Background
Glasgow’s Golden Generation has been supporting older adults for over 70 years. We operate three
day centres in the East, North West and South of the City, have a network of clubs and offer
befriending as well as welfare support.
We use these methods to tackle the loneliness and isolation which is too often felt in the older
community and are delighted to be recipients of Vegware’s support.
Our Work in Spring 2021
In-person delivery continues to be on-hold but we have been using our time in the Spring to make
plans for reopening in late summer as the restrictions ease. We know from a client survey and from
the 300+ phone calls we make each week to older adults that they are keen to return to centres, to
get out of the house, meet each other and enjoy our services.
It is our intention to wind down our distanced services such as home deliveries as we gradually reintroduce in-person services such as centre visits.
Blethers
In the meantime we continue to offer telephone and tablet befriending. We are introducing
dementia-friendly ‘blethers’ for small groups of older adults who experience a form of dementia to
speak with our staff and each other. We will also be regularly recording videos to distribute to this
group of our clients to keep them engaged when they are unable to attend.
Careline
We continue to offer our welfare-advice support to older adults across Glasgow via telephone and
tablet appointments. We have also introduced a ‘careline’ to provide both advice and signposting to
partners/other services, the telephone equivalent of a ‘drop-in’ service, this is proving popular
already
We are very grateful for the continued and generous support of Vegware, with your help older
adults in Glasgow will recover from the effects of the pandemic and be together at our centres again
as soon as it is safe to do so.
Overleaf you will find an update from one of those visitors we cant wait to welcome back. If you
would like to reproduce anything in this report or if you would like us to provide you with some
content for your own updates please do let me know and I will be happy to help.
One Centre Visitors Story
B. discovered Glasgow’s Golden Generation after her husband passed away and she was looking for
activities and companionship in her neighbourhood. She quickly found she enjoyed regular visits to
our day centre.
Unfortunately, due to coronavirus, the day centre had to close, and B. found herself without her
weekly trips to look forward to. As she was shielding and unable to leave the house, our volunteers
dropped off care packages every week, including bread, milk and tinned food. She has also received
a phone call from volunteer Mitch every Monday, which she says she very much looks forward to. “I
love having someone to chat to, especially when the centre has been closed for so long. It’s so nice
speaking to Mitch every week.” As for the care packages, she says, “I couldn’t believe it when I was
shielding and the volunteers started to bring packages round with all the essentials. It’s been a
lifeline for me and I’m not sure how I would’ve coped without them.”
When asked about how she stays so upbeat, her response is, “I think you have to be; it helps to
focus on the good things. I have so much support and appreciate all the things Glasgow’s Golden
Generation has done for me. The volunteers are so kind and hardworking, and I’m grateful for the
friendships they’ve provided me. I’m very fortunate.” Despite her great attitude, B. mentions
multiple times that she can’t wait for the centre to reopen and is hugely looking forward to reuniting
with the friends she’s made over the years.
