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UPSTREAM wins bid to spread community mentoring throughout Devon with Consortium partners Age Concern Devon and Westbank League of Friends.

• The pan-Devon 'Time for Life' Consortium has won its bid to Devon County Council to disseminate community mentoring under the Devon 'My Life, My Choice' programme. The project is funded by the Department of Health's 'Partnership for Older People Projects' (POPP). The bid covers all Devon except Exeter, where Age Concern Exeter will deliver mentoring.

• The 2-year project is based on the original pilot work by Upstream and by subsequent work by both Upstream and Age Concern Exeter under Devon's Link Age Plus programme funded by the Department of Work and Pensions.

• 'Time for Life' will establish community mentors working in all Devon districts, helping older, more isolated and more vulnerable people to build confidence, engage with their communities and remain independent for longer.

• 'Time for Life' will work closely with local GP practices and health and social care professionals, as well as district councils and local voluntary service organisations, volunteers and carers.

• The Peninsula Medical School, which produced a Report on Upstream's successful work in 2005, will be evaluating the project.

UPSTREAM's initiative, the Larkbeare Group, wins recognition as an NHS Live Project.

• The Larkbeare Group aims to bring together leaders from different disciplines who are passionate for change in community health throughout the South West. It provides an independent forum for the exchange and development of ideas and support for successful projects that might have immediate relevance for different agencies.

• The Larkbeare Group, also known as the South West Community and Health Improvement Forum, has been supported by the NHS Centre for Improvement and Innovation and has now become an NHS Live project in its own right. This will enable the project to gain access to a much wider network of influence including links into the private business sector.

UPSTREAM shares the success of the South West Healthy Living Alliance in winning the regional bid for the Big Lottery Fund's 'Well-Being' programme.

• Upstream is one of eleven Healthy Living Centre partners in the South West in this 3-year project to improve the health of disavantaged communities especially through exercise, healthy eating and mental health.

• Upstream's project within the South West Well-Being portfolio is called 'Health Maps'. Health Maps aims to encourage people to look at how best to change their lifestyles to improve their own health within their daily lives and in their local communities, and how to remain healthy in a way that they find easy to manage.

UPSTREAM's successful year

• The last year has been a big stepping stone for Upstream and all our participants. We have become a key model within two Devon County-wide projects to improve the health and well-being of older people. In both projects (Link Age Plus and My Life My Choice), Devon has made successful bids to government departments for funding to help disseminate important elements of the Upstream approach throughout the County in conjunction with other voluntary sector organisations and the health and social care statutory sector.

• Building on our successful evaluation by the Peninsula Medical School and the innovation of our community mentors, Upstream has initiated the concept of the Healthy Living Community, to link all local voluntary organisations connected with health and social care. We have also initiated the inclusion of voluntary sector representatives alongside health and social care professionals on GP multi-disciplinary teams. It is these initiatives that are fundamental to the Devon projects.

• We have continued to stimulate enthusiastic groups and individuals throughout Mid Devon, who have produced some remarkable pieces of craftwork during the year and have inspired each other with revitalised skills, confidence and their determination to remain productive and independent.

• Upstream is also extending its activities to include all adults in the community who together can benefit themselves and provide the social context within which older people can thrive.

Simon Goodenough
Upstream Director