Rave reviews of Council’s safety events for older people

Updated: 14 November 2016

Three Rivers District Council’s Older People’s Awareness and Learning (OPAL) events have been extremely popular this year, with 312 residents attending the events organised by the Community Safety Partnership team. The Community Safety Partnership team will be holding further events from March 2017...

Three Rivers District Council’s Older People’s Awareness and Learning (OPAL) events have been extremely popular this year, with 312 residents attending the events organised by the Community Safety Partnership team.

OPALs has been devised to offer older residents the opportunity to sample some of the help and support which is on offer in the local community. These included advice on safety inside and outside the home, cold callers, rogue traders and consumer advice, health and well-being, scams and how to avoid them and how to live healthier, independent lives.

The Community Safety Partnership team will be holding further events from March 2017. These informative events have received great feedback from attendees including: “Good for social contact” and “I think everyone should attend meetings like this”

Councillor Roger Seabourne, Lead Member of Community Safety, said “Getting out and meeting people in the community is very important but not always easy.  Many elderly people find they are lonely and are unaware of the groups and societies that are available to them. The events bring together groups of older persons in a fairly large venue.  Rather than them having to walk around different stands looking for advice, we offer them a seat at a table, serve them refreshments and then, in a timely fashion, representatives from different agencies present talks on the services and advice they can offer in an informal setting.”

Local agencies involves with these events include: Three Rivers District Council, Thrive Homes, Fire Service, Age UK, Herts Independent Living Service, Police, Trading Standards, Neighbourhood Watch, Watford and Three Rivers Trust.

For more information contact the Community Safety Coordinator at Three Rivers District Council on 01923 77661 or visit www.threerivers.gov.uk