DERRY City and Strabane District Council, in partnership the Western Health and Social Care Trust, South West Age Partnership, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and the Public Health Agency have produced a 2022 Age Friendly Calendar for older people.
Funded by the Department of Health through the Western Protect Life Implementation Group, the calendar addresses emotional health in later years, encouraging older people to take five simple steps to improve their wellbeing – connect, be active, take notice, keep learning, give.
The calendar will be distributed to 10,000 older people’s homes across the Western Trust area and includes photographs and artwork created by older people as part of a recent competition titled “My Happy Place”.
The local winners were Pearl Evans, with a vibrant image of her backyard, Declan Devine, who painted an image of a cottage in Binbunniff, Aughabrack and Eileen Diver with her photo of a dog and rainbow that was taken at Culmore.
Pearl painted her image during lockdown and in her own words can “now can sit and transport herself to wherever she wants.”
Declan painted this during lockdown with stormy skies indicating his feelings about the uncertainty of the times.
Mayor Warke congratulated the winners and praised the role the competition played in celebrating older members of the community.
“The competition offered our older residents an opportunity to become more involved and celebrate the contribution they make to their local communities,” he explained.
“The theme of ‘Your Happy Place’ allowed people to be creative and shine a light on some of the wonderful areas within our council area as well as sharing favourite spaces with many others, both young and old.
“I was particularly impressed with the winners from our Council area which will now go forward and feature within the calendar.”
Council have distributed the calendars across the Derry & Strabane area to community and voluntary groups, libraries, healthy living centres, leisure centres and community centres so should be available locally for older persons to receive a copy.
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