BACKGROUND:
Older Voices Kildare (OVK) is a Social Inclusion Initiative which
specifically targets isolated categories of older persons, including
Older LGBTQI persons, Travellers, People with Disability, and
Individuals who are experiencing social exclusion through lack of or
limited social capital. Our mission -- to build the confidence and
capacity of older people in Kildare -- works towards creating a County
where older people are included and empowered within a vibrant
community.
Older Voices Kildare (OVK) has a proven record of success in working
with older people in the county. We have been successfully offering
programming to older persons in the Kildare area for **Apply on the
website** years, providing them with an opportunity to meet, express
their issues and ideas, and find their voices, both individually and
collectively. We do this through a variety of programs, including
Voices Through Art, Aging with Confidence, yearly seminars on issues
of interest to the community, and community and outreach programs.
With older people reasonably expecting to live into their **Apply on
the website**s, the challenge is to enhance the quality of their lives
and their participation in social and civil life. Involving older
people in projects in their communities increases their
self-confidence skills and social networking ability, which in turn
impacts positively on their mental health and on the social capital of
the community.
ORIGIN AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT
Loneliness is a serious health issue, and one in **Apply on the
website** older people in Ireland identify as chronically lonely.
Loneliness is particularly identified as a primary concern of an aging
demographic, contributing to negative impacts on physical and
emotional well- being.
The risk factors of loneliness are:
* Poor psychological and physical health
* Adverse Feelings (Separateness, alienation, distress, and
isolation)
* Failure to satisfy the need for intimacy, conceptualized as the
discrepancy between desired and achieved levels of social relations.
Higher levels of loneliness are associated with living alone, adverse
physical health symptoms, lack of spousal confidante, marital or
family conflict, and a generally poor quality of social relationships.
Older voices have supported a significant volume of lonely, vulnerable
older persons during Covid. What has emerged to us, amongst other
things, is the need for ?aftercare? supports following the removal
of restrictions when older people who have been cocooning will
potentially wish to re-engage with activities they participated in
prior to March **Apply on the website**.
THE PROPOSAL
Older Voices is proposing, to develop two programmes, Rebuilding
Personal Resilience and Rebuilding Community Resilience.
We aim to facilitate the safe and comfortable re engagement of older
people into their communities. This is important as there are high
levels of ?emotional malnutrition? among this community, however
there is also a high level of anxiety, and typically resilient
individuals are reporting on an ongoing basis a loss of confidence,
and a fear about being out with others, and so their loneliness is
increasing.
Similarly, the fear of going outside has led to less walking
activities which runs the risk longer term of loss of muscle mass,
flexibility, and mobility, and may impact the physical health as well
as the emotional health of the population we are dealing with.
In order to achieve this, we are inviting Tender proposals for the
design and delivery of
* ?BUILDING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PROGRAMME to encourage community
groups of older people to feel safe resuming their pre lockdown
activities with cognisance of current and remaining public health
guidelines.
* INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL RESILIENCE PROGRAMME to work with individuals
(in a group setting) to address their own feelings of uncertainty
around resuming their individual activities ? shopping etc now that
restrictions and the vaccination programme are beginning to permit
same.
Each programme will be run in the north, Middle and South of the
County, so 6 courses in all.
Depending on restrictions programmes may be conducted online.
PLEASE SEE TENDER DOCUMENT ATTACHED BELOW.
QUERIES AND INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS TENDER
The sole point of contact in relation to this tender call is Denise
Croke Project Co-Ordinator, Older Voices Kildare. ?All queries or
requests for information to this tender must be via email to **Apply
on the website**
Queries and requests by phone or post will not be responded to. All
tenderers will be advised by email of any significant issues raised by
any Tenderer.
PROPOSED TIME FRAME
**APPLY ON THE WEBSITE**RD AUGUST 5PM - Deadline for the receipt of
Tender proposals and support documentation.
Late Tenders will not be accepted.
Programs to take place before end of DECEMBER **APPLY ON THE WEBSITE**
We need : English (Good)
Type: Permanent
Payment:
Category: Others
