Time for Life - Partners-and-Projects - Upstream

Time for Life

Time or Life’ tackles isolation, loss of confidence, and multiple difficulties, including mental health and physical disability, among older people. Time for Life community mentors use a ‘healthy living’ approach, tailoring solutions and opportunities to an individual’s needs and wishes. Time for Life also offers community development services, providing groups and activities throughout Devon. The service is commissioned by Devon County Council.

‘Time for Life’ arose from Devon’s reorganisation of health and social care services for older people, funded by the Department of Health’s POPP programme (Partnerships for Older People Projects). The community mentoring approach, the development of ‘healthy living communities’, and the integration of the voluntary sector into GP multi-disciplinary ‘Complex Care Teams’ were Upstream initiatives that influenced the Devon reorganisation, and fulfilled Upstream’s aim to ensure that the lessons learned from the original Big Lottery Healthy Living Centre project would become an essential part of redesigned statutory and voluntary services.

Upstream formed a consortium with Westbank and Age Concern Devon to deliver ‘community mentoring’ throughout Devon under contract to Devon County Council, as part of the Devon POPP programme. The consortium project, known as ‘Time for Life’, ran for 2 years and the contract was renewed for another year in 2010 and then again in 2011. In each year of ‘Time for Life’, Upstream mentors engaged with approximately 200 individuals, to help them in a wide variety of ways. Across Devon, ‘Time for Life’ mentors have engaged with more than 3,000 individuals and many more secondary beneficiaries.

Devon County’s Joint Commissioning Strategy for Dementia Services for 2009-13 stated: ‘The Community Mentoring Service is seen as a key part of the modernization agenda, helping to personalise the support people need to live their lives fully. Already it has been used to transform individuals’ experience from traditional Day Care to more enjoyable, appropriate and local social activities.’

One participant commented: ‘Thank goodness I discovered Time for Life. You have been the ONLY organisation, voluntary or statutory, who have been able to offer me the support I needed at a most desperate and difficult time.’

Evaluation by the ‘Time for Life’ Service and Devon County Council after the first 2-year contract showed well over half the participants experienced reduced depression, improved physical activity and improved self-worth, and a third reported reduced stress on carers. Acute hospitals, Primary Care, Mental Health Services, Public Health Services and Social Care all reported benefits to their own services. Specific incidents were also reported of direct effect by the service on reduction in likelihood of falls and reduced chances of suicide. There was a positive balance toward cases exhibiting reduction in demand for health services as against increased appropriate use of health services.

See also www.timeforlife.org.uk or www.devon.gov.uk