Bruce Weintraub’s Post

Older adults' input needed in transition to residential care, says study Despite the efforts of care staff to develop a home-like environment and provide facility-led activities, study participants were happier undertaking self-led activities such as charity or volunteer work, taking care of others, watching birds, or listening to the radio/music. Residential care facilities should consider introducing resident-led programs rather than expecting residents to fit into existing programs, the study found. Collaboration between policymakers, residential care managers and activity staff is important in developing programs that are meaningful to residents, ease adaptation and reduce loneliness and boredom in residential care facilities. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3U6pwWG

Today, we pause for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. While for many of us outside of Canada, this is only our second year recognizing this date, we understand its significance and are committed to increasing our awareness of its history, learning from it, and acknowledging it meaningfully within our own communities. Once again, we’re sharing Rise Consulting 's Resource Guide for NDTR. The effort and thoughtfulness that the team at Rise Consulting—a fellow B Corp—puts into this resource is tremendous. It provides actionable steps for those looking to engage with reconciliation in a more intentional and informed way. The 2024 guide offers advice and suggestions for 3 main actions: 1. Listen and Learn: Understanding the truth about residential schools is the first step toward healing and Reconciliation. Listening to survivors validates their experiences and corrects ongoing misinformation in our education systems. 2. Act: Listen to community and create and participate in relationships in the right way to celebrate and support your Indigenous peers, colleagues, friends and family. 3. Purchase: Support Indigenous-led or Indigenous-owned businesses, especially those where the proceeds are given directly to the Orange Shirt Society or another Indigenous charity or non-profit in your community. https://lnkd.in/gnPjkFTY #NationalDayforTruthAndReconcilation #EveryChildMatters

📢 A new LGA White Paper reveals a critical funding gap impacting children's services, including support for SEND transport and early years education. Many councils are cutting back on essential services to manage these costs. The LGA urges political parties to commit to increased funding and reforms to ensure we can continue supporting our children and young people, and rightly so. Come on, its 2024!! Let's prioritise the future of our children and young people! #ChildrensServices #SEND #LocalGovernment #PublicServices #Funding https://lnkd.in/gKfduGZu

🚨Funding Alert! @bchealthycommunities Age-friendly grant is open! Local and Indigenous governments, organizations, and communities can submit applications for 2024 grants to BC Healthy Communities until August 26, 2024. There are two streams: Stream 1 grant for as much as $25,000 for age-friendly assessments and action plans Stream 2 grant for as much as $15,000 for age-friendly projects. https://bit.ly/3Wirbtt

Your Support is Greatly appreciated and very much needed. Mission: Our mission is to develop and sustain affordable housing, programs and activities that improve the economic, social, health and cultural well-being of all residents in the New 12th Ward and beyond in the City of ST. Louis through education, training and advocacy. Vision: The vision of the organization is to create a community that offers resources and opportunities that meet and respond to the economic, social, health, cultural and spiritual needs of the residents in their natural environment. Creating a community that is self-sustaining, bonded with a common theme: Working in Unity to Empower the Community and Increase Economical Means Objective: To prevail over social and economic injustices Organizational Focus: To engage, educate, empower, and activate its resources towards enrichment In an effort to develop a community center anchor that can provide services to the children, families and elderly in our community, economic development and support to local entrepreneurs interested in developing their projects we have established the following goals: 1.    Establish and sustain education, career and employment opportunities in emerging industries, specifically "green and conservation" areas; 2.    Offer residents educational opportunities on creating and managing wealth; 3.    Offer residents education and opportunities for home ownership, maintenance and stability for their families; 4.    Support residents in accessing and receiving quality and affordable healthcare; 5.    Support residents in accessing and receiving government support and resources; 6.    Continue neighborhood stabilization and crime reduction efforts and; 7.    Establish and sustain cultural, arts and entertainment in the First Ward. 8.    To educate residents on the functions of government and the responsibility of representatives and department heads By providing a safe haven where youth, families, and the elderly are able to participate in a comprehensive program of services, enrichment and opportunities for education and growth, the community becomes empowered, and leadership development occurs in the personal, professional and social lives of the residents throughout the community.

**HCC Savings Proposals (HWRC closures etc)** With power comes responsibility. Sometimes that responsibility lays heavy, no more so than tomorrow when I and my fellow Hampshire County Council Cabinet members will decide on the 13 savings proposals recommended to us by our officers. It's the role of officers to recommend courses of action, and of councillors to decide. The proposals include closure of 12 Waste and Recycling Centres, reductions in Community Transport, termination of Homelessness Support Grants, addition charging in areas such as countyside car parks and increased charges for adult social care. We'll also consider the removal of 17 School Crossing Patrols, reduction in cultural and community grants and in funding for some highways functions (but not road repairs). No one enters politics to take these decisions. Why are we having to consider them? Hampshire County Council, in common with most other local authorities, faces an unprecedented financial challenges. Let me say this very clearly though. Hampshire County Council is not ‘going bust’. We have a legal responsibility to provide essential services, and we cannot refuse support when it’s requested. This includes social care for older people, support for those with disabilities, the care of vulnerable children and school transport for those who qualify. These services are rightfully provided free of charge to those who need them, but they do come at a significant cost. We face a projected recurring budget shortfall of £175million by the end of the 2025/26 financial year. To address this we conducted the ‘Future Services’ public consultation from January to March this year, asking people from across Hampshire for their views on proposed changes and reductions to some local services. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks the 14,400 residents who responded. To my councillor colleagues who scrutinised these proposals and to the many dozens of people who have contacted me in the last couple of weeks as awareness of the decisions we must make has once again grown. We have read all your views. Your feedback, has been invaluable, offering fantastic insights, ideas and challenges. We have heard you. And we will be taking every single representation into account when we make our decisions tomorrow. You will be able to watch proceedings should you wish, as they will be broadcast on the County Council's Youtube channel. The meeting starts at 9am, there will be two hours of representations by members of the public, organisations affected by the proposals and County Councillors first.

Does anyone know of any compelling justification for why #AntiochCityCouncil members should be allocated $100,000 in taxpayer funds to host community events at their own discretion, outside of the City's established grant programs and oversight processes? While supporting community events can be a worthwhile endeavor, allocating $100,000 of taxpayer dollars directly to council members without a clear process or guidelines raises concerns about potential misuse or lack of transparency. Was there any public input, needs assessment, or defined criteria that would justify this significant increase in funding for council member-organized events? Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker pushed for the increase, stating that $2,000 was "a slap in the face" and that council members invest their own money into the community. However, she provided no specific examples of how she or others have spent personal funds. The council initially requested $12,000 total for community events ($2,000 per district and $4,000 for #LamarThorpe. During the council meeting, this amount was abruptly increased to $100,000 ($20,000 per district and $20,000 for the mayor), with the funds coming from the general fund. The #CityOfAntioch is already facing significant budget deficits, utilizing $4.6 million from the #BudgetStabilizationFund to balance the current budget. City staff has repeatedly warned the council about overspending and depleting the stabilization funds. #CouncilSlushFund #AntiochDeservesBetter #VoteThemOut #VoteLamarThorpeOut #ElectionYear #VoteResponsibly https://lnkd.in/gvf5PDkz

We are pleased to announce that we are once again working with Devon County Council to distribute grants from the Household Support Fund.  Funding is available for community groups working with households who find it difficult to access support elsewhere. The funding is aimed at alleviating immediate needs and helping those who are struggling to afford food, energy bills, and other related essentials. This is a targeted programme acknowledging that some members of our community are under-served by other support programmes and are therefore likely to be impacted more severely by the cost of living crisis. For this reason, we are inviting applications from organisations whose work supports priority groups who are not accessing support through other channels. These priority groups are: • Minority ethnic communities and/or  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and/or  • People experiencing homelessness and those in temporary or insecure housing and/or  • Households which include people with a disability, or those suffering ill-health which has a direct impact on household income and an ability to meet food and energy bills A total of £200,000 in funding is available.  We are able to offer grants of up to £20,000 through our Large Grants and grants of up to £5,000 through our Small Grants application process.  All grants must be fully committed by March 31st 2025 and fully spent by April 30th 2025. More information about the fund and making an application is available via the link https://ow.ly/Mf5V50TQFl4

The housing issue few people seem to be talking about 👇 In case you missed it, here is the link to the housing element of ‘The State of Aging Report 2023-24’ published by The Centre for Better Aging earlier in the year: https://lnkd.in/eNxvBkb9 The idea that “everyone’s home should be a sanctuary” is all but a pipe dream with this report highlighting stark realities, essentially being ‘an overview of the unsuitable, dangerous homes many older people live in’. Poor housing conditions means that people lose their dignity, their sense of agency, their independence.  Here are just three facts from the report: 🔹 the number of older private renters is now at an all-time high. In fact, the number of people aged 50 and over in the private rented sector has nearly doubled since 2001 and is set to rise further. 🔹 there are 1.6 million households in England headed by someone aged 65 or over who have no savings. 🔹 older people are the most likely to live in the hardest to heat homes. Older people deserve better than this.

Good points from Phil here … which hopefully Fran will share with her MP. Couple of points that spring to mind: most people want to remain in their homes but often those homes were family homes and the utilisation of space within them is not as efficient as it could be as they get older and their demands regarding the space change. Basically older people want to have kitchen facilities ; bathroom facilities ; sleeping facilities and access to their garden close to hand and certainly on one floor pref. ground floor. They also may require specialist adaptations which though expensive are less costly than paying for a room in a care home. Here in South West Herts the going rate for a care home is in the region of £100,000 - £128,000 per annum. At the same time there are a lot of people who are carers who live in inadequate rented accomodation often with their children who could make full use of the facilities that the older people no longer require … garden ; upper rooms ; loft space etc. There is the government rent a room scheme which in theory is supposed to introduce those with spare rooms to those that need them. Is there an opportunity to build on this scheme by encouraging older property owners to take out equity release loans secured against the property allowing internal renovation& retrofitting works to create dual use singleton and family facilities within the same property. The property owner then receives an open market rent used to pay back the equity release loan and pay for appropriate additional care in their own homes? Obviously needs all sort of checks and balances but properties should be well maintained assets that increase in value not liabilities that deteriorate. Reminder there are 136,000 young homeless in this country needing a roof over their heads ; 3 square meals a day and a chance to resume their educations. 74% of people aged 65 plus own their own home outright w/o mortgage…. Could Two “ go “ into One ie 1 divided by 2 = 2 mutual benefit? Rent a room link to follow