A CITY charity chief is looking forward to 2018 despite the sector generally feeling the pinch.

Age UK York, based in Walmgate, is one such charity finding that as the needs of older people increase, government funding has decreased – but they remain positive despite the difficulties.

The charity began 2017 on a high with a successful tender for the older people’s support service, part-funded by the City of York Council and the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Knowing that this would enable them to continue to provide a range of services, including carers support, 204 day-club places, information and advice, brought some certainty for Age UK York’s 120 staff and over 400 volunteers.

Further funding from the CCG, albeit reduced, also funds Keep Your Pet – one of the Lord Mayor’s three local charities for 2017-18. But, as chief officer Sally Hutchinson explains, there is mounting concern over other services – not least whether they will be able to continue to provide their recently expanded escorted transport service, which is also currently going through a tender process.

Sally says: “Our work with colleagues in health services has enabled us to enhance our home from hospital service to include more overnight stays, where we can support an older person newly out of hospital, or prevent them from going into hospital.

We desperately hope that from July we will still be in the hospital discharge lounge taking home up to 20 people per day.”

Sally, who should have retired in October, is a determined lady and is keen to find a way to continue to deliver transport services – even if they don’t win the contract.

She also feels passionately that one of the charity’s greatest strengths is in offering personal advice to older people, especially for insurance services, at their premises in Walmgate – which have been joined by a new shop in Haxby, which opened at the weekend.

It’s all part of the charity’s philosophy of “bridging the gap” and enabling older people to access services in the community, make their own choices and retain their independence.

With so many older people not online she is keen for this to continue: “We have analysed what people come in for, and the main thing at this office is information and advice, particularly money and benefits advice.

I sincerely hope we will still be able to offer face-to-face insurance services from Age UK York in the future.”

Age UK York is an autonomous charity, with all the money raised in the city spent in the city, to enable older people to live independent and interesting lives.

For further information and advice, or to find out how you can help, visit www.ageuk.org.uk/york, AgeUKYork on Facebook or @AgeUKYork on Twitter.