The document emphasizes the importance of community engagement for older adults, highlighting the negative health effects of loneliness, which can be as harmful as smoking. It outlines strategies for enhancing social connectivity through existing and new activities, peer support, and partnerships, aiming to reduce isolation and promote well-being. Additionally, it discusses the necessity of volunteer involvement and the evaluation of outreach efforts to foster a healthier, more inclusive community.

2. • Get out of the house
• Physically active
• Meet new people
• Make new friends
• More resilient

3. • as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day
• increases the risk of high blood pressure
• and low social interaction are predictive of suicide in older age
• Lonely individuals
• more prone to depression
• increased chance of developing clinical dementia
• more likely to visit their GP, have higher use of medication, higher
incidence of falls
• Can help people to recover faster from some conditions
• Can help to reduce the risk of certain diseases

4. 1. Map and raise the profile of existing community activities
Where appropriate support sustainability
2. Set up new activities
Where appropriate and done with/led by local community
Resource from LinkAge varies between area
3. Outreach
1. ACE project
peer support to encourage lonely people over 55 to engage in their
local community – developed by Bath University
2. Befriending
3. Establish strong referral networks
community and professional

5. Provide positive challenge to and
volunteering opportunities for:
• Schools, Colleges, Universities,
Youth support,
• Businesses,
• General public
Challenge stereotypes
1. First contact and consultation
2. Planning and implementation of work
• Advisory Groups
• BME Consortium Group
• Intergenerational Advisory Group
3. Activity Groups
• Ensure input and ownership
4. Feedback and quality assurance
5. Volunteering
1. Pool knowledge, resource, ideas,
creativity, staff
• Increase productivity
2. Referrals –
• help ensure holistic pathways of
support (older person rather than
agency focus)
3. Training support
• based on organisational specialisms

7. • The arts and culture
• Physical activities
• Sports
• Cookery and food
• Horticulture
• Intergenerational activities
• Social activities
• IT (digital inclusion)
• Training and development
reduce psychological barriers
• Wellbeing days
• Community Questionnaire
• My stories/videos
• What’s On Guides
• with photos of local people at activities
• Referral network
• across professions/social prescribing (e.g
community nurses)
• Press, publicity, social media – profile and
brand
must be at the heart of developments
• Demand driven activities
• Creative development and ownership of the
groups
• Partnerships - maximise resources
• Encourage wider industry/sector support
• Volunteers to run sessions
• where appropriate
• Create conditions for volunteering

8. Video – 30-45 seconds

9. • Being older person and community led
• Leads to ownership of/identity with, LinkAge
• Ensuring quality
• Maintains reputation of LinkAge
• Evaluation and impact
• Formal/paid for – through University West of England /Bath University
• Research students
• Social Return on Investment / cost savings
• Volunteering
• Crucial to deliver - (over 220 volunteers)
• Virtuous circles of volunteering (although something we have to nurture this)
• Partnership working
• Better together!
• Pool resources, reach more people, greater impact

10. Evidenced outcomes – From the University West of England evaluation report:
LinkAge:
• Meets the agenda’s established by the Marmot review – Fair Society Healthy Lives
The outreach work
• Draws in people that feel isolated in their community/are lonely
The activities
• Help people feel more socially connected
• Improve well being and happiness (ONS happiness index)
• Increase physical activity
LinkAge also challenges stereotypes of people 55+ and promotes positive images of ageing
LinkAge also undertakes specific work around:
• Intergenerational projects
• Cross Cultural projects and support