Social Participation

Everyone in Sheffield should feel connected to and able to participate in their city and communities.

Interacting with people around us is essential to avoid loneliness and social isolation, and being actively involved in our communities leads to a greater sense of wellbeing. Many of our ABiS projects focused on ways of encouraging people to make connections and build relationships through social cafes or regular group meetings around shared interests. This helps create a sense of social cohesion and mutual support which are both very important for active ageing.   

Intergenerational Skills Swap

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This report provides an overview of the Intergenerational Skills Swap project which was delivered by the Royal Voluntary Service during the during the first three years of the Age Better in Sheffield programme, including the outcomes achieved and the lessons learned.

Story Catchers Project

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This report summarises the findings of a study conducted by Age Better in Sheffield as part of a wider evaluation into the impact of Age Better in Sheffield projects. It took a longitudinal approach to understand more about the participants’ stories and journeys through the projects using qualitative interviews. The study hoped to understand more about the mechanisms that make Age Better projects successful and the participants’ wider experiences of social isolation and loneliness.

We Are Makers Project

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We Are Makers explored the potential for creative activities to reduce loneliness and isolation in Burngreave and Firth Park. This report provides an overview of the project which was delivered by Ignite Imaginations, including the outcomes achieved and the lessons learned.

Reaching people who experience loneliness and isolation

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This digest shares some of the challenges that Sheffield projects have experienced, the approaches and techniques that Sheffield projects have found successful, as well as some ideas gathered from other Ageing Better pilots. It has a Sheffield focus, but the principles may apply elsewhere too.

Engaging Older Men

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This report explores the challenge we faced of engaging older men in our projects.

Age Better in Sheffield learning blogs about social participation