Silver Salisbury will provide a full programme of events, working with other local organisations and partners, at Salisbury’s Guildhall to celebrate International Older People’s Day on Friday 1 October. The day’s activities are part of the Silver Salisbury celebrations from 18 September to 3 October.
The event will be opened by the Mayor Cllr Caroline Corbin and there will be a chance to hear from Sarah Cardy, the new CEO of Age UK Wiltshire. Many local organisations will have stalls explaining their services to older people.
The day includes a number of presentations and discussions focusing on specific audiences:
The quilt will be on display
Alienated Grandparents
In support of Silver Salisbury’s programme at the Guildhall Safer and Supportive Salisbury has invited Susan Cramer to give a presentation in the Oak Court Room at 11.30am. Susan belongs to a local branch of a nationwide network of support groups for grandparents alienated from their grandchildren often simply because of a rift in the family. Alienated grandparents from around the country have contributed squares to the patchwork quilt that will hang in the Guildhall lobby on the day. The grandparents contributed to the quilt aiming to use it to highlight the distress caused to grandparents who are often entirely innocent, yet have been deprived of the joy of seeing their grandchildren. The grief is so often felt by the children too, who have also lost a valuable relationship.
Information and Support for Carers
Helen Dowse, Carers’ Champion
Also at 11.30am in the Crown Court Room, Helen Dowse local Carers’ Champion will be hosting a session for unpaid family, or informal carers to include a presentation by Debra Rist, Carer Assessment and Reviews Co-ordinator from Carers Support Wiltshire. The talk is for carers, both older carers and carers of older people, followed by discussion and the opportunity for individual question time. Helen says “I am looking forward to meeting with as many carers as possible on Friday 1 October. Please bring any questions or queries with you about your caring role and I will do my best to try and find the answers! You may be new to caring and don’t know which way to turn – let me try and make some suggestions – most importantly, please don’t feel alone.”
Financial Abuse of Older People
Irene Kohler, Older People’s Champion
At 1.30pm for 2 pm there will be a free seminar organized by Salisbury Older People’s Champion, Irene Kohler, on the theme of the ‘Financial Abuse of Older People and Other Vulnerable Adults’. This was already an issue of concern before the pandemic and has been exacerbated during the pandemic. Contributors to the seminar include Dr Mervyn Eastman, Co-Founder and President of the Practitioner Alliance for Safeguarding Adults (PASA) as well as other speakers with a range of experience of working locally with older people.
The seminar is open to those working in a wide range of support roles, paid or voluntary, in the voluntary, community and statutory sectors in both large and small organisations. Although the focus is on older people, it is relevant for all adults. It will cover the range of financial abuse, raising awareness of the warning signs. It is complementary to formal safeguarding training. There will also be an opportunity to network with a range of colleagues from other services. To book for the seminar to include a sandwich and fruit lunch please email silver.salisbury@outlook.com putting financial abuse seminar in the subject line.
Silver Salisbury 2021 also includes events in Amesbury and Wilton: programme brochures are available from all the local libraries including the mobile library and in Salisbury from the Arts Centre, the Information Centre and Shopmobility.