Our Older People & Housing Programme has awarded 17 grants totalling £1.3 million to organisations supporting older people in London to feel connected and empowered to access the services and support that they need.
Funding from the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation supports a broad range of organisations working to combat the loneliness and poverty faced by older people.
Ann Wynne, Lead Grant Programme Manager said, “This funding round brings together a diverse group of organisations who are working to reduce loneliness and poverty among older people in London. By investing in people centred, inclusive approaches, we aim to ensure older people can access the support they need and enjoy greater choice and control over their lives."
17 grants were awarded to the following charities:
Age UK East London: Three-year grant to support its welfare benefits advice and wellbeing referral service for older people in Newham, London. The service helps older residents maximise their income, understand their rights and access advocacy services.
Age UK Westminster: Three-year grant to expand its current service to meet the unique and growing needs of older people from minoritised communities in Westminster.
Ashford Place: Three-year grant for its holistic older people service supporting older people in the community experiencing deprivation and isolation, with social activities, health awareness and be-friending.
Brent Irish Advisory Service: Three-year grant for its welfare and housing service which supports over 400 Irish people each year from disadvantaged backgrounds to relieve poverty and holistically improve lives.
Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice: Two-year grant to support the expansion of its Compassionate Neighbours programme. The project matches volunteers with isolated older people across the two boroughs and funding will help the project reach the most deprived areas of North Greenwich.
New Future Collective - Hackney Showroom: Three-year grant for its Elders Programme in the Kings Crescent estate in Hackney. The programme supports a lunch club developed in response to rising loneliness, isolation and cost of living crisis.
Hodan Somali Community: Three-year grant towards its Reducing Isolation for Seniors Project working to empower Somali and other Arabic speaking communities in West London to maximise their incomes, reduce their bills and access suitable housing, through advocacy and support. The project also supports social connection through monthly gatherings and wellbeing checks.
Stonewall Housing Association: Three-year grant towards Housing Advocacy and Inclusion support for older LGBTQ+ Londoners. All of its services are inclusive, trauma informed and rooted in lived experience.
IROKO Theatre Company: Three-year grant for its Forever Young programme talking isolation and loneliness doe older people and their carers in Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. IROKO delivers Forever Young through music and movement workshops, as well as intergenerational projects, where young people co-create content with older people.
London Friend: Three-year grant to support its work with older LGBTQ+ community in London, providing structured support opportunities with a key goal to reduce isolation and improve mental wellbeing through social contact.
Remark! Community: Three-year grant towards its over 5S London Deaf Lunch Clubs including advocacy and community information workshops. The charity focuses on helping those in hardship, as well as social activities and community connection. Deaf older people are disproportionately impacted by isolation and loneliness as mainstream activities for their age group are often inaccessible. Poverty is also higher among the Deaf community who face intersecting challenges.
Social Action for Health: Three-year grant for its Good Friend programme in Tower Hamlets – a peer-led community initiative, which empowers people to strengthen social ties and reduce isolation through weekly groups for people experiencing long-term poverty and chronic illness.
Sutton Vision: Three-year grant supporting and advocating on behalf of blind and partially sighted older people in the London Borough of Sutton. Services include a specialist eye clinic, an array of social groups and activities, telephone and be-friending support.
The Change Foundation: Three-year grant to support its Active Ageing project. Funding will provide additional capacity to run more sessions including wheelchair sports, craft and establish a small community foodbank. Greater capacity will also see targeted outreach for the most isolated older people in Sutton and Croydon, who may not be able to participate in more active sports.
Wapping Bangladesh Association: Three-year grant for its Active Life service that focuses on supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged BAME older people in Wapping.
Young People Matter: A £55,000 three-year grant to support its Our Community Matters programme including its seniors social luncheon club. Two times a week, the charity will foster a safe and welcoming space for people to have lunch together, and attend activities, celebrations, interactive workshops, and digital sessions. As a result, older people in the community will be able to connect, learn, and feel valued, thereby reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Learn more about our Older People & Housing programme here.