Avoiding online scams, news, and much more...

KIA ORA

Welcome to another edition of our newsletter.

We have some fantastic events coming up - including guided tours of Pukeahu War Memorial Park and a Curious Conversation with Brad Cohen - Director of the New Zealand Opera. Don't miss out!

Thanks for sharing a few minutes of your day with us. Please give us a call on 04 499 6646 or email info@acwellington.org.nz if you would like to get in touch with us.

TEA AND TECH, AND SCAM PREVENTION

Baffled by technology? Want to learn more about avoiding online scams? Come to our Tea and Tech workshop. Tea and Tech is a free Age Concern event where friendly volunteers and staff will help you one-on-one with your tech device.

Bring your digital device and get help from some friendly people.

There will also be a seminar on avoiding online scams.
 
Come to Tea and Tech if you need help with:
•    Getting connected with friends and family online (WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.)
•    Doing online banking
•    How to watch TV on the Internet
•    Doing your grocery shopping online
•    Using email and visiting websites
•    Learning more about online scams and how to avoid them

We have two events coming up...
When: Wednesday 31 July, 10:30am till 2pm (two sessions available)
Where: Khandallah Town Hall, 11 Granges Road, Khandallah

When: Thursday 8 August, 10:30am till 2pm (two sessions available)
Where: Upper Hutt Cossie Club, 11 Logan Street, Ebdentown, Upper Hutt

Cost: FREE! But you must register using the blue button below (or by calling 04 499 6646)

OMAI FA'ATASI - COME TOGETHER

We are partnering with Atamu to provide a social connection service specifically for Pasifika seniors. This is a regular event for all Pasifika seniors. There is plenty of room, and food, so come and join us for the next fun social gathering for Pasifika seniors!

* Free social gathering for seniors

* Fun activities

* Enjoy lunch, a chat and make new friends
* No need to register, just turn-up

At the next Omai Fa'atasi event on 23 July, we will have a guest speaker from the Stroke Foundation. It will be a great informational session for seniors. We will also do Steady As You Go, a light exercise which caters for our seniors’ physical and mental wellbeing, as well as learning arts and crafts from some of our Tuvalu seniors.

When: Tuesday 10am – 12.30pm, 23 July, 13 Aug, 3 & 24 Sept, 15 Oct
Where: Salvation Army, 89 Warspite Ave, Cannons Creek, Porirua

Click here for more information.

CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS – NEW ZEALAND OPERA

Our next Curious Conversation explores the world of the New Zealand Opera with the opera's General Director, Brad Cohen.

Join us on Zoom on 29 July at 2pm to hear from Brad about the world of Opera in New Zealand!

To register to receive the Zoom link for Curious Conversations, click the blue button below.

Photo credit: James Rogers

COMMUNITY HUB EVENTS

Join Age Concern's monthly pop-up social connection hubs for seniors: come by for some tea and coffee, and snacks, and a great speaker! Everyone welcome.

Next hub events:

• Vogelmorn - Vogelmorn Hall, 13 Vennell Street, Brooklyn, Tuesday 23 July, 2pm
• Seatoun - Seatoun Village Hall, 22 Forres Street, Seatoun, Wednesday 7 August 10.30am
• Lower Hutt - Walter Nash Centre, 22/26 Taine St, Taitā, Thursday 8 August, 1.30pm

• Linden - Linden Community Centre, 10 Linden Avenue, Tawa. Tuesday 13 August, 1pm

• Upper Hutt - Heretaunga Christian Centre, 51 Lane Street - Wednesday 14 August 12pm

• Te Aro - Te Pokapū Hapori- Wellington Central Community Centre - 105 Manners St, Te Aro, Thursday 15 August, 10.30am

Call 04 499 6646 or email events@acwellington.org.nz for details.

SPECIAL EVENT – GUIDED TOUR OF PUKEAHU PARK

Pukeahu National War Memorial Park is the central place for New Zealanders to remember and reflect on this country’s experience of war, military conflict, and peacekeeping, and how that experience shapes our ideals and sense of national identity.

We are working with Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage to bring you free guided tours of this amazing park.
 

The one-hour tours start at 10am on the following dates:

• Thursday 25th July
• Thursday 26th September
• Thursday 28th November

Meet at the Pukeahu Education Centre, 191 Tory street. Parking available by the Education Centre. Turn into 191 Education entre’s driveway, there is parking on the side there.

Bookings are essential so please call Vanessa on 027 248 0335 or email events@acwellington.org.nz to reserve your space. This programme is accessible for different mobility needs.

WE CAN HELP YOU PLAN FOR YOUR END OF LIFE CARE

Age Concern Wellington Region has an Advance Care Planning service in partnership with Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. Kay Webster is our amazing Advanced Care Planning Coordinator. She is available to come and talk to you about making an Advance Care Plan. This fantastic service is free.

She is also available to make presentations to your group. If you want to know more about this new service and how to get in touch with Kay, please check out our website or call us.

Call 04 499 6646 or visit our website (click here) for more information.

OUR LATEST STEADY AS YOU GO FALLS PREVENTION CLASSES

 Check out some of our new classes... all welcome!

• Seatoun Village Hall, Mondays at 10am
• Wainuiomata (Wainuiomata Library), Tuesdays at 11am
• Newtown (Newtown Community Centre), Tuesdays at noon

• Thorndon (at Loaves and Fishes in the Anglican Cathedral), Fridays at 1pm

• Johnsonville Uniting Church, Tuesdays at 1pm
• Island Bay Community Centre, Wednesdays at 1.30pm
• Tawa Community Centre, Thursday 1pm (**new time**)
• Plimmerton, St Andrews Anglican Church, Wednesdays at 11.30 am (**new time**)
• Aligned To Go exercise class at the Victoria Bowling Club. This is a faster-paced new class. Please see below or call 04 499 6646 for details.

To find out more about Steady As You Go and for a full list of Steady As You Go and Aligned To Go classes around the Region, click here or call 04 499 6646.

STEADY AS YOU GO ONLINE EXERCISE CLASSES – ALL WELCOME

Every Wednesday at 9:30am there is a livestream Steady As You Go class on Zoom. It's open to anyone - you don't need any prior experience. It is a gentle entry-level exercise class, and all you need to do is register by filling in the form online (click the blue button below). The link will be sent to you. Come and join the 20+ other seniors online for some gentle exercise fun together!

CAN YOU JOIN OUR REGULAR DONOR TEAM?

Did you know that Age Concern Wellington Region is a charity? Only about a quarter of our funding comes from the Government and another quarter from local Councils. We need to raise the rest of the funding we need to keep the programmes you've just read about in this newsletter going.

We have a team of donors who contribute to our work on a regular basis. Regular donations help us budget and plan for the future. Are you able to join our regular donor team? Even $10 per month makes a real difference!

To make a regular donation using our secure website, click the button below. Select your donation frequency using the drop down menu on the form. Or you can call us if you want to make a regular payment using internet banking directly.

LIFE WITHOUT A CAR 

Throughout our lives we all want to stay connected with friends and family, maintain our independence and keep doing the things we enjoy. There are many options for staying connected as we age, regardless of whether or not we continue driving a car.

Reducing or stopping driving does not need to be a limiting factor that prevents you doing what you want, but it helps to think ahead about your future transport needs. Age Concern New Zealand has produced a booklet which highlights options for older New Zealanders to remain active and connected. This includes some things to consider about where you live, community and public transport services, recreation activities as well as social outings.

Click here to download the Life without a Car - Transport options for Seniors booklet. 

AVOIDING SCAMS

Useful Tips

From phone calls and text messages saying you owe money, need to claim a parcel, or must renew an important document, to emails and letters claiming to want to give you money or urgently needing you to renew a registration of some kind, there are countless approaches out there. Sadly, it's important to be on your guard.

Some useful tips include considering requests and asking yourself how the request makes you feel. It's also important never to enter passwords on unknown sites. Even clicking on a link in a text message can be dangerous. Scammers are good at making things seem urgent, so perhaps the most useful advice we've come across is to 'pause, reflect, protect."

AGE FRIENDLY PUBLIC SPACES

Cities need to provide inclusive public spaces that meet the needs of older adults. Age-friendly public spaces play a critical role in promoting the well-being of older people, encouraging social connections and supporting active lifestyles. This is the topic of a PhD research in Victoria University of Wellington. The study explores the suitability of the public spaces in the city of Wellington for older adults and will propose better alternatives in the design of these spaces. Your participation will support this research by sharing your experiences and the difficulties you encounter when using public spaces.

The main participants of the study include older adults, aged 75 and over, from both genders and different ethnic groups who live in the inner suburbs of Wellington. The data collection method is by interview. The duration of each individual interview will be approximately 20 minutes. Please contact sadiq.younes@vuw.ac.nz or 020 401 64967 if you are interested or need further information.

This Phd study has been reviewed and approved by the Victoria University of Wellington Human Ethics Committee. Reference: 30813 

UPPER HUTT POST OFFICE RELOCATION

The Upper Hutt Post Shop will be relocating from Paper Plus Upper Hutt to Lagans Pharmacy, which is located on 10 Main Street, Upper Hutt. The relocation is due to the current agency partner deciding to withdraw NZ Post services. The Post Shop will be open at its new location from 1 August. PO Boxes will be relocated to Lagans Pharmacy.

CALL FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

The Pearson Clinical Assessment Research and Development Team for Australia and New Zealand are looking for people from New Zealand who are aged 16-90 years to participate in a research project testing cognitive skills (e.g., the ability to think, problem solve, and pay attention, memory and learning, and functional ability, such as the ability to communicate or prepare food.)

To ensure that our sample is representative of the population, it is essential that we include a diverse group of people across this age range. This includes older New Zealanders. They particularly need more people aged 75+ who did not complete high school or any further qualifications. There are three sessions for participants.

As a thank you for completing the sessions, each participant will receive a $100 gift card for the sessions 1 and 2, and a $50 gift card for session 3. 

More details about the project can be found here through our participant expression of interest link: www.pearsonclinical.com.au/participant

This study has been approved by the St Vincent's Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC Reference Number: HREC A 252/21).

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS AND CONTACTS

• COVID-19 Healthline 0800 358 5453
• For emergencies dial 111
• For non-emergency police matters dial 105
• If you are feeling anxious or just need someone to talk to call or text 1737
• Age Concern Wellington 04 499 6646
• Dementia Resources https://www.harrislist.co.nz/
• Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757
• Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116
• Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free.
• For further information, contact the Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812).
• WellElder: a counselling service for older people, or those supporting an older person. Wellington Region: 04 380 2440 (Tuesday - Thursday)
• Lifeline: qualified counsellors and trained volunteers: 0800 543 354 or free text 4357
• Samaritans: confidential support, empathetic listeners: 0800 726 666
• The Continence NZ Helpline 0800 650 659
• Elder Abuse Wellington Helpline 04 805 0880
• Dementia Wellington 04 972 2595
• If you need to discuss your entitlements phone the MSD Senior Services line 0800 552 002
• Wellington City Council: wellington.govt.nz  or 04 499 4444
• Greater Wellington Regional Council http://www.gw.govt.nz/
• Hutt City Council: huttcity.govt.nz/ or 04 570 6666
• Porirua City Council: poriruacity.govt.nz/ or 04 237 5089
• Kapiti Coast District Council: https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz
• Upper Hutt City Council: upperhuttcity.com/ or 04 527 2169
• ASB Bank Senior Priority Direct Line 0800 272 119

THANK YOU ONE FOUNDATION FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT

We really appreciate the support of One Foundation who have provided us with some funding for computer equipment. Thank you!

Age Concern Wellington Region is a registered charity. We are part of a wider network of more than 30 Age Concerns located across the country. 

Visit our website to find out more about our work around the Wellington Region and how you can be involved

www.acwellington.org.nz

© Age Concern Wellington Region Trust
Charities # CC61759

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