Roar boss: We’ll get reopening just right
Charity will not rush into resuming services until it’s safe
The chief executive of a Paisley charity for older people has welcomed the government’s roadmap out of lockdown but said they’ll be taking a“cautious approach”.
Cassie Forbes, CEO at Roar: Connections for Life, said she and her team are all working hard behind the scenes to prioritise services and get things back up and running.
But she said, like the Scottish Government, they will not be rushing back to normality any time soon.
Cassie said: “We’re just starting our scoping exercise now we have some timescales to work towards to establish demand for our services.
“We will be opening up but following a cautious approach.
“We hope to reopen our foot care service from the end of April once the stay at home has been lifted and we’re back into tier three.
“We’ve been getting a lot of phonecalls about this service, it’s something which is very important to people.
“A lot of people have been stuck at home for over a year and are really keen to get out but we will be starting back very gradually.”
National charity Age Scotland has called for additional support from the government so that older people are able to reconnect and can return to taking an active part in society one lockdown starts to ease.
Brian Sloan, Age Scotland chief executive, said: “The impact of the pandemic on older people cannot be over-estimated.
“Hundreds of thousands of older people are experiencing crippling levels of isolation and loneliness, many have been cut off from family, friends and community for almost a year and have experienced a decline in their physical and mental health.
“For some of those older people who are struggling, the prospect of a return to prepandemic normality might seem overwhelming with many unsure of how to reconnect and pick up the pieces of their life again.
“It is vital that in the coming weeks and months, support is made available to ensure that older people can rebuild their lives and feel connected once again.
“We need to work out how best to open the doors to allow older people to feel safe, valued members of society.
“Older people must be helped to recover – and thrive – after a pandemic that took so much from them.”
Roar has been supporting older adults remotely during lockdown with various projects and regular phonecalls from telephone befrienders.
Cassie said there were many reasons to be positive going forward.
“We welcome the vaccine programme which is working really well and gives us a lot of reassurance particularly around delivering our services,” she said.
“We’ve been back in lockdown for nine weeks since Boxing Day and it’s nine weeks till April 25 so we’re halfway there. Spring is coming, the lighter nights are coming and we’re all working very hard behind the scenes to plan and reopen our services.”