[This notification was recently passed to us by our supporting County Council organisation, Community Action Suffolk. The key points of this feature are also set out on our permanent «Useful welfare contacts» webpage, which is a subpage of the «My Life & Safety» page. — Snape Good Neighbour Scheme]
Have you heard about the new
Later Life Community Connect
phone line in Suffolk?
Hello!
I am excited to be sharing the news with you, that thanks to the support of Suffolk Community Foundation, we launched a new confidential support service for older people in Suffolk on Monday 8th February. Later Life Community Connect is a single point of access telephone support line with a “real” person at the end of the phone, between 10am – 2pm, seven days a week.
We will be offering the following:
— A “real” person answering the phone between 10am – 2pm, seven days a week to speak to any older person or anyone worried about issues around later life
— A referral system using both the Warm Handover (SIP) and other local organisations to support any needs or worries that the caller may have
— Regular and agreed follow-up calls from Later Life Community to the individual to check how they are getting on, have they heard from the other organisations, do they have any other needs?
— Regular welfare calls for older people with trained volunteers
Different from the Information & Advice Service that was previously provided by Age UK Suffolk, this is based on a person-centric model, with open-ended questions and a listening ear. As we all know, often the issue or concern that is the initial prompt for the call, is not necessarily the only (or main) reason for the call. This service is about working collaboratively to ensure that the caller gets the support that is needed – and as we all know, there are many amazing organisations in the county that provide vital support for older people – its often just that there is not that single point of access, and people don’t always know where to call.
It is our intention that with time, Later Life Community will become the advocate for older people in Suffolk – something that has been missing for some months.
We look forward to working with you all over the next few months, and please, where possible share this information with your networks, so that we can help as many people as possible.
With best regards,
Jo Reeder
Chief Executive, BSEVC
☏ 01284 334 516
Later Life Connect are aware of the Suffolk Good Neighbour Network and its members, and where appropriate will signpost residents in need of practical help or befriending to their local Scheme where support for their 'need' is offered.