Engage with Age is recruiting. Come work with us.

Engage with Age’s PAL Project has received the support of the National Lottery Community Fund for its work addressing loneliness with older people.

Two posts are being advertised: A full-time, three-year fixed term post for the PAL Project Development Officer for Group Activities, and a full-time three year fixed term Development Officer post for Befriending (job share considered).

The posts are being advertised through Community NI Website.

We are looking for committed and enthusiastic individuals with a can-do attitude. If you think you fit the bill we would love to hear from you.

Here are the links:
Development Officer Activity Groups: https://www.communityni.org/job/development-officer-pal-project-group-activities
Development Officer Befriending: https://www.communityni.org/job/development-officer-pal-project-befriending-officer

For further information email: info@engagewithage.org.uk or call 028 9073 5696

Engage with Age is delighted to announce that the Dementia Friendly Artist in Residence exhibition, “Remember I Forget”, is now open for the public.

Dementia Friendly Artist in Residence Anna O’Kane has worked with 6 centres across Belfast since January 2023, facilitating art workshops with people living with dementia. The themes of the workshops have been directed by the participants have focused on their lives, treasured memories, and hobbies. A wonderful range of artworks in a variety of media have been created and are now available for viewing.

The ”Remember I Forget” exhibition dates and venues are as follows:

12th June – 7th July: Nazareth Care Village
516 Ravenhill Road, Belfast BT6 0BW. Tel: 028 9069 0600

7th – 31st July: Tullycarnet Library
Kinross Avenue, Kings Road, Belfast BT5 7GF. Tel: 028 9048 5079

31st July – 17th August: Lisburn Road Library,
440 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 6GR. Tel: 028 9050 0223

17th August – 29th September: Skainos Centre,
241 Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 1AF. Tel: 028 9045 8560

1st – 31st October: 2 Royal Avenue
Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1DA. Open 10am-6pm Mon-Sun

Please call venues for opening times.

Engage with Age is delighted to announce it has been awarded a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund of £385,172 for its PAL Project over the next three years. The PAL Project name stands for “People Addressing Loneliness” and is a peer lead programme enabling older people to address loneliness and isolation. Having run since 2018 the PAL Project features older people getting involved in activity groups, mostly run my themselves, and also volunteering as telephone befrienders for older people who want some one to one company.

This funding will enable the project to continue for another three years and benefit an estimated 500+ older people who are experiencing loneliness over the next three years.

Previous beneficiaries of the PAL Project said that the project has “given me a new lease of life.  I feel physically and mentally alive again”, and “I always look forward to the call and I always enjoy the chat. It’s one of the best bits of my week. I love it.”

For further information contact eamon.quinn@engagewithage.org.uk

Engage with Age is commencing a new programme in South Belfast just off the lower Donegall Road.

The St. Simon’s Community Hub on Nubia Street is a recently renovated community hall. Engage with Age is working in partnership with the centre offering a weekly a programme from the 24th April – 6th June 2023. Eash session starts at 10.30am and runs until 12noon. Activities will include “Eat Well Bingo”, crafts, exercise and more.

The programme is open to all older people in the area. For further information please contact Leanne on 028 9013 6393 or by email leanne.andrews@south-city.co.uk

The Christmassy Clipped Disco is back at the Oh Yeah Centre.

7.30-9.30pm, Monday 12th December 2022.

Join DJs Groovery and Rhythm Bandit for the best in 1960s and 1970s tunes, with a liberal sprinkling of your favourite Christmas tunes. Think Slade, Roy Wood and Wizard, and Mud!

Admission is free though booking is required.

To book telephone: 028 9073 5696, email eamon.quinn@engagewithage.org.uk or log on to

https://thechristmassyslippeddisco2022.eventbrite.co.uk

Age Friendly Belfast’s Positive Ageing Month programme has been launched, with an array of activities for older people across Belfast.

Positive Ageing Month is an initiative of Belfast City Council and the Belfast Health Development Unit’s Age Friendly Belfast programme. The month aims to offer older people opportunities to enjoy the city, avail of services benefitting older people, and also contribute to planning within Belfast.

Highlights include the Age Friendly Convention at Belfast City Hall on 4th October, Be Prepared events across the city, Tea Dances, falls prevention workshops, iPad and IT training and more.

Engage with Age’s contributions to Positive Ageing Month include the “Festival of Windows” and “My Story and Yours” exhibitions, forum events, dementia training and The Slipped DiscoTM.

To find out more, click https://www.makinglifebettertogether.com/positive-ageing-month-2022/ or email positiveageingmonth@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 07713684705

Engage with Age is delighted to announce that Anna O’Kane is Engage with Age’s Dementia Friendly Artist in Residence.

Anna has had an ongoing association with Engage with Age since 2014, working on the TESA DRI research programme with Ulster University. Anna studied at the Art College at Ulster University and has a BA in Jewellery and Silversmithing and a postgraduate diploma in Art and Design. Anna has over 30 years’ experience working as a Community Artist.

The Dementia Friendly Artist in Residence programme will work with six dementia support facilities to enable people living with dementia to be creative and also experience improved social connections. The programme will also provide training for up to 60 staff, carers and art facilitators, enabling improved interactions with people affected by dementia. The programme will culminate in an exhibition which will be viewed in libraries and centres across Belfast.

For further information contact Engage with Age on 028 9073 5696/ info@engagewithage.org.uk

Engage with Age held its Summer Barbeque on 19th August 2022 at Inverary Community Centre.

Normally this wouldn’t be an event worthy of any notice, however, this was the first time Engage with Age held a large gathering of people since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The company’s ongoing activities have been continuing, albeit on a smaller scale.

Approximately 60 people joined in for some wonderful food from our friends at Arches Café, enjoying company and music. All were “fed and watered”, as they say, while keeping everyone safe.

To stay up to date with Engage with Age’s ongoing activities log on to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EngageWithAgeBelfast or call the office on 028 9073 5696.

Engage with Age’s PAL Project has been operating since 2018. EWA recently worked with SP Consulting in Antrim to evaluate the effectiveness of the PAL Project with a view to understanding the benefit of the programme and learning how to support lonely and isolated older people better.

“Finding Their Feet” is the name of the report produced. The report highlights the benefits of peer lead approaches where older people take the lead in formulating activities and running events. The resounding feedback from over 200 people consulted is that the PAL Project has positively improved their health.

One participant said: “What I use to do before was stay at home, looking out the window, doing nothing, staring at the walls, it was terrible, but now my life is really totally different.”

As well as the report, a number of training videos have been produced, featuring the words of volunteer group leaders and interviews with older people. Engage with Age will use these resources to help inform practice and improve future support within the sector.

The report is in the Links section of this website, and you can read the abridged report by clicking this weblink: https://engagewithage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Finding-Their-Feet-Abridged-Report.pdf

The four training videos are available to view on the following links:

PAL Project:  What is loneliness like?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UdWxcdsPLc

PAL Project:  Working with loneliness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTxvLY7l0tw

PAL Project:  Getting the welcome right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6W7iSgVgLI

PAL Project:  Running groups
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixo2aL0fL9A

Members of the Words Alive creative writing group met Belfast City Council’s Lord Mayor Councillor Kate Nicholl. The Lord Mayor met the group further to opening the Words Alive exhibition “Your Story and Mine” at Ormeau Road Library. This was an opportunity for Words Alive to highlight the importance of the stories of our older people, and for the Lord Mayor to celebrate the achievements of Words Alive in creating such a useful and important record.