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Throughout the years we have campaigns for fund raising, social welfare in particular health and wellbeing, accommodation, housing and nursing homes, employment amongst the elderly community etc. Information on previous and forthcoming campaigns will be shown below.
OPAAL is alarmed over the lack of promotion of independent advocacy services for older people in care homes across the UK.
Despite the critical role care homes play in safeguarding the rights and interests of older individuals in later life. OPAAL contacted over 500 care home groups to ascertain what measures are in place to support older people in accessing independent advocacy and the results were extremely concerning.
OPAAL calls upon all care home groups to take immediate action to rectify this oversight by:
OPAAL is raising serious concerns over the lack of promotion of independent advocacy services for older people on the websites of Local Authorities across England and Wales.
Despite the critical role independent advocacy plays in safeguarding the rights and interests of older individuals, a recent assessment conducted by OPAAL reveals a distressing trend of inadequate representation and promotion of these services on official Local Authority platforms.
Independent advocacy serves as a vital lifeline for older people, particularly those facing complex healthcare decisions, navigating social care services, or dealing with issues of abuse or neglect. By providing impartial support and empowering older individuals to express their needs and preferences, independent advocacy ensures that their voices are heard and respected within decision-making processes. However, our assessment found that a significant number of Local Authorities in England and Wales have failed to adequately promote independent advocacy services on their websites. This oversight not only undermines the accessibility of these crucial support services but also perpetuates barriers to older people seeking assistance and representation. OPAAL calls upon Local Authorities to take immediate action to rectify this oversight by:
1. Ensuring prominent and easily accessible information about independent advocacy services on their websites.
2. Collaborating with advocacy organizations to raise awareness and promote the availability of advocacy support for older people.
3. Implementing measures to evaluate and improve the visibility of advocacy services on an ongoing basis.
As the population continues to age, it is imperative that Local Authorities prioritize the promotion of independent advocacy to safeguard the well-being and rights of older individuals.
OPAAL is proud to be once again launching our annual Christmas Care Cards campaign once again. Christmas can mean a great many different things to different people, but for lots of older people in our communities, it is a mixed experience where they can experience loneliness, for people, places and bygone times. With this in mind OPAAL wants to encourage everyone to take the time and write, just maybe one or two Christmas cards, to those older people who would really appreciate a handwritten note in 2023.
We fully support all moves to limit our planet’s precious resources, and we know that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis – with the rising costs of greetings cards and postage on our minds. But for some older people, especially those who don’t participate in the online world, a card through the post to show you care can mean so much, So we say, show you care this Christmas! Send a card to someone who will really appreciate the thought. Give them that moment when they can be with you in spirit, if not in person and share with your friends the idea of sending Christmas Care Cards in 2023.
Let’s beat loneliness together!
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BANKS MUST ACT TO INCLUDE OLDER PEOPLE AS LOCAL BRANCHES CLOSE OPAAL has worked with Manchester University Economics student Jude Atkinson to explore the devastating impacts of digital banking dominance upon older people, and whether this huge problem has any legitimate solutions. The shift to digital banking at the expense of in-person banking, has meant that many older people have completely lost control of their finances as they struggle to adapt to this change. But it has also been the banks who’ve failed to adapt, with them not showing any urgency, efficacy or care in providing sufficient digital banking support for older people. In this way banks have failed their customers, prioritising productivity and profit over people. Also, the closure of bank branches has also had, and is having, unimagined ramifications upon older people. So many older people can no longer perform fundamental banking tasks due to the lack of an in-person service, again leading to them being in less control of their hard-earned money. So many older people also now have fewer social interactions and interpersonal relationships, with older people no longer getting out visiting their local high-street or engaging with warm customer service. This in particular has been an impact which has been tossed to the wayside by policymakers and banks, but it must be recognised as regular social interactions are so integral for when you get older. This has been recognised by OPAAL, who propose an innovative initiative which would involve the development of informal spaces positioned in the heart of communities where older people can access the expertise of a banking professional, discuss their digital banking issues with others or simply just have a chat. Such spaces should be developed quickly to make up for the pitifully slow development of banking hubs, where, despite there being near to 250 bank branch closures in 2023, there are only 7 banking hubs.
Read our full article on this topic.
And check out our free resources designed to support anyone facing the closure of their local bank.
The time seems right for us to look at how we best support informal advocacy in the years ahead. How do we encourage and support organic acts of human solidarity without inhibiting or over-formalising them? How do we support people when they are struggling with their role and best connect them to more specialised knowledge? How do we help people in identifying and dealing with conflict of interest? These are some of the themes that our Looking out for Each Other Project is currently exploring in drafting some definitions and helpful guidance for those involved in informal advocacy. A draft document will be produced for discussion at this event before being taken out for wider discussion.
To find out more, please email them at advocacynatcoalition@gmail.com or ring on 0151 734 5404.
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