"I thought it was fantastic": Charities come together at Age Concern event

Hear from guests and organisers at The Empress Hotel in Douglas

An information and support event focussing on giving older people in-person advice, practical support and "a face they can recognise" has been held in Douglas.

Hosted by Age Concern, its Operations Manager Steve Dawson says the idea for the event came from conversations with senior Manx residents.

One of the organisations in attendance was the Manx Deaf Society, which was sharing tips on how people can interact with those with hearing loss.

Lucy Buxton, the charity's CEO, says a lot of it comes down to common sense.

"Look at the person, don't speak too quickly, and a lot of the time it's clarity we need, not necessarily volume. So shouting at me doesn't make me want to talk to you...but looking at me, engaging in eye contact can feel quite unnerving to start with but actually it makes such a difference", she says.

Manx Utilities were also on hand for energy support. Graham Dugdale is a Home Energy Advisor and says people are often using appliances which are costing them more than they need to.

"Often there's alternatives. Areas like electric heating, quite often we have queries from customers where they have a strong belief that it's cheaper perhaps than using gas or oil and then often they get quite big bills and that can be quite concerning", he says.

Graham says the MUA can can give advice about what direction to try and deal with heating and staying warm in the winter.

The sight-loss charity Sight Matters was also there to answer questions. Cathryn Bradley, CEO, says with the rising cost of fuel and general living costs, she can foresee a "greater demand on the third sector for support over the short, medium and long term".

Now, if you've got questions and are not sure who's best to answer it, then Manx Citizens Advice could be a good starting point. Although the service does stress it doesn't offer legal advice. 

Keith Watterson from the organisation says people come to them with a wide variety of issues they need support with, from a problem with their car to an overgrown hedge.

Listen below to hear from Lucy, Graham, Cathryn and Keith:

"I thought it was fantastic"

These guests at the Empress Hotel told Manx Radio's Oliver Sykes what they thought of the event: