Published on 5th June 2017
Canary Care works with both families looking to support their older relatives, and Local Authorities and housing groups looking to support their older residents to keep their independence.
Whichever route you come to address the challenge of supporting older people’s lifestyles, one thing is clear, it’s really difficult to find good information about the kind’s of support that are available and how you go about accessing them. There is no retail market, though we hope this will develop as there is certainly a large unmet need. Some Local Authorities are building websites with products and services to help guide those who don’t receive funded support. There are some great online sites such as Unforgettable.org and Telmenow.com with a great range of devices to make life easier for families, but unless you know of these sites, what do you search for with google?
If we are able to expand the knowledge and awareness of support tools for older people, there is an amazing prize to be gained in greater wellbeing and longer, healthier years in later life. Maybe there is an opportunity for government, which has a strong vested interest in keeping older people out of hospital and care homes, and the retail sector, to promote independent living so we achieve that prize.