In Sefton we want to ensure that our older citizens have a good quality of life. This means access to the support and services required to maintain active independence for as long as possible. We also want our services to listen to the experience of older people and use this experience to plan for the future. Our approach has always been based on partnership working with older people at the heart of our work. Support from Sefton’s Adult Forum and Health and Wellbeing Board has ensured that our Age Friendly activities have received the strategic support needed.

As we work towards Age Friendly Sefton, we will work alongside older people and partners to develop our Age-friendly model and agree key areas for action. Age Friendly Sefton seeks to inspire change and build on our communities and organisations, to ensure that our older citizens are valued for the contribution that they make to community life. We will work together to change attitudes to ageing and older people, enabling ageing to be viewed more positively and recognising older people as assets in our community. We will build on our past achievements and communicate our Age Friendly Vision for Sefton.
In order to achieve this vision, Age Friendly Sefton has established the Sefton Partnership for Older Citizens which is made up of older people and representatives from The Local Authority, Clinical Commissioning Groups, Transport, Housing and Voluntary Sector who meet bi-monthly to work collaboratively on Age Friendly initiatives. Age Friendly policies are being adopted by all partners such as our recent Position Statement on Digital Inclusion. Other Age Friendly initiatives include a Community Toilet Scheme which we plan to develop into an Age Friendly Retail Project and a Travel Safely Scheme lead by Mersey Travel. The two Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups are key partners in our Age Friendly Initiatives and work closely with our Partnership Board to achieve improvements in our Health Services. Our network of Older People’s Forums meet in six locations every month and the forums are well represented on the Sefton Partnership for Older Citizens. We have a forum membership of over 400 older people.

Sefton has a vibrant voluntary sector with many opportunities for older people to participate in their local community. Living Well Sefton, a Public Health Initiative, provides a Community Connector service as part of a wide ranging Early Intervention and Prevention Programme for Sefton. The Community Connectors can work with older people to help them to link in with services to prevent loneliness and isolation. Age Concern Liverpool and Sefton also provide a range of services and activities for older people including volunteering opportunities and an important Befriending Scheme. There are numerous small groups and societies, represented in the Sefton Older Persons’s Forums, who will also work with us to achieve our aims for Age Friendly Sefton.