Given the demographic forecasts, the key principle of Lublin’s older citizen policy is to systematically improve their quality of life by enabling older persons in Lublin to stay independent and socially active in their locality for as long as possible.

Programme for Senior Citizens’ Support and Social Activation in Lublin, is a key document that underlies the city’s policy towards older people. Its main objective is to improve the quality of life and functioning of older citizens and to stimulate and support older persons’ social engagement by improving availability of support and activation services (Currently, the 4th edition of the Programme for 2021–2025 is already underway). Adopted priorities have enabled the City of Lublin to build continuously for a number of years now its own support system. The action plan allows for the diversity of the target group in terms of, among other things, state of health, education, income or family model, and creates optimal conditions for active older persons, but also enables less mobile people to function efficiently.

In order to stimulate activities aimed at improving Lublin’s older citizens’ standard of living, Lublin Senior Citizens’ Council was established in 2011, i.e., a consultative and advisory body, also tasked with facilitating or initiating actions for the benefit of the Lublin older persons community. The municipality also appointed Lublin Mayor’s Plenipotentiary for Senior Citizens. Their role is, firstly, to monitor and identify social problems and needs of older persons; undertake actions so that older people can exercise their full potential; and liaise with associations/institutions dealing with senior citizens’ affairs.

Further, to keep older persons active and to improve service quality given to Lublin’s older people, city administration introduced a number of innovative and residentially-based projects as follows:

• Programme ‘Lublin Zone 60+’ aimed at residents of the City of Lublin aged 60 and over, with an objective to enable older people easy access to a wide range of services, like culture, sports, leisure and science activities, on preferential terms. Lublin Senior Citizens’ card is an instrument within ‘Lublin Zone 60+’ Programme — a total of almost 25,000 cards have already been issued, and over 150 programme’s partners offer older people in Lublin discounted rates for their goods or services.
• Modern care services tailored to the oldest residents and their caregivers are a crucial element of Lublin’s policy. In 2019–2020, three innovative, self-government centres have been launched. Their operation model has been adapted to meet the needs of Lublin’s older people. These centres combine formulas of temporary, 24-hour stays (including places providing respite for long-term carers of dependent people, as well as multi-generational housing for ageing parents and their adult children with disabilities); day-care stays, and specialised rehabilitation for people with memory disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, but also intellectual disabilities.
• Thanks to external funding, new forms of services are being introduced in the residential environment of older people in Lublin (night-time services, assistance services, respite services for elderly caregivers, or home care points located in different districts of the city, which provide, e.g., lunches for lonely and dependent people).

The city also runs:

• 6 Day Care Centres for Older People — with occupational therapy, workshops to develop hobbies, mental health counselling, social worker, health advice, PE classes, rehabilitation, lunches, social events.
• 31 Senior Citizens’ Clubs — for the city’s oldest but still active residents. The services offered by the Senior Citizens’ Clubs include, among other things: workshops to develop hobbies, health-promotion or educational classes and informal get-togethers.
• 7 Nursing Homes – offering high standard, round-the-clock care for people unable to live independently, including one facility for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. It is the only facility of this kind in the region.
• 75 places in sheltered housing, including for people with disabilities and for older people.
• 8 community self-help centres, including for people with memory disorders.

The City of Lublin also takes into account various challenges that arise out of location of a particular facility, or out of transport links between the facilities. As of 2019, free public transport for older persons has been introduced in Lublin. People over 65 years of age, both residents of Lublin and all visitors to the city of Lublin, are entitled to free travel.

Advancement of technology, which enables older persons to be independent in their local environment is equally important. ‘SOS for Seniors’ Telecare system operating in Lublin from 2019 is a free service for people with health risks, who require round-the-clock monitoring and support. An alarm wristband, allows to monitor vital life parameters or identify life-threatening incidents. Older people can communicate with the Telecare Centre via the band. Currently, more than 1,000 seniors use the so-called ‘Life Bands’, and the system is expanding as we speak.Another important area to be mentioned is education for older people. Its done through the University of the Third Age, the University of the Second Age, or the periodic courses organised, e.g., to counteract digital exclusion, as well as trainings for older persons – animators for a given locality, older volunteers, who want to engage in the life of the local community and be inspiring leaders.Older people’s physical well-being and preventive health care is an equally important area. This is supported by a number of available, and age-appropriate sports activities (Nordic walking, Tai Chi) and preventive health schemes, e.g., flu and pneumococcal vaccine for seniors or a chronic disease self-help programme, health promotion days, etc.
Key issues such as the safety of older people, understood as lack of concerns about health, be it mental or physical, in all dimensions of older persons’ social life, cannot be overlooked. In the safety area, Lublin focuses on education, i.e., lectures on the most frequent threats presented by the professionals from Lublin City Wardens, and the police force, as well as hands-on classes, like basic self-defence techniques. The city also carries out periodical projects aimed at increasing the safety of Lublin’s residents, such as ‘Safer together — connecting generations’. Thanks to this project almost 1.5 thousand people, from children to older people, has learned effective methods of preventing various types of threats.
Intergenerational cooperation and integration play a major role in activating Lublin’s older generation. Many events and initiatives are organised under the banner of building intergenerational ties. Events like: Lublin Senior Citizens’ Days; the celebration of the International Day of Intergenerational Solidarity; ‘De-charm the Autumn of your Life’ with an outdoor Senior Citizens’ Town, or a contest for a ‘Senior-friendly Place’ as well as the ‘LubSenior Fair’ are an excellent opportunity to get to know each other, to build relationships, share knowledge and experiences.
The challenges to be faced by Lublin in the future are defined as: how to continue further development of our city as an age-friendly city, in particular through:
• further participation of residents in the development of local social policies,
• promoting healthy lifestyles among older persons and Lublin’s younger generation;
• eliminating barriers in various dimensions of social functioning and improved access to facilities, e.g.: through universal design, ensuring accessibility for older persons and people with disabilities, as well as the promotion of facilities (educational, cultural, sporting, recreational) that are fully accessible and friendly to older persons;
• making most of the potential of new technologies to enable people to remain in their own households for as long as possible;
• further development of modern social services dedicated to older citizens;
• increased availability of caregivers of dependent people.