some tasks they may be unable to do themselves. Our workers will handle small household tasks, from hanging curtains to gardening and small painting jobs.We aim to serve our local community with this service, and we also hope it will allow people who may be at risk of isolation to have an opportunity to connect with others. Even small or brief social interactions are very beneficial, and you can use this service along with our Friendly Calls service too!
These jobs may seem like mundane chores to some, and it is easy to take them for granted, but not all are so fortunate, and we hope to connect with the people who require it the most.
Friendly Call Service
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings and afternoons, our volunteers, John Murphy and Elise Bennis will speak by phone to people in the community who are feeling isolated or just want to talk to someone. This will be an opportunity for people to socialise who may not have the opportunity otherwise. Our volunteers will also help callers by providing information and can refer to other support services.
Similar
to our Ageing Plus program, we believe strongly that this is an ideal way to
serve the community. Through engaging with members who can be neglected or
overlooked this can go a long way to countering the harmful and negative
effects that loneliness can have on people.
Studies have claimed that those over age 75 and living by themselves have the greatest prevalence of feeling alone. There is also a significant number of people over 50 who express these feelings. Good news can also be taken from this research as it was also suggested that similar programs have been hugely successful and support vulnerable people.
We hope to speak to anyone who needs either service, and you can call us on 061-31399 or email stmarysaded@gmail.com to put your name down now!
Arran Hamilton