Social life is priority for elderly

The findings forms part of the results of a major consultation delivered by Wetherby in Support of the Elderly (WiSE) to find out more about what people of all ages think about services in their community.

WiSE has thanked more than 100 people from across Wetherby and its surrounding villages for having their say via a survey and events, with the results helping the charity to decide how to develop its work in the future.

Mark Dobson, Chief Operations Officer at WiSE, said: “We’re really proud of the part we play in supporting older people in Wetherby and its surrounding villages.

“We wanted to learn more about the area and its needs, to help us make plans for how we are going to support local people in the future.

“The consultation exercise we’ve just undertaken has helped to open up an important conversation about the future of our work.”

Of those who responded to the consultation at events or online, three quarters said they had accessed the services of a charity or community organisation.

Other results included nearly one in five people wanting better transport services, with others requesting additional befriending, shopping delivery and information support.

Dementia support, walking groups, hobby register, a support group for young parents and mental health support for people of all ages were amongst the other services put forward by respondents.

Existing charitable services also won praise from respondents.

“A very large number of respondents told us they had accessed services provided by WiSE - whether it was attending our café in Boston Spa or dates on our activities and events programme.

“Of these respondents, all reported a positive experience with several commenting positively on the social interaction and the opportunity to meet friends.”

WiSE stepped up in a big way during the Covid-19 pandemic delivering hundreds of prescriptions, shopping and food parcels to people of all ages who were shielding or self-isolating.

This year has seen the charity ran a man with a pan scheme to get over-50s men cooking and launched its services in Walton.