Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

33Where we are nowThere is a considerable amount of activity supported byolder people in the community. Older people have welcomedopportunities to share and celebrate what they do, linked tofinding out more about access to support and funding.Strengthening networks of voluntary, community and statutoryagencies offers scope for providing more consistent localsupport for older people to contribute to local communities.It also provides opportunities to draw in emerging groupswith a particular interest or purpose, that may not otherwise beable to access appropriate support e.g. lesbian, gay, bi-sexualand transgender groups (LGBT).The trend towards making more money available to localcommunities through ward committees and community chests,as well as new approaches such as participatory budgeting,offer opportunities for older people to access local resourcesto support their activities.There are models of good practice for supporting andencouraging volunteering (e.g. Volunteer Centre Newcastle; AgeConcern Newcastle; Search Project; Dementia Care Partnership).There is scope for taking a fresh look at volunteering to match thechanging aspirations and needs of older people (e.g. time banks;role of older volunteers in delivery of low-level support services).A network of befriending agencies has been establishedto share good practice and develop a toolkit for befriendingvolunteers focused on encouraging inter-dependence ratherthan dependence. This work needs more resources to developinto a strong network.