Useful information for over 50s
Full of Life - extra information!
The 2024 Full of Life brochure contains events to celebrate the International Day for Older People. Events are being held throughout East Sussex, with many organised by our seniors’ forums.
As always, you can attend any event in the brochure with family and friends. But don’t
be reluctant to attend alone as you will be made very welcome. Meet old friends or maybe make new ones!
Make a booking if requested as some events have limited numbers.
Some of the articles and activities in this year’s brochure loosely connect to the subject of brain health. This is because if we keep our brain healthy, we can decrease our risk of developing dementia in later life. The good news is that many of the suggested actions are things that are beneficial for positive ageing generally.
Love your heart, stay sharp and keep connected. Further details on brain health can be found on page 10.
Hopefully by choosing to look at this brochure you have already recognised the need to stay connected with people. None of us like to admit to loneliness. The article on page 36 suggests that loneliness is an issue we
should all be concerned about, and there is growing recognition of the impact of loneliness on physical and mental health.
One way to connect with people is by joining your local seniors’ forums. These can be found across East Sussex – details on the rear cover. The forums are a “voice for older people” across the County.
East Sussex Seniors Association would like to thank East Sussex County Council for their continued support and to express thanks to all the senior forums and groups who are putting on events. Thanks also to the forum members who organise, volunteer at events and get this brochure to every one of their members.
Lin Neeve - Chair - East Sussex Seniors Association
Your East Sussex
There is further information on Your East Sussex web page.
Discover your library service
There is something for everyone at the library - we have a great collection of
books, ebooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines, but there is so much more!
Social Groups and Activities
Join one of our social groups to connect with people in your local
community.
Reading Friends
This friendly conversation group discusses poems, passages from books
and magazine articles. No need to book, just come along and you will be
welcomed by the friendly group.
Knit and Natter
Bring along your latest needlework, knitting or crocheting and enjoy sharing
hints and tips with like-minded crafters!
Board Games and Jigsaws
We have open board games sessions – from Scrabble to Pass the Pigs. If
you prefer a quieter pastime, there are jigsaws available to complete on
your own in the library.
Library Events and More…
We hold a range of one-off, free events and activities throughout the year
on top of our regular weekly sessions. From famous authors to local history
talks, we have something for everyone.
Home Library Service
If you can’t get to the library, we can bring it to you! Our dedicated team of
Home Library Service volunteers choose and deliver books to your home.
If you want them to stay for a chat, they are more than happy to do so.
What to do next in three simple steps…
1. Register for a library card. Pop in and see us or register online
2. Sign up to our monthly newsletter to keep up to date with the latest
news and activities.
3. Visit our libraries website or give us a call on 0345 60 80196 if you are interested in any of the activities, or would like to become a volunteer.
Flexibus
Flexibus is a bookable ride share service for the price of a standard bus.
In areas with limited or no public transport Flexibus, our on-demand ride share service, can help connect you with your local area and the wider public transport network.
Flexibus operates Monday to Saturday 7am-7pm, excluding Bank Holidays.
For full details visit the Flexibus webpage.
Health in Mind
Health in Mind is the FREE NHS Talking Therapies Service for adults in East Sussex. They can help you improve your emotional health.
1 to 1 Talking Therapies, delivered by telephone or in person, can help with stress, worry, low mood, as well as the emotional impact of long term physical health conditions.
You don't need to see your doctor first, you can self-refer today. If you need assistance, family or friends or professionals you're in contact with can also make referrals for you.
Visit the Health in Mind website,
Email spnt.healthinmind@nhs.net
or call on 0300 00 30 130
u3a
Enjoy 60+ activities, share interests and make new friends.
Come along to our coffee mornings and monthly lectures in Bexhill and Hastings.
For more information visit the u3a website
or email initialenquiries,hru3a@gmail.com
NHS Health Check
Aged 40-74? Even though you might be feeling great, you may be at risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes or dementia.
A short appointment to check is certainly not time wasted!
Chat to your GP or get in touch with One You East Sussex:
or phone 01323 404600
What is Adult Social Care?
Adult social care is about care and support for people over 18 who may have a physical disability, a learning disability, or physical or mental ill health.
Adult Social Care and Health is a department of East Sussex County
Council.
We work with people aged 18 or over who live in East Sussex to look at your strengths, capabilities, wider support network and community, as well as the difficulties you’re experiencing, and work with you to find solutions.
Our role is to enable you to live as healthy and independent a life as you can, for as long as you can. We work closely with NHS colleagues, Public Health, Voluntary and Community Services and Independent Care and Support service providers.
Examples of people we work with include those who:
- want to stay living at home but are finding it difficult to cope
- would like to get out and about into their community but, as a result
of a health condition or disability, are unable to do so independently - need information on how to access alternative, more suitable
accommodation - look after someone who couldn’t cope without their help
We aim to enable people who need care and support to live independent lives by supporting them in ways that work for them as individuals; whether that’s occupational therapists helping to plan and organise adaptations to someone’s home; care workers in dementia care homes bringing people’s
talents to the fore; supported living services enabling people to lead the life they want to live. And so much more.
Care and support can happen in people’s homes, a care home, at a day centre, or in other places. We offer support for working age and older adults through our mental health, learning disability and physical disability services.
Adult social care includes carers looking after a friend, family member or neighbour who, due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, can’t manage without their unpaid support. The support they offer local people is invaluable.
Adult social care can be paid for in different ways depending on what people can afford to pay and what help they need. The county council pays a contribution towards some people’s care and support.
Most people will also pay a contribution towards their care and support. The size of this contribution depends on individual circumstances.
Making sure people are safe from abuse and harm (safeguarding) is part of adult social care too. It’s how we and our partners protect the health and wellbeing of adults with care and support needs. We aim to do this in a way which supports individuals to make choices and have control over how they want to live their lives.
If you want to find out more, you can read more online at Leaflets and factsheets or by picking up a copy of our leaflets from any library or other council office.
You can also contact for help and support for yourself or a loved one by calling our first point of contact team, Health and Social Care Connect, on 0345 60 80 191.
Care for the carers
Do you look after someone who couldn’t manage without your help?
We are here for all unpaid carers in East Sussex. We provide information, support, and opportunities to connect with other carers
We would love to hear from you:
Tribe project - volunteering opportunites
Visit Tribe for volunteering opportunities, local activities and events.
In partnership with -
East Sussex
3VA - Wealden, Eastbourne and Lewes District
Rother Voluntary Action
Hastings Voluntary Action
Hearing checks
Hearing Checks
You can check your own hearing at home for free. All you need is your phone or laptop and some headphones. Take the 3-minute Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) online hearing check now which is recommended by the NHS.
After you’ve taken the check, you’ll receive your results online straight away.
If you can’t take the online test, or would prefer to do it in person, East Sussex Hearing provide support to individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind across the county.
We want to make hearing tests a normal health check just like eye tests, as the impact of hearing loss is often underestimated.
Come to an ear health workshop and get advice, communication support and assistance to overcome the barriers faced by people with hearing loss.
Pop-in ‘Your Ear Health’ workshops - no need to book*
Lewes, 18 September, 10am to 12:30pm
Lewes House of Friendship, 208 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2NS
Eastbourne, 26 September, 10am to 2pm
The Beacon, Eastbourne, BN21 3NW
Staplecross, 2 October, 2pm to 4pm
*this workshop needs to be booked by email: rsf42023@gmail.com
Staplecross Village Hall, Northiam Road, TN32 5QG
Hastings, 7 October, 10am to 12:30pm
His Place, 45a Robertson Street, Hastings, TN34 1HL
Uckfield, 16 October, 10am to 12:30pm
The Luxford Centre, Library Way, Uckfield, TN22 1AR
Contact East Sussex Hearing:
Phone - 01323 722505
Email - hello@eshrc.org
1-2-3 mile nature walk maps
Walking is one of the easiest ways to build fitness and boost mental health. But it can be tricky to stay motivated or find resources that are easy enough for getting started. So we have two projects that are at the east end of the scale to help you find something manageable, fun, accessible and lovely so that you keep walking week after week.
If you want the company and support of free one hour group walks these are designed to help people to gradually build up their fitness in a manageable and sociable way.
If you want ideas for nice and easy nature walks to do under your own steam, try our 123 walks website for maps for self-led walks.
There are over 100 free maps for one, two and three mile walks around local parks, woods, nature reserves or rural footpaths so you can find walks that are a distance you can manage in a time that suits you. All these little bits of exercise soon add up and can have huge benefits to your health and happiness.
Connecting people and places
Tackling loneliness in East Sussex
Loneliness can affect anyone at any time. People often experience loneliness during ‘life transitions’ like loss of a loved one, friend or pet. Other significant changes such as becoming a carer, struggling financially,
retirement and moving home can make us feel lonelier too.
Loneliness is ‘an unwelcome feeling of lack of companionship’ and is recognised as a normal human emotion. But persistent feelings of loneliness can be bad for our health and wellbeing. It can increase the
risk of physical and mental health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure and depression.
Three tips for dealing with loneliness
Here are three tips for breaking the cycle of loneliness:
- Acknowledge it and try not to feel ashamed; loneliness is normal and
all of us experience loneliness (regardless of age, circumstance and
background). - Think about who you can connect with and reach out to and get in
touch; if you’ve been feeling lonely for a long time and it’s affecting
your mental health and wellbeing, seek support from your GP who may
be able to refer you to social prescribing. - Think of ways to build connections in your daily life; seek opportunities
to join a local club or activity or find out about volunteering.
Come to a full of life event
This brochure features lots of events where you can meet new people.
There are groups and activities across East Sussex which can connect you
to other people within your local community.
Take part in our Tackling Loneliness programme
We want to ‘make loneliness everyone’s business’ and have formed a partnership between East Sussex County Council, Sussex Community Development Association (SCDA) the NHS and voluntary and community sector partners. We are working together to better understand what can
help reduce loneliness across the county.
If you would like to get involved or find out more, please contact
Gill Reynolds (Tackling Loneliness - programme facilitator):
Email: Gill.reynolds@sussexcommunity.org.uk
Phone: 07523 272416
East Sussex Community Information Service (ESCIS)
Community events and organisations
listed for free.
Email info@escis.org.uk
Discover what's available in your local area:
- local groups and hobbies
- advice and information
- local services
- events calendar
- family information
- short courses
Measles: How to stay safe
The best protection is 2 doses of the safe, effective MMR vaccine at 1 year of age, and 3 years, 4 months.
If you have not had two doses, you can get them free from your GP surgery.
Know the symptoms!
- rash
- temperature
- runny nose
- red eyes
- cough
Keep people with symptoms away from others.
Call ahead before going to A&E or your GP surgery.
Free warm home check
Apply for a free warm home check
Available all year round to help you prepare for winter. Keep warm and well in East Sussex have already helped over 7,000 people living in cold homes. Let us help you too.
A Warm Home Check can:
• Lower bills
• Give you small home upgrades
• Improve health and wellbeing
• Help you access funding (if eligible)
• Give tips to stay warm and save money
Contact Keep warm and well in East Sussex:
Website: warmeastsussex.org.uk
Text: WARM to 80011 or
Phone: 0800 464 7307
or visit our Keep warm and well webpage for further information.
Getting ahead of the future
In the next ten years, the population of East Sussex is expected to increase by almost 70,000 people. Many of those people will be older people.
How we age – and what our health will be like in later life - is affected by
lots of factors. Most of us know this, but our lifestyle can affect our health
in less obvious ways.
The risk of dementia can be increased by:
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• smoking
• obesity
• physical inactivity
• low social contact
• excessive alcohol consumption
• air pollution
Similarly, frailty can be affected by:
• physical activity
• diet
• mental stimulation
• social connectedness
• mental stimulation
The good news is these are things we can work together on changing.
New prevention strategy
We are working to tackle these issues with a new ‘prevention strategy’ for Adult Social Care (read more about Adult Social Care).
The strategy aims to improve and maintain our wellbeing and prevent, reduce, or delay the need for care and support.
The work adds to the wide variety of support and opportunities the council, and many other organisations and people, provide to enhance our wellbeing and independence.
Life transitions
The Life Transitions Service can help you plan and prepare for the later life you want.
If you are interested in receiving support from one of our volunteers, would like support in accessing our app or want to find out more, please email the Life Transitions Service.
or
Phone: 07724 287034
Seniors' Forums contact details
New members always welcome
Eastbourne Seniors’ Forum
Judy Thurlow
01323 644916
judythurlow@gmail.com
Hastings & St Leonards Seniors’ Forum
Sheila Martin
01424 445858
srrm_3@hotmail.com
Hastings Older People’s Ethnic Group (HOPE G)
Julia Wells
07770 525918
julia72003@gmail.com
Lewes & Villages Seniors
Lewes and Villages Forum has just relaunched and is recruiting new members.
Polly Senter
07840 762326
contactlandvs@gmail.com
Meridian Mature Citizens’ Forum
Marilyn Nolan
01273 517803
katedaviesofpiddenhoe@gmail.com
Rother Seniors’ Forum
Terry Steeples
07886 796929
terrysteeples44@gmail.com
Seaford Seniors’ Forum
Lin Neeve
01323 490958
linn625@gmail.com
Wealden Senior Citizens’ Partnership
Linda Graham
01892 770487
info@wealden-scp.org
For more information about East Sussex Seniors’ Association (ESSA) and Seniors’ Forums, visit www.essaforums.co.uk or contact:
Lin Neeve
01323 490958
linn625@gmail.com
Alternative formats of this information
This booklet is available in pdf format which can be emailed to you on request. Please email: The Life Transitions Team.
If you would prefer this booklet in an alternative format or language please phone us on:
01273 481565.
Email the Equality Team.