The First Rule of Casserole Club Is...

Have you heard about Casserole Club - a great way to support older people in your area simply by cooking one extra portion of your supper? Find out more at Finchley Youth Theatre on 15th Sept.

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Local volunteering opportunity

Help out at an event for older people – Monday 13th May Barnet Older Persons Forum (BOPA) is holding an important event on Monday 13th May for people aged 50+ in the local community. They would like two or three volunteers to help out on the day by serving Starbucks tea and coffee to around 100 people, directing people as they arrive to meeting rooms, toilets, refreshments and generally helping any older person requiring assistance

BOPA would particularly welcome younger volunteers on this occasion. A full briefing will be provided to all volunteers on the day.

 If you may be interested please contact Sue Packman on 020 8447 0379 or email suepackman@madasafish.com

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page (via Barnet Volunteer Centre)

Festive cheer

Wow - we had a great evening on Wednesday - two dozen gifts donated, wrapped and labelled ready for the Bohemia's Christmas dinner for older people from local nursing homes.

Thanks to all who came, donated and made it such a success. We filled the front part of the pub, sparked some interesting conversations with other customers and will hopefully make a small but real difference in the lives of the old folks who get one of the presents.

Here's a few snaps from the evening...

   

 

Update

Just a quick post to remind you that we are partnering with the Bohemia pub in North Finchley to give presents to isolated older people this Christmas. Pick up a gift for a lady or gent (max spend £10 per gift) and bring it along to the Bohemia on Wednesday 5th December where we will wrap them together. Christmas jumpers and reindeer antlers optional...

This is a practical opportunity to bless our neighbours, support a local business and build community in our area so do make an effort to join us - why not invite your colleagues? Even if they can't came, they might still want to contribute a gift. All the information's on our website. Don't forget to say you're coming on Facebook too!

Plans are underway for our Christmas party - we'll circulate details as soon as they are confirmed.

See you on Wednesday!

JM Weekly Update

Hello friends

Its that time again - the third Wednesday in the month, which can only mean that it's time to get together for another cafe session. This will be our final session in the Rough Guide to being an Ordinary Radical season (though not the last session of term, don't worry! More on that below.) As trailed last week, this week we have Ash Chafe coming to speak on his experience of life as an ordinary radical living on Strawberry Vale - be sure to come along and hear what he has to say! 

That's 7:30pm this Wednesday at Coffee Republic in North Finchley. Come early, grab a coffee and a pasty and meet someone new.

Don't forget that we gave you two challenges last month - to adopt a new ordinary radical habit and to invite someone along to this session. We look forward to seeing how you've done! In all seriousness, we are eager to see JM grow further - we want to fill Coffee Republic with members (and Raj's till with enough takings that we can further reduce our room hire costs), so please do get out and spread the word!

Speaking of getting out, some of us spent yesterday out of our comfort zones at Brent Cross. Read more about what we were doing and why in the post below.

I'd also like to flag up another opportunity to do something practical - we are partnering with The Bohemia to provide gifts and Christmas dinners to some of the older people of Finchley. The idea is simple: buy a gift for an older lady or gent, bring it along to our next pub session (5th December) and we'll spend the evening wrapping them up. There are more details below. This is an excellent opportunity to support a local business, invest in our community and raise our visibility, not to mention to bring festive cheer to some senior citizens. We'd love for all of you to get involved with this, so get thinking about what you might give...

That's all for now - have a great week, y'all!

Sam and Victoria, Elaine, Sara, Lizzie

Festive cheer

Justice Matters is excited to be partnering with Finchley's favourite new watering hole, The Bohemia, to provide gifts and a Christmas dinner for isolated older people in the Finchley area.

The idea is simple: buy a gift for an older lady or gent (recommended £10 max) and then bring it along to The Bohemia on the 5th December where we will gather from 8pm to wrap the gifts together. If you aren't able to buy a gift, you can pay for a meal ticket (£7 each). Simpls.

We are also waiting to hear back from Wandsworth Prison about the option of sending gifts to the children of prisoners through Prison Fellowship. We'll confirm this option and further details ASAP.

Is age just a number?

In the UK there are now more adults over 60 than there are under 18 for the first time ever.  We, along with most of the rest of the Western world are becoming an older society.

But what does this mean for the way that we organise our society, look after those who are most vulnerable, support people to plan for their old age and ensure that there are services available for those who need them?  A change in the make up of a population has a significant effect on how public services are arranged and paid for.  The main challenge comes as a result of reduced tax returns (because of fewer numbers of younger people who are likely to be working) and increased demand for expenditure (because older people are the heaviest users of the NHS and other public services).

If there's one thing we can be sure of about our older people (I'm talking about people over 60 for clarity's sake, but I know you're as old as you feel) it's that it's impossible to categorise.  There is no single characteristic that defines this group.  There are those on the front covers of magazines enjoying skydiving and able to work until their 90s.  But there are others that don't enjoy these benefits, who live on low incomes, worried about turning on the heating, unable to access care and support services to help them as they get less able to manage.

Let me paint a picture of some of the people who need extra care and support to do the everyday tasks that others take for granted.  It might be getting out of bed, combing your hair, going to the toilet or preparing a hot meal.  For many older people who are finding it difficult to do these without support there is little available for them.

In the last spending review in 2010 the Government recognised that care and support services were essential and should be protected from the cuts that were prescribed for most other areas of public spending.  An additional £7.2bn was found over 4 years, but the evidence shows that as a result of increasing demand because of the growing numbers of older people, there simply aren't enough services to go around.

As a result there are over 800,000 older people who need support but who don't receive it from their local council.  This means that they have to rely on their family or friends to help them, or they pay privately, or worryingly, they go without support altogether.

This can have a devastating effect on people's ability to get on with normal life.  It can reduce their ability to get out and about, socialise and keep up their involvement in the community.  It can also affect health and in particular mental health, with evidence showing there are strong links between loneliness and poor health.  Around 7% (that's about 700,000) of people over 65 say they are always or often lonely.

So what should be our response to this challenge?  We all make our communities and networks what they are so think about the older people that you know or that live in your block of flats or on your street.  Is there something you could do to make friends with them or help them out?  Or have you got a grandparent who lives in another city and who would welcome a phone call to hear your news.

If you fancy volunteering, the local Age UK to Finchley is Age UK Barnet and there's opportunities to get involved in befriending, helping out with lifts to social events and clubs or taking someone to the supermarket.  Have a look at www.ageuk.org.uk/barnet/How-you-can-help/. 

If you're a campaigning type then check out the Age UK website where there's details about the campaigns you can get involved in, including the Care in Crisis campaign which is seeking to convince the Government that urgent and widespread reform is needed in care and support.  Have a look at www.ageuk.org.uk/careincrisis.

A summer break and a BBQ

So, did you watch that Opening Ceremony? What a feast for the eyes, ears and imagination! I'm finding it very interesting this morning to read how different people have interpreted the evening (some foreign commentators seem unsurprisingly baffled by parts of it). Personally, I thought the opening sequence depicting the transition from rural pastures to industrial engine was very powerful - a reminder that the many positives of progress come at great expense. I was also pleased to see the unashamed nods to women's suffrage and other reform movements. What was your favourite moment?

If you came along to our gathering ten days ago, you will have heard a challenging talk from Lizzie Feltoe (Justice Matters leadership team and AgeUK) on the subject of ageing and the mixed blessing and challenge that people living longer brings. We will try to put a summary of her talk on the JM website soon, but she did also mention some local befriending opportunities that you might be interested in. AgeUK Barnet have details about how to volunteer on their website. Let us know if you decide to give it a go! Alternatively, Ann-Marie also suggested the older people's Wednesday Club at St Barnabas Church for anyone looking for a rewarding volunteering opportunity during the day.

You will also have heard that the last session was out final formal gathering until September when we will be launching into an exciting new programme with a slightly revised format. We will still be meeting on the first and third Wednesdays, but watch this space for further details.

In the meantime, we will be holding a BBQ on the 8th August at Dave and Fiona's house in Mill Hill. If you are interested in going, please email them on forgetful@ntlworld.com so they can coordinate who brings what etc. We hope to see some of you there. Otherwise, enjoy your summer and see you again soon!

The Monday Missive

A brief reminder about our meeting this Wednesday to talk about ageing and older people in the UK. We'll be at Coffee Republic on the High Road in North Finchley at 7.30pm. Lizzie Feltoe from Age UK (and a founding member of JM) will be leading a talk and discussion, as well as challenging us to take a new view on the issue.  

This will be our last gathering before the summer, so please do make an effort to join us!

Do we live in an ageist society?

We often hear on the news that we live in an ageing society. But what exactly does this mean for our economy, the services provided by the state and the people who are living longer? 

This short film sets out one angle affecting people who have care and support needs.

Join us on Wednesday 18th July to hear more on the subject from Age UK. As usual, we'll be meeting at Coffee Republic on North Finchley High Road from 7.30pm.

This will be our final formal gathering of the summer term - don't miss out!

Summer Programme

One of the comments we received as part of our recent away day (full report coming soon) was that members wanted more information ahead of time on when our gatherings were happening and what they were going to be about. In response to this, we have sought to develop and share our summer programme in good time. I think you'll agree, we have an exciting and action packed term ahead of us. We hope you will join us over the coming months as we "learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow". First, some information about our main, structured gatherings. These take place on the third Wednesday of the month at Coffee Republic. Refreshments available from 7:30pm.

16 May: Activist networking evening

It is said, "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." With that in mind, this is an evening designed to meet and get to know other activists, through sharing stories and exploring the inspiration of our passion for justice. Our members told us they wanted more opportunities to get to know each other better - this is you opportunity to do just that.

20 June: Human trafficking and modern slavery

More people are held in slavery right now than during the entire course of the trans-Atlantic slave trade - a market that generates profits in excess of £6bn annually. Come and find out more about this injustice and how we can tackle it from anti-trafficking charity, International Justice Mission.

18 July: Older people

Like it or not, we are all getting older. However, in a society obsessed with youth, the experience of ageing is not always positive. Join us to learn more about the challenges facing older people from Justice Matters founding member and AgeUK policy officer, Lizzie Feltoe.

In addition to these structured gatherings, we will continue to hold informal discussion sessions on the first Wednesdays in the month. These start at 8pm and take place a various venues around the Finchley area. The next one of these will take place on 2nd May and will look at democracy and the London elections. Further sessions will take place on the 6th June and 4th July (venues TBC). We look forward to seeing you!