What is Age Friendly?
Age Friendly Ireland is the organisation responsible for the national Age Friendly Programme, affiliated to the World Health Organization’s [WHO] Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities.
Age Friendly Ireland operates as a shared service centre of local government hosted by Meath County Council.
The shared service centre supports a network of 31 local Age Friendly Programmes which are led by local authorities and supports a number of strategic national structures and initiatives. For more information, please visit https://agefriendlyireland.ie/
What is the Galway County Age Friendly Programme?
The Galway County Age Friendly Programme is coordinated by Galway County Council and works to improve the services and facilities that our older people have identified as being important to them, to enable them to live active and healthy lives.
The programme involves a multiagency, multi-sectoral approach to age-related planning and service provision. In partnership with other organisations and agencies, we deliver projects and initiatives across the WHO (World Health Organisation) Age Friendly Themes of Outdoor Spaces and Buildings, Housing, Transportation, Social Participation, Civic Participation, Social Inclusion, Community Health and Support Services, and Communication & Information.
If you have a query about the Galway Age Friendly Programme, please contact us at agefriendly@galwaycoco.ie
What is the Galway County Older People’s Council?
Our Older People’s Council is a critical part of the Age Friendly Programme for Galway and includes representatives from older persons groups and interested individuals throughout the county.
The full membership of the Older People’s Council is invited to the AGM (Annual General Meeting) and other occasions such as consultation and information events. The Council has an Executive Committee which is elected from among its membership and meet regularly throughout the year. Their aim is to be a voice for older people and influence the development of initiatives, activities, and programmes delivered through the Age Friendly Programme.
The current Chairperson of Galway County Older People’s Council is Mary Cronin, and the Vice-Chairperson is Anne Mitchell.
If you or your group would like to be included on the mailing list for the Older People’s Council, please complete the following Registration Form and/or send us an email at agefriendly@galwaycoco.ie
What is the Galway Age Friendly Alliance?
Our Age Friendly Alliance is a partnership of representatives from public sector agencies and other community & voluntary organisations, who identify projects which meet the needs of older people and monitor delivery of the Age Friendly Strategy.
The vision of the Age Friendly Strategy 2025-2030 is “To make Galway a great county in which to grow old”. It has been developed based on extensive public engagement, and action planning with the membership of the Age Friendly Alliance. This has helped us to identify funding priorities and projects across a broad range of areas which impact quality of life for older people, including transport, housing, outdoor spaces, social participation, community supports and health services.
What is the Directory of Services for Older People?
The Directory of Services for Older People in Galway City & County provides a wealth of useful information not only for older people and their families, but also for carers and service providers. Its user-friendly format covers information on many of the activities, services, and supports available for older people in Galway City & County.
What is the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme?
The Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme is an initiative to support people to live in their own home with dignity and independence, for as long as possible. A Healthy Age Friendly Homes Coordinator will carry out a needs assessment in your home to establish with you what type of housing, health, and social care supports you require and will support you to fill out the forms to access the relevant grants and services. In this way, the Programme provides supports so that the individual avoids premature transition into long-term residential care.
The Programme is coordinated as a shared service for all local authorities by Meath County Council, who can be contacted by telephone at 046 924 8899 or e-mail healthyagefriendlyhomes@meathcoco.ie – for more information on the programme, or to self-refer or refer an individual with their permission online, please visit the Healthy Age Friendly Homes website.