The Project
The Creative Ageing project will reduce social isolation and promote mental stimulation by bringing people together to undertake a range of creative and physical activities.
What do we need the money for?
By supporting this project, you will be helping Work Skills South West purchase a unique wooden workshop space which will be situated by our lake and will have full disabled access. Our disabled friendly bus will provide free transport and will collect anyone unable to access the project.
Why we need to achieve?
East Cornwall is a rural community with many people living in small hamlets, villages and towns. Our transport networks are very poor and as a result many of our elderly are living in rural isolation not seeing anyone from one week to the next. We do not want their loneliness to kill them prematurely.
“Loneliness is as big a killer as obesity and as dangerous as heavy smoking, It can increase a person’s chance of dying by 26%.” NHS Choices
Case Study
Work Skills South West was recently contacted by a lady who lived in Bristol. She was very concerned about her father David who had recently become a widower and lived in a small local hamlet. He was disabled needing a stick to walk. She explained that the local Caradon Befriending club had closed, and he wasn’t seeing anyone from one week to the next. However, this was not his only problem. The local bus service had changed its timetable and offered just one service a day to his nearest town, unfortunately the timetable changes meant that the only bus back to his home was half an hour after it had arrived leaving him no time to be able to do his shopping.
This project will support individuals like David allowing him to meet new people and link with volunteers who can help him with his shopping.
About Work Skills South West
Founded in 2012 Work Skills South West CIC is based at Merryhue a Care farm between Callington and Liskeard and has a history of supporting the communities most vulnerable, adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, adults with mental health disorders and vulnerable young people who have experienced trauma within their lives.
Work Skills South West uses both nature and the farm animals to promote health and well-being with beneficiaries having access to woodlands, river walks, meadows and a variety of animals from donkeys to alpacas all of whom are used in animal assisted therapy.
Project Activities
We will be running a range of workshops including felting, using our own alpaca fleece, knitting using our angora goat’s and Swiss Valais black nosed sheep’s wool, painting, carpentry, gardening and photography.