Office for older persons with organized volunteering

Status: Ongoing

Evaluated

IPOH Slovenia

Print this page City population: 3465Practice started in 2021

Summary

The municipality of Log – Dragomer has an office for older persons where information can be obtained about rights and options after retirement, about volunteer activities, and what is happening in the municipality regarding older persons. This year, a dementia point will also be established in the office, as well as the possibility of professional advice regarding how older persons can furnish their homes.

The office has qualified volunteers who are the link between the needs of older residents and their relatives and institutions that provide formal forms of rights of older persons (i.e. partner services, Social Work Center, Retirement Home,…). While the office has been operating since 2021, it was found that older persons were initially reluctant to access office services. To improve the outreach of the office, telephone calls and field visits to older persons were initiated. The office works in partnership with the following organizations: Institute of Anton Trstenjak, Dragomer – Lukovica Retired Association, Log Retired Association, Log – Dragomer Primary School and Log – Dragomer Municipality.

A newly established or organized network of volunteers is also managed through the office, according to the methodology of WHO. Volunteers offer assistance to older persons in the community with minor housework, social visits, and the like. There are also two additional groups who contribute to the office for older persons: (1) a group of relatives who provide care for a older family member at home; and (2) a group for quality aging, which is made up of older residents. These groups meet weekly or monthly, depending on their needs.

The office facilitates older people in Log – Dragomer to be informed, included in society, and enabled to participate.

Website: https://podajroko.log-dragomer.si/

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): People who are about to retire very soon

Sector(s): Long-term care

Other sector(s): Informal care

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Accessibility
Dementia
Healthy behaviours (e.g. physical activity)
Intergenerational activities
Inclusion
Technologies

Contact details

Name: Sternad Kuharič, Marjeta

Email address: marjeta-sternad-kuharic@log-dragomer.si

Preferred language(s): Slovenian, English

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Local authorities
Older People’s Association
Research institution

How collaboration worked: The highlighted practice was financing through a project that was co-financed by the ERDF and the Municipality of Log – Dragomer. While the leading partner was the municipality, project activities were divided between the partners.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Older people or their representatives cooperated with their ideas even in the initial phase of the project. Their ideas on how the office for older persons should be established were included during the implementation phase of the project. Older persons are also included as volunteers in the operation of both the office and the volunteer network.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
It has been observed that there is more response over the phone than personal visits to the office. Therefore volunteers have been moved more into the field and through personal contact in their homes.

Feedback:
We received a response to the highlighted good practice, as 6 volunteers signed up to work in the office for older persons, recording the visits to the office from older persons and phone calls, so that they can exchange information. A network of volunteers has also been established, who have attended volunteer training. There are currently 12 active volunteers in the network. Responses are exchanged through the active group of relatives and the group for quality aging.

Expansion plans:
The expansion of the practice is underway, at the end of November a dementia point is opening in the office for older persons. From 2024, the office will also be providing advice on furnishing apartments for older persons.

Looking back

Reflections:
By carrying out the practice we connected both active and less active older persons to help each other. New ties and friendships were established. During this time, we could delve even deeper into how to animate the younger generation to get involved in volunteering.

Challenges:
At the beginning, we encountered the fact that older persons in the community did not understand how the office could be a resource for them. There was a lot of skepticism. However, the good will and enthusiasm of the volunteers overcame this and word began to spread about what we were doing. At the beginning, more of the burden was on fewer volunteers, by attracting new ones, this burden was distributed. However, we still want greater involvement of young people, this will still need to be studied how to address this issue.