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Age Concern Horowhenua - Grand Opening
Natalie Cooper • August 2, 2023
Age Concern Horowhenua Opens New Premises To Public
Wow! What a journey it has been... From where we were 3 months ago, just dreaming and planning what to do and where to go... until now... Finally in our amazing new premises and ready to serve our older community!
I would like to thank every single soul that has helped along the way, the tradies for their hours and hours of work in this building, the Age Concern team and Board for doing everything they could, the family and friends, the local businesses like Wilton & Co and CS Law for their generous donations and the older community for being supportive and helping when and where they could for helping us get to this point of officially opening the 'Ageing Hub' for our community!
Then we had yesterday, the Grand Opening of our new space... Words cannot describe how overwhelmed our team felt by all of the love and support from those who came to celebrate with us. Over 200 people attended the opening ceremony and were a part of the beautiful building blessing by Muaupoko Iwi, followed by speeches by Stewart (Age Concern Horowhenua Chairperson), Karen (Age Concern New Zealand Chief Executive) and Bernie (Mayor) to complete the official opening.
We aim to do so many great things for the older community with this new space, there are now so many opportunities for us to look into. As Karen said "Age Concern offices are often a great focus for a community to connect with, and that they also represent the incredible work that is delivered out in the community" Yesterday was a great representation of the power that buildings can have, they can certainly bring communities together.
It almost seems so surreal that it's all over and we're back to normal business. But I know I speak for myself and team when I say, we are looking towards the future in our community with great vision and can't wait to get started!
Catherine
Manager - Age Concern Horowhenua
Age Concern Horowhenua - Doing Good In Our Hood!!
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What an amazing day!
Horowhenua is doing itself proud with a massive surge in the number of volunteers signing on with an organisation providing support for the region's large elderly population. The number of volunteers registering with Age Concern has tripled in the past 15 months to more than 60, at a time when support has been more important than ever. Age Concern Horowhenua had 211 referrals of suspected elder abuse in Horowhenua last year, of which more than half were identified as bona fide. In that same time, Age Concern followed up more than 2000 visits or phone calls to people reaching out because they felt isolated or lonely, compounded by the challenges brought about by Covid-19. A quarter of Horowhenua's population was aged 65 or above - much higher than the national average of 15 per cent. Age Concern manager Catherine McAuliffe said it offered support and training for volunteers who helped with a range of programmes and services aimed at keeping the elderly empowered and connected, like driver refresher courses. "We challenge the ageism stigma. There are no rules that say age prevents you from doing things," she said. More than 100 enrolled in fitness courses called Silver Sneakers and Steady as You Go. McAuliffe said some were aged in the 90s and had never been to a gym before. They were now lifting weights. "There are no restrictions," she said. "This is ageing, but how do we change the perspective of ageing and what that looks like?" Age Concern Horowhenua held an Open Day at its Durham St clubrooms this week to showcase the different networks it provided, such as counselling services, a telephone grocery service, and a pet-visiting service. The Open Day coincided with a rebranding of Age Concern and attracted a large number of people, making inquiries and participating in activities such as weaving and a mobility scooter skills time trial. The stopwatch timed contestants weaving through cones before packing some grocery items as quickly as they could. Age Concern has 32 offices around New Zealand.
On July 1, Age Concern NZ had a re-brand launch - changing what they do and how they look – to better reflect the elder population across Aotearoa. To celebrate, Age Concern Horowhenua (ACH) is hosting an Open Day on Monday August 1, from 10am to 2pm, at their office in Durham Street, Levin. Age Concern has been a presence in Horowhenua for about 20 years, following a realisation during the early 2000s that the growing number of elderly people in the district needed more specific, locally-based social and welfare advocacy. Beginning as an Elder Abuse and Welfare co-ordination society in 2001, it soon became obvious that affiliation with Age Concern NZ was the best option for the society, and the first ACH office opened in the Muaūpoko Tribal Authority building in Levin. Later, under the chairmanship of the late Graham Smellie, ACH moved to rooms at the Tararua Medical Centre. Then, in late 2020, ACH was moved to its current location, to be more central and accessible to those who use their services. Manager Catherine McAuliffe said that with the rising demand for their services over the past two years, now is the perfect time to show the community exactly what ACH has to offer. "There has been a 48 per cent increase in people requesting the visiting service alone, and our registered clients have grown by the same percentage," McAuliffe said. Fortunately, there has also been an increase in the number of volunteers, with just over 40 locals now helping out as visitors, and another 20 helping with the exercise and grocery shopping services. McAuliffe believes the increase in demand is partly because ACH has a more visual presence, utilising both Facebook and the Horowhenua Chronicle, as well as a higher rate of referrals from whānau stuck overseas due to the pandemic. "Covid has also created more of an environment of [caring for others]," she said, "so we are hearing from people who think their neighbours could use our services as well." On the downside, McAuliffe said, although Elder Abuse referral figures were about the same as they were before Covid, they are seeing far more complex cases and a lot more financial abuse occurring. This is possibly due to rising living costs, and McAuliffe believes there needs to be more education around safeguarding elder people's finances as well as how to create an Advance Care plan. Be sure to put Age Concern Horowhenua's Open Day on Monday August 1 into your diary and head along to 14 Durham Street, Levin, to enjoy the range of activities planned, as well as some yummy kai. Any enquiries about the Open Day can be directed to ACH's office on 06 3672181 or admin@ageconcernhoro.co.nz
Lion Foundation makes new vehicle possible!
On the 1st December we held our Christmas Function for Members and Volunteers!
With our very own Trish McGregor & Ann Lawrence!
Written by Liz Tomescu - Horowhenua District Council
On December 14, 1990 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP). The aim of the day was to spread awareness about the need for health provisions and social care for the elderly. The first IDOP was held on October 1, 1991 and Age Concern New Zealand has been organising events throughout the country in support of the day since then. Thirty years later, Covid tried to put a damper on plans Age Concern Horowhenua had in place, but they were having none of that. "Along with the Horowhenua District Council and Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, we had originally planned a large social gathering," said Horowhenua manager Catherine McAuliffe, "but decided to gift celebratory cakes to our local rest home residents instead." Robyn Baker, a registered social worker who has been part of Age Concern NZ for a number of years, said "These members of our community often get forgotten so making the day all about them was a fabulous idea." The Sponge Kitchen café and bakery, who are already a generous supporter of Age Concern Horowhenua, jumped on board - baking 10 cakes to feed 420 residents in local rest homes. The cakes were a mixture of banana and chocolate, were beautifully iced and decorated, and in most cases were large enough to feed the residents over a couple of days. "Masonic Village's cake was at least 12 kilos in weight," said McAuliffe, "and so big and heavy that I had to go sideways through our office door with it." Along with the cakes, each resident also received a card to recognise the day, the printing of which was organised by Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō and funded equally by all three organisations involved. Baker, McAuliffe and Charlene Lyttle from Age Concern Horowhenua were joined by Kim Stewart from HDC and Jennifer Walton from Te Takere, with delivery of the cakes to the rest homes on the day split into shifts - half dropped off for morning tea and the other half at afternoon tea time. "This was also a chance for us to acknowledge those people who support the older people we were celebrating," said Baker. McAuliffe and Baker are grateful the Horowhenua branch of Age Concern has a board that are proactive and passionate about elder issues and fully supportive of the staff in their roles. "The committee has representatives from Shannon, Foxton and Levin, as well as those who can provide a Māori perspective and a mixture of ages," they said. Age Concern New Zealand is a charity dedicated to promoting dignity, wellbeing, equity and respect for people over the age of 65. The organisation provides expert information and support services in response to older people's needs as well as for their friends, and whānau. If you would like to know more about what Age Concern Horowhenua can offer get in touch phone 06 367 2181 or email admin@ageconcernhoro.co.nz. Resource: The Horowhenua Chronicle
