Victor has a spring in his step again

A member of a successful Paisley group for older people has told STV’s Scotland Tonight programme how he bounced back from a difficult time to regain his independence.

Victor Kelly got involved with the Paisley-based Roar Connections for Life charity after becoming unwell after his wife went into a care home.

He told the programme:“I wasn’t looking after myself. I ended up with malnutrition. I ended up in the hospital, and I couldn’t walk.

“I had to get back on my feet.

“I was referred to Roar through the Royal Alexandra Hospital because I ended up having befrienders coming into the house, and from that point on I was connected with Roar.

“When I was younger I used to do a lot of ballroom dancing, and I decided I should go back to this now I’m on my own.

“So I decided to go to the tea dances in the local town hall.

“And that snowballed from there because I met ladies and we danced a lot and I ended up with a regular partner and the social life grew from there, and I would be probably dancing three and four times a week.”

Roar Connections for Life is based in Glasgow Road and aims to give older people to opportunity to keep active and meet others.

It recently launched its‘Stay Mobile Stay Connected’campaign, which wants to change the way people think about older people’s health.