Ageing Well
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How do we do this?
Improving Ageing in North Somerset (IANS)
A project for people over 65 in North Somerset coordinated by Voluntary Action North Somerset. IANS is a 5-year project funded by the National Lottery to Improve Ageing for older people in North Somerset. We want North Somerset to be a place where
· Older people’s knowledge, experience and skills are valued
· The views, wishes and ideas of older people are included in discussions when new plans, services and facilities are being discussed or developed
· All older people feel welcomed and included
· Older people aren’t disadvantaged from getting help and support because of where they live in North Somerset
What will Improving Ageing in North Somerset be doing?
We will be:
· Setting up local forums with older people.
· Working with local older residents to produce a newsletter.
· Working to tackle ageism and promote an age-friendly approach.
· Supporting older people from marginalised groups, including those with sight and hearing loss, LGBTQ+ individuals, older people without family support and those facing racial or ethnic inequality.
· Working with other organisations to provide Good Neighbour Schemes in rural parts of North Somerset.

How can you get involved?
There are lots of ways to get involved. You can
· Be added to our mailing list, so you receive updates on our work
· Volunteer with IANS as an Age Champion
· Join one of the forums we will be setting up
· Contribute to the newsletter by writing articles or joining the newsletter steering group
· Join our reading group to comment on information being produced for older residents
· Become a Good Neighbour Scheme volunteer
Age-Friendly North Somerset
An Age-friendly Community is a place that enables people to age well and live a good later life. Somewhere that people can stay living in their homes, participate in the activities they value, and contribute to their communities, for as long as possible. North Somerset is part of the UK Age Friendly Community Network https://ageing-better.org.uk/uk-network-age-friendly-communities
Prevention
We all know that prevention is better than cure. VANS chairs the Ageing Well Prevention workstream for North Somerset which brings together people working across the voluntary and community sector, the local authority and the NHS to look at how we can help people in later life stay healthy and active for longer.
VCSE Ageing Well Forum and Ageing Well Bulletin
VANS brings together voluntary and community sector colleagues in a quarterly forum to look at issues affecting older people in North Somerset. VANS also publishes a monthly Ageing Well Bulletin which has updates on local services and events for older people, the latest national information, links to campaigns, research, training and funding opportunities

North Somerset State of Ageing Report
The State of Ageing report on 1st October (International Day of Older People) at the Royal Hotel in Weston. An audience of older people and colleagues from the VCSE, North Somerset Council and Health came together to hear the findings of the report and to discuss how we can work together to move things forward and make the changes that would help improve later life in North Somerset.
The key findings from the report include
• People like living in North Somerset – and recognise the challenges that the council and NHS face.
• Misconception that ageing and later life issues are primarily the domain of health and social care services.
• Inadequate public transport affects people’s ability to access services and leisure opportunities and to feel connected.
• Over-reliance on digital solutions excludes some people in later life (29% of those over 75 cannot use the internet – Age UK research)
• Mobile libraries, along with Village Agents, play a crucial role in rural communities as a source of information.
• Great potential to develop system thinking in North Somerset, where insight and evidence are drawn together from a range of sources, not just as a result of contract monitoring or individualised organisation reporting.
• Challenges for carers
• People recognise their housing may not be suitable but struggle to right size and want to remain within the community they know.
Click here to see The Full State of Ageing Report











