Stuart GouldenYork Mind are looking for volunteers aged over 50 years old to join an innovative new project which seeks to support older people in their local community living with severe and enduring mental ill-health.
The idea is a simple one: gather a team of similar-age volunteers who will support each individual in accessing services which they would otherwise be excluded from. Activities could range from regular exercise sessions to visits to a local lunch club; whatever activity an individual feels may help them along their journey to recovery.
The York Mind Silver Dreams project will help to tackle an area of great need. People moving into retirement age with a mental health condition often fall through the gap and end up without support. Older peoples’ services often cannot cope with the complex needs of someone with a condition like Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder, and those that do tackle mental problems tend to focus very much on the degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s for example, or Dementia, which have very different support needs.
The pilot project has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Silver Dreams fund and, should it take off, it has the potential to receive further funding up to the tune of £1m to be replicated elsewhere.
To enquire about volunteering on the Silver Dreams project simply click on the “enquire now” button at the top right hand-side of this article.
