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Grundtvig Project on Elder Abuse

How we can help

Age Action, along with partners in Finland, Italy and Romania, was successful in obtaining funding under the Grundtvig element of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme to address the issue of elder abuse.

A brief overview of the project is provided below with further details available on the project's Combating Elder Abuse website here.

Aim of the Project

A common need of the partner organisations in this project is to continuously find new knowledge and ways to educate, train and support local and national authorities, informal and professional carers and volunteers to protect older people from abuse, to empower older people themselves to take over their own lives and to create opportunities for their participation in society. There is also a need for greater inter-agency collaboration and protocols and improvement of services.

This project provides an opportunity to share this knowledge, training material and further develop existing tools. The partners have been and currently are involved in different European level activities and projects. This makes it possible to expand knowledge on the prevention of elder abuse at a European level.

The objectives of this project are to:

  • Expand knowledge and awareness on ways to prevent elder abuse at a local, national and European level;
  • Share and develop innovative training material and methods and ways to raise awareness of elder abuse among volunteers, informal carers and older people and their families; and
  • Engage in national elder abuse awareness raising through involvement in World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) events.

The objectives will be achieved by sharing knowledge and experiences and exploring existing training materials as well as identifying other initiatives such as supportive activities including support groups, counselling services, help lines etc. for those who have experienced abuse. This gives rich and innovative ideas for training practices, methods, material and services targeted for older people.

Outcomes

The outcome of the project is an introductory training and awareness raising resource pack for volunteers, informal carers, older people and their families.

Download the Resource Pack

Partnership

The partnership of this project proposal was based on a recent European level project “Wellbeing and Dignity of Older people, WeDO” (2010-2012).

Partners from Finland, Italy and Romania participated in the project work. 

In addition to Age Action, the other partnership members were:

  • Suvanto (Finland) - The Finnish Association For A Safe Old Age, is a national non-governmental organization. The goal of the association is to raise on the issue of elder abuse and neglect
  • Anziani e Non Solo (Italy) - is a NGO working in the field of social innovation.
  • Asociatia HABILITAS Centru de Resurse si Formare Profesionala (Romania) - Habilitas delivers professional adult training and counselling services in social, psychological and educational projects and programs.

Note: Links to external websites are included on this page. Age Action is not responsible for the contents of external websites.

Age Action Awarded Investing In Volunteers National Quality Standard

Age Action is delighted to announce that we have been awarded the Investing in Volunteers quality standard. Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the national quality standard for good practice in volunteer management in Ireland.

The Investing in Volunteers standard assesses the organisation’s volunteering programme in six areas: vision for volunteering, planning for volunteers, volunteer inclusion, recruiting and welcoming volunteers, supporting volunteers, and valuing and developing volunteers. As part of the process, we completed a self-assessment of our volunteering programme, and with the assistance of an Investing in Volunteers mentor, we then put together an improvement plan. Over the course of the assessment forty of our volunteers were interviewed as well as staff and board members.

Every year, hundreds of people volunteer with Age Action in our Getting Started digital literacy programme, and with our Care and Repair DIY Service. We would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers who bring their time, energy and skills to Age Action and are the reason that our volunteering programme is so impactful. Volunteers are at the heart of our programmes and services at Age Action and without our volunteers we couldn’t fulfil our mission to support older people to live full and independent lives. Achieving the Investing in Volunteers quality standard shows our commitment to providing an experience that reflects how much we value our volunteers.

Here’s what some of our Volunteers said as part of the process:

‘I’ve gained a lot of skills from volunteering.  It has built my confidence in teamworking and communication.’

‘It keeps me active being able to help people and improve their quality of life’. 

‘I think they’ve got it just right with the amount of information to keep you in touch.  The monthly newsletter let’s you see what’s going on”.

“Emails keep you informed.  They are very willing to take suggestions on board, they encourage you to give them feedback’.

Going through the Investing in Volunteers process has helped us to review and improve our volunteering programme in its entirety, from how we recruit, train and support volunteers, to how we communicate with and involve our volunteers at all levels of the organisation. As we celebrate achieving the standard, we reiterate our commitment to providing the best possible volunteering experience for our volunteers who make an incredible difference in the lives of those older people we serve.

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