Bray Citizens Information Centre Gets OAP LUV

100 is just a number…

atest press release from Bray Citizens Information Centre, issued on Wednesday, October 30th 2024…

The dedication of our staff and volunteers in the Bray Citizens Information Centre (CIC) has won yet another accolade: Age Friendly Service Recognition, offered to organisations which enhance their services for older people.

And the CIC in Bray has an unwavering commitment to that, not only serving the needs of older people, but also recruiting older volunteers (among others) from the local community. On the one hand, our older volunteers are motivated to give back to their extended community and keep themselves active, while our older customers feel heard, seen and supported by their peers. It is the perfect example of a win-win-win situation and it simply shows the extent of the mission of accessibility and inclusivity the Citizens Information Service has rallied to.

Championing it all is Martina Cronin, Development Manager for the South Leinster CIS/Co. Wicklow. “It is important to me that we provide an accessible service to all in our local community. Implementing these new Age Friendly initiatives has enabled Bray CIC to become an even more inclusive service, particularly for our older clients who frequently find it difficult to navigate an increasingly digital society”.

Practically, what age-friendly actions is Bray CIC taking?

A dedicated weekly clinic for older people: available on Friday mornings, this will be supported by Julie Stringer, Information Officer, who will provide the information, advice and advocacy service. Julie reports that “We have chosen Friday mornings to further support older people’s weekly routine, as that’s the time they go to collect their pension from the local Bray post office. Our Age Friendly kit will be useful for those to need access to chairs with arms rests, pens with grips and magnifying glasses to view small print”.

Carina Holmes, Stephanie Lang, Mai Quaid, Eimear McCormack, Martina Cronin, Susan Ryan

A dedicated seating area in the reception has been set up along with newspapers to read while waiting. A longer consultation time has been introduced so that the older customer can take all the time they need.

Martina adds “We welcome this Age Friendly Ireland initiative, supporting different organisations in better serving older members of the community. Being nominated as the ‘Age Friendly Champion’ in Bray CIC was a privilege for me and it’s a role I take seriously. I would encourage other agencies to go on the same Age Friendly journey as Bray CIC”.

Due to the success of the pilot in Bray CIC, the Age Friendly Service Recognition Programme will be rolled out to other CICs in South Leinster.

Funded by the Citizens Information Board, the range of areas covered by the CIS are wide including social welfare rights and entitlements and other social issues such as employment, health services, housing, education, family matters and consumer rights on which people need access to information.

For anyone needing impartial, confidential, non-judgmental and informed advice and support the CIS is here to help, for free – information here, support line here.