people lives communities

1. Widening options for older people with high support needs Not A One Way Street Angela Catley, Community Catalysts Caroline Bernard, NDTi people lives communities

2. Widening options for older people with high support needs • What’s the issue? • What we set out to do • Defining our terms – models based on reciprocity and mutuality • Some examples • How we approached the work • What we found • What needs to happen next

3. “People think that because I’ve got problems myself I’ve got nothing to offer!”

4. Carried out by National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) and Community Catalysts • Funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation • Part of A Better Life programme – looking at alternative approaches to long term care

5. What’s the issue? • Negative attitudes to older people with high support needs are still pervasive • The range of support options remains limited • Older peoples’ contributions are seldom recognised • Older people and professionals have low awareness of alternative models • There are some signs of positive change in attitudes to older people and ageing • There is a push for new models of public services • Mutuality in an age of austerity

6. What we set out to do • to develop a vision for and definition of ‘mutual support and reciprocity’ • to improve understanding of how to establish and sustain mutual support systems • to examine how to scale up and replicate effective models and approaches

7. Defining our terms • Mutual/mutuality: a term used to describe a reciprocal relationship between two or more people or things – Free online dictionary • Reciprocity: the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit – Oxford Dictionaries online

8. Defining our terms • The models we looked at were based on: • Positive mutual relationships • Older people as contributors

9. A typology of models • Mutually supportive relationships • Mutually supportive communities (including KeyRing Networks) • Cohousing • Homeshare • Shared Lives • Time banking • Circles of Support; • Face-to-face and virtual volunteering schemes; • Self-help and peer support networks.

10. DropBy www.dropby.co.uk • Supportive online community for the over 60s • Set up by Mary Baker who was overwhelmed by how many older people in the UK were lonely and isolated • Focus is on interaction - with family, friends, each other and through interest groups • Accessible - free and easy to join • People can video link, instant message and use chat rooms "Until DropBy I could go a whole week without speaking, in fact sometimes, when I went to answer the phone to my friend, every Saturday evening, I found I had lost my voice.“ Barbara, Surrey

11. Parivar • Serves South Asian Elders and older carers • Runs every Monday from 10.30am -2.30pm, and a hot vegetarian lunch is provided • Older people come together to socialise and connect with each other • Gives carers a break from the person they support • Connections forged through the club result in members supporting and helping each other outside the club “it is unique as there isn’t any group running for older carers, older women, older couples to come together...”

12. How we approached the work • Literature search • Open call for examples • Four fieldwork sites – Oxford, Leeds, Dorset, Swansea & Gower • 70 older people shared experiences in sites • Six case studies focused on specific models (eg Time Banks, senior co-housing), involving a further 50 older people

13. What we found – overarching headlines • A diversity of people, possibilities and approaches exists • Support based on relationships and contribution makes a positive difference • Successful models are clear about their purpose and outcomes • Knowledge, innovators and networks help to make this happen • Nurturing relationships and trust are central to all models

14. “I like using what talents I have in a community sort of way”

15. What we found – overarching headlines • Asset-based and community-led approaches matter • Resources and resourcefulness are important • Problem solving is a central, sustaining feature • There are challenges of scale and replicability

16. What we found – benefits to older people • Companionship and positive long-term relationships • Practical and emotional support through crises • Avoiding isolation • Feeling valued • Avoiding admission to hospital/residential care • Increased income, as part of a formal arrangement

17. What we found – common features of successful developments • Recognising both needs and assets • Problem solving to overcome ‘life’s obstacles’ • Codesign, coproduction and collaboration at the heart • Relationship based delivery/exchange of support • Helping people to ‘age in place’

19. What we found – what needs to change? • Challenge negative attitudes about and narrow perceptions of older age • Raise public interest and tackle professional scepticism • Promote a diverse picture of support based on relationships and contribution • Showcase clear outcomes that can be achieved from mutual support

20. “It’s a constant source of frustration to me that we’re out there and no one knows about us. I think it [Shared Lives] is brilliant”

21. What we found – what needs to change? • Publicise five common features of successful mutual support • Integrate mutual support into local options for older people with high support needs • Celebrate and support successful innovators and ambassadors of mutual support

22. “Nobody’s really asking people what it is they want – lots of people in the professional sector have little idea of how to involve people to address their needs”

23. What needs to happen next? • Communicating and demonstrating the benefits • Raising public awareness and engagement • Tackling interfaces with other services • Replication and scaling out • Mobilising resources

24. Reports Interim report: www.jrf.org.uk/publications/older-peoples-experiences-support Final report: www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/older-people-support-choices-summary.pdf www.jrf.org.uk/publications/widening-choices-high-support-needs

25. Spreading the word • Phased dissemination programme by NDTi and Community Catalysts: • With commissioners and leaders in study sites • National/regional workshops and events

26. Contact caroline.bernard@ndti.org.uk Angela.Catley@communitycatalysts.co.uk