Concern over end of lottery-funded loneliness project in Middlesbrough

The boss of a lottery-funded programme which aims to reduce loneliness and isolation among older people in Middlesbrough says she fears gaps will be left when it ends.

Ageing Better Middlesbrough, which is led by the charity Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind, began in April 2015 and was given £6m by the National Lottery’s Community Fund to spend over six years.

It was due to end in March next year, but was extended another a year, albeit with reduced funding.

Michelle Dawson, who manages the programme, said she was a “little bit scared” for some of the partnerships in the town that had been developed and the work carried out.

She also said a joined up approach to providing support for older people was needed with a single access point to the services available for them.

During the coronavirus outbreak Ageing Better Middlesbrough has provided a free telephone befriending service for older people, many of whom have found themselves unable to venture outdoors.

The project has also delivered ‘wellbeing’ packs and food parcels, and provided digital devices such as tablets to older people so they can interact remotely with others.

Mrs Dawson said many of its clients had very high levels of anxiety about being out in the community and catching the virus.

Referring to gaps which would be left when the programme ended, Mrs Dawson said: “I appreciate within these scenarios defaulting to Ageing Better can be useful and we are doing lots of work and have been doing it for six years.

“I am though a little bit scared for some of our partnerships and this work when we are no longer here.”

Mrs Dawson, who gave a presentation to Middlesbrough Council’s adult social care and services scrutiny panel, said the programme wanted to expand the digital support it provided to Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the town.

She said the “digital divide” in Middlesbrough between those who had access to the internet and those who did not was pronounced.

Mrs Dawson said: “It is a massive issue that everybody really should be addressing and investing in, but nobody is.

“We formed a partnership to bring people around the table to start figuring out what we could to help.

“We have attracted £20,000 worth of funding to develop an online platform that will enable businesses to donate devices – we will have them refurbished by the private sector, they will keep 50 per cent of the devices and donate 50 per cent back.

“Organisations will have a log in to be able to apply via the platform for devices for their service users and groups in the community.”

Mrs Dawson said 72 per cent of the people who most needed help during lockdown periods had no access to the internet.

Councillor Jim Platt, chairman of the committee, said efforts to get older people online were commendable, but asked what steps had been taken to ensure they did not get hacked as they were vulnerable in this way.

Mrs Dawson said: “We have digital support available for older people to help reassure them about the steps that they can take to protect themselves from online scammers and have partnerships with the police that provide sessions.

“We are not supporting people for instance to put their banking online – we are supporting them to get online in order so they can access Zoom to connect with other people.

“Our priority is about loneliness and isolation.”

Mrs Dawson said a “utopia vision” of hers was a single point of access for older people for all the support available through the third sector and local community groups.

She said: “There are hundreds of different people and phone numbers you might need to contact if you were trying to access support for different things.

“You can phone one number to get an activity pack delivered to your house and phone someone else to get a slow cooker delivered, for instance.

“Whilst we are doing our best, there is still not a strategy to join up the support for older people – that is a gap we feel needs more investment and support.”

Councillor Jeanette Walker said: “What I am worried about – as you quite rightly pointed out – is what happens when you have gone.

“Do we need some kind of statutory investment into this area of concern for older people and generations of people in the future?”

Mrs Dawson said: “I am generally not a person who would say what we need to solve this issue is loads of money.

“Money helps, but what is really important is strategic leadership locally that connects the sector across the health and social care partnerships we are in and being able to make decisions around investment that bridge all of the gaps and is a little bit more overreaching and with a slightly bigger vision than what we have now.”

Members agreed to invite Mrs Dawson back for a further update in six months time.

To contact Ageing Better Middlesbrough call (01642) 257034 or visit www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk