Thursday 5 June 1997

CONFIDENT LIVING PROGRAMME SUPPORT SOUGHT

The Christchurch City Council today presented the Confident Living Programme to invited groups and those concerned with the health and safety of older people in the City, as part of moves to build community support to extend the programme beyond Council tenants.

Councillors, community board members, the Police, Fire Service, Red Cross and Age Concern attended an official presentation of the programme. The objective is to gain additional funding from Council and / or other sources to extend the programme’s coverage.

“The City Council is pleased with the success of the this extremely valuable programme, and would like to see it available to more than just Council tenants,” said Garry Moore, Chair of the Council Community Services Committee. “Personal safety and independence is of great concern to particularly older people and this programme covering personal safety, staying active and safe travelling is an important initiative in local social policy.”

The Christchurch City Council Housing Section is currently financing the programme for its elderly tenants at a cost of approximately $70,000 per annum. Substantial support is provided to the programme by the Police and Safer Community Council.

An indicative survey of some Council tenants who had recently attended the Confident Living Programme found the measure of their personal safety had improved from feeling “quite safe” to “very safe”. This move, in a postive direction, is encouraging.

Based on a scale of 1 to 5 the measure increased from 3.07 to 3.23 in the last year.

ends

For additional comment contact:

Garry Moore 025 330-559

Chair Community Services Committee

For further information (and not comment) contact:

Gavin Cross, Housing Unit 371-1291

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