The Leeds LinkAge Plus is a project which aims to support older people gain better access to information, support and services.
The work carried out under LinkAge supports the delivery of the Leeds Strategy “Older Better – a strategy to promote a healthy and active life for older people which itself is based on extensive consultation with older people, and over a decade of extensive partnership working between older people and the voluntary and statutory sectors. Leeds LinkAge Plus contributes to achieving the Local Area Agreement and is one of eight pilots set up around the country which are funded until July 2008 by the Department for Work and Pensions. The project is managed through a partnership of Leeds City Council, Leeds Older People’s Forum and through the involvement of older people themselves.
LinkAge Plus aims to supports Older Better by:
- Creating better information sources through development of an information store providing a single source of information on services, benefits, housing, leisure, work, and other subjects. Access is though on-line, paper, and face-to-face services and will explore the potential of touch-screen and mobile technology
- Working with local voluntary sector organisations to sustain and develop their capacity to provide advice, support, and services
- Working closely with six of the city’s 40 Older People’s Neighbourhood Network Schemes to develop their role as “gateways” sites, taking key information directly to where older people need it and want it – through the organisations they deal with, local shops, and their own homes
- Peer Mentoring – developing teams of older people as “peer” enablers, facilitating older people’s access to the LinkAge Electronic Information Store website, and helping overcome communications barriers such as difficult websites, automated telephone systems, unhelpful organisations and poorly presented information
- Building capacity on the voluntary, community, and faith sectors through an interactive website developed by Leeds Older People’s Forum, mentoring, volunteering, and support groups focusing on the BME sector, social isolation, opportunities for intergenerational working, and life-long learning and leisure
- Encouraging older people to use universal services which they generally under-use such as life-long learning, buses, and leisure services
- Reviewing and evaluating progress through an ‘older experts’ group
- Broadening the remit of the existing Leeds Joint Visiting Team to pilot streamlined assessments with local partners and particularly the voluntary sector, to increase the take up of benefits and improve access to housing, care and support, as well as challenging issues of social isolation and financial exclusion within the targeted communities
To find out more about the LinkAge Project or to receive our newsletter.
Call us on:
Leeds City Council - 0113 2478237
Leeds Older People's Forum -0113 3804911
Send an email:
Leeds Older People's Forum - info@opforum.org.uk
Visit the website:
Leeds Older People’s Forum
Write to us at:
Leeds LinkAge Plus
Leeds City Council
Leeds, LS2 8QB