"We'll be there, throughout this crisis and beyond."

Nothing in recent years has better highlighted the need for quality support services for older people than the Covid-19 outbreak. Before the crisis began, we were increasingly worried about the numbers of disadvantaged and isolated older people in our community. The crisis has confirmed some of our worst fears about the complex needs and levels of isolation experienced by older people in Manchester.

Staying at home will have undoubtedly protected many older people in Manchester from Covid-19. But, as highlighted in Age UK’s recent report on the impact of Covid-19 on older people’s mental and physical health, this will have led to serious problems such as loss of mobility, worsening existing conditions, and the psychological impact of living with so much stress, uncertainty and isolation.

Throughout Covid-19, we have continued to support vulnerable older people living in Manchester with regular telephone chats, emergency grocery orders, activity packs and more. After nearly a year of providing additional support in the community, our teams have made more than 12,525 telephone welfare and befriending calls and delivered more than 7,121 emergency essentials parcels, grocery orders and prescriptions. 

Many have come to depend on this as it’s so much more than just a loaf of bread and a tin of beans. The friendly, familiar staff will sit at the end of the garden path and have a chat with them, showing them that they aren’t invisibly surviving behind closed doors. That they’ve not been forgotten. That people still care.

This film, created by Age UK Manchester supporters Joe Bonnell and Rachel Lewis, gives a brief idea of what our services mean to our clients and what our teams have done to support our city's older people during one of the most challenging times any of us has seen.

We'll be there, throughout this crisis and beyond.

We rely on the generosity of the public to maintain and develop our services and support for local older people, offering a relationship for life that our community can rely on in times of crisis or as their needs change.

As restrictions begin to ease and we prepare for what will likely be increased need for our services, we need your help. If you'd like to help us continue to be there, please consider making a donation here.

Thank you for your support.

Special thanks to Joe and Rachel for their support, taking the time to get to know our clients and our organisation and for this brilliatnt short film.