mPower project - Helping create Healthy & Connected Communities
South West Age Partnership received funding through the Western Health & Social Care Trust in conjunction with the mPower Project (mPower is a 5-year project operating in the border counties of Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The mPower project is funded through the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme). The project started in late 2017 and ran until May 2022. mPower worked with communities to enable people to take the steps needed to live well, safely and independently in their own homes by self-managing their own health and care in the community.
25 older people across Fermanagh provided with WiFi enabled iPads (if required) on a loan basis for 6 months.
The aim was to create capacity for older people to be able to engage digitally and to encourage them to use digital technology to learn and connect.
The hope now is that the participants will feel more confident and enabled to use digital technology. We live in an increasingly digital world and we want to support our local older people to live more safely and comfortable in this new environment.
Belcoo Men’s Shed and the Friday Fun Senior Citizens Club engaged in the HOPE Project.
Frances Spence Project Officer in Lakeland Community Care said “ Some Senior Citizens felt excluded during the Covid-19 pandemic as they could not get online for religious ceremonies, to shop or to join a meeting. The HOPE (Helping Older People Engage) project gave them the opportunity to increase their skills in digital technology and raised their confidence”.
It is the community and voluntary organisations, across all three jurisdictions who run the activities and services that mPower’s beneficiaries need. Working with them has proved hugely successful to the outcomes of the mPower project.
mPower established productive relationships with local community groups from the beginning of the project, but the relationship became even more effective when the project was able to provide additional funding for activities and resources requested by the project’s beneficiaries.
Key Values:
Staying connected
Staying connected through technology
Embracing technology
A person-centred approach
Cross-border shared learning
mPower Impact brochure
