The attendees of the Meet and Greet session at St. Michael’s Church Hall, Wallington.
Hundreds of older Sutton residents and their relatives have enjoyed a range of borough-wide activities to help mark Silver Sunday on 4 October.More than 100 people attended a Meet and Greet session in Wallington, organised by Cllr Nali Patel, the Older Person’s Champion at Sutton Council. The event at St. Michael’s Church Centre hosted demonstrations of dancing and singing by community groups. Organisations including Sutton Council, the Metropolitan Police, and Age UK were present to offer information and guidance.Other events held across the borough with the aim of combating loneliness amongst elderly people included a Planning for the Future session at Sutton Central Library. The session, in association with Age UK Sutton, gave elderly residents the chance to receive expert advice on a range of issues affecting them. Local solicitors were on hand for residents to discuss sensitive matters in depth.The Silver Sunday Storytime Special, also at Sutton Central Library, saw grandparents and grandchildren spend time reading stories and enjoying books together.
Cllr Colin Stears, Chair of Adult Social Services & Health Committee at Sutton Council, said:
“Giving our older residents the help and support they need is extremely important to us. We’re very happy to see that the events to mark Silver Sunday 2015 have been such a success. There is still much we can do to aid our senior residents and we’re committed to making sure that we are offering them any assistance which we can.”
The Silver Sunday scheme is an annual initiative established in 2011 by Westminster Council. It aims to help combat loneliness among older people by encouraging them to join community groups and offers them guidance about ways to keep in contact with friends and families.