This week has been Trustee Appreciation week – so we thought we’d take a moment to thank our lovely Trustees who do so much to support us in our efforts to help older people live the life that they choose. But more than that – we are looking for more Trustees to help us with … Continued
For Advocacy Awareness week, we have been reaching out to members of the advocacy community to hear from them first-hand about; what they do, what it means to them, and what advocacy delivers for the people that they work with. This is Juanita Williams, an Independent Advocate @SandwellAdvocacy. She works with young carers, those struggling … Continued
Here in her own words is the daughter of Maggie Wright, who has been subjected to isolation in her care home, supposedly for her own protection for many months. “My mum Maggie has been living in nursing/residential care homes for 16 years now since she was aged 60. She has three children and … Continued
We are still celebrating all things about our wonderful eyesight as part of #NEHW. We are reminding everyone that over 50% of eyesight loss is AVOIDABLE! So what should we all be doing to ensure our valuable vision is maintained? Here are the 5 top tips from the RNIB – who of course know a … Continued
It’s something that we keep talking about here at OPAAL – because we know how important it is; digital Inclusion for older people. We know that those aged 65 and over are far less likely to be online than younger people. The Office of National Statistics holds data on the numbers of internet users in … Continued
Nobody will have escaped the impact of the loss of many hundreds of thousands of volunteers, who, because they were aged over 70, were asked to stay at home as coronavirus began to sweep the nation. I had been furloughed from my part time job, so in order to help plug the gap, I like … Continued
According to a fascinating research paper, “Alternatives to cash” by Kirsty Bagnall, (April 2020) for Ambition for Ageing, which you can find on the link here, almost 3 million people are reliant completely on cash. And for more than 25m, it is still a necessity and cash transactions still account for about 40% of all … Continued
About half a million elderly people live in UK residential homes and hospitals. 70% have hearing problems (1). Hearing loss increases the risk of developing dementia by up to five times. Hearing aids can help to prevent or delay dementia (2) but they require regular cleaning and their plastic tubing needs replacing every few months. … Continued
As we age, we all can experience changes that can cause glitches in our brain functions, making things we have always found easy to do, much harder. It can sometimes take us longer to learn and recall things; we’re maybe not as quick as we once were; and we can start to worry about our … Continued
An overview ‘People of all sexualities have the right to equal respect, value and integrity’ (Davies, N. et al. 1996, 22). Societal attitudes towards people who identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella have undergone a significant change since the Equality Act (2010) affording greater protection from discrimination. However, although many LGBTQ+ people are able to live … Continued