Age UK
Effective April 1st, 2023, Age UK Hythe and Lyminge joined forces with Age UK Ashford, resulting in a new entity named Age UK Hythe, Lyminge and Ashford. This merger brought minimal changes, maintaining the status quo for clients, visitors, and staff alike. Each town continues to benefit from a local Age UK presence, preserving its role as a community support hub.
The charity collaborates extensively with various local organisations and both Local and District Councils, aiming to ensure that everyone in the area receives necessary help and support. Our services and activities are designed for individuals aged 55 and over, challenging the misconception that Age UK only serves the elderly.
Three years ago, our funding model changed, introducing significant challenges. Now in our fourth year of offering Wellbeing Services, we face the possibility of further funding reductions for delivering these services in Hythe, Lyminge and Ashford.
Due to previous funding cuts, the organisation had to make strategic decisions about which services we could continue. With this in mind, we are now focusing more on providing bespoke and tailored services.
Our Lyminge Centre now boasts a successful dementia hub. We provide transportation to and from the centre. The centre offers secure daybreak services and hosts MCST and COGS groups for those with early-stage dementia. Recently, we appointed a Dementia Services Team Leader, who works with our new Dementia and Me organizer and coordinator to facilitate Dementia Cafes and other activities that raise awareness and support families living with dementia at every stage. We are committed to expanding the centre’s role as a hub for dementia services and utilising its facilities for the broader community in Lyminge.
The café at our Lyminge hub offers a bustling social environment for those looking to meet others in a safe and welcoming setting. We continue to serve a variety of light snacks and refreshments, including our ever-popular all-day breakfast every Wednesday. Our cafes are also open in Hythe and Ashford.
The charity shop at the Lyminge hub continues to attract bargain hunters and remains extremely popular. As always, we are grateful to the community for their generous donations. Our Charity Shop in Hythe is also extremely popular. We are yet to open one in Ashford.
Our day services and wellbeing programs that operates from both Hythe and Ashford provide a diverse array of social activities, consistently updating and improving our offerings to ensure our clients remain active, independent, and engaged.
Additional Services
We remain committed to providing essential services that support those over 50 in our community, including community meals, independent living assistance, and laundry services. Due to rising operational costs, we have found it necessary to adjust our fees slightly. However, we are acutely aware of the financial pressures that can affect older individuals and are careful to ensure that these adjustments do not place undue strain on them. Despite these challenges, and facing reduced and limited funding ourselves, we must share some of these increased costs with our service users to maintain the quality and availability of our programs.
Additionally, our informational services are experiencing high demand as they assist older individuals in maximising their income by helping them claim unclaimed benefits. We are pleased to offer this particular service free of charge, recognising its vital role in supporting the financial stability of the elderly in our community.
Our comprehensive services continue uninterrupted, including chiropody, hairdressing, Hearing clinics and Hypertension drop-ins along with our digital support programs.
We encourage you and your community to reach out for any assistance you may need.
Volunteers
We have over 200 active volunteers in Hythe Lyminge and Ashford contributing to various roles such as reception, charity shop, café support, community meals, and more. Our volunteers, who include numerous Befrienders who meet with clients face-to-face, are invaluable. We regularly engage with our volunteers through monthly drop-in sessions, meetings, cream tea afternoons, and special events.