Who We Are at Roar Connections for Life
At Roar Connections for Life, we are often asked the same important questions: Who can access your services? What do you actually do? Where can you help? Because of this, we felt it would be helpful to clearly explain who we are, what we do, and who our services are designed to support.
Roar Connections for Life is a low level preventative charity for older adults aged 65 and over who live within Renfrewshire. Our focus is on helping older people stay physically active, socially connected, and supported within their community.
A key point to note is that you must live within Renfrewshire to attend our services.
What We Do
Our role is to help older adults maintain independence, improve wellbeing, reduce social isolation, and stay connected to the outside world. We support people whose worlds may have become smaller through retirement, reduced mobility, loneliness, or loss of confidence. Through our range of services, we aim to help older adults build social connections, improve strength and balance, and remain engaged in their local community.
We offer a range of services, including:
- social clubs
- Otago strength and balance classes
- befriending
- walking football
- Stronger Together
- footcare
Each of these services is slightly different, and each has its own eligibility criteria.
How Our Referral Process Works
All of our services are referral based.
This means that if you are interested in taking part: you, or someone on your behalf, should submit your details through our website and let us know which service you are interested in. Once we receive the referral, one of our Prevention Workers, usually Rebecca and sometimes our Prevention Co-ordinator Clare, will give you a call to have an initial conversation. This phone call is an important part of the process. It allows us to talk through what you are looking for, understand your circumstances, and identify which of our services may be the best fit for you. It is important to stress that there is no one size fits all approach. Every referral is considered on an individual basis.
Why We Have Eligibility Criteria
One of the biggest areas of confusion around our work is eligibility. We know that it can be disappointing when someone is told that one of our services may not be suitable for them, and we understand that family members can sometimes feel upset or frustrated by this.
However, our eligibility criteria are in place for a very important reason: the safety and wellbeing of the people who use our services.
Roar Connections for Life is a volunteer led, low-level preventative charity. We do not provide care. This means:
- we cannot provide personal care
- we cannot assist with toileting needs
- we cannot lift people in or out of chairs
- we cannot prevent a service user from leaving a venue
- we do not provide a day centre service
- we do not have volunteers trained in personal care
- we do not have dementia or Alzheimer’s specialist volunteers
Because of this, there are certain physical and cognitive criteria that must be met for some of our services. These criteria are never about excluding people unfairly. They are there because we must be confident that a person can take part safely, both for their own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of others around them.
Who Can Attend Our Clubs and Group-Based Services
In general, our club-based services are suitable for older adults who:
- are aged 65 or over
- live within Renfrewshire
- are able to get themselves to and from the club or activity
- can manage getting in and out of a chair safely
- do not have extreme or advanced cognitive difficulties that would make attendance unsafe within a volunteer-led setting
Again, this is not about judgment. It is simply because we are not a care provider and cannot safely meet higher levels of need within our group settings.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s
We are sometimes asked whether people living with dementia or Alzheimer’s can attend our services. The answer is that this depends on the individual and the level of support they require. People living with Alzheimer’s or dementia may be able to access some services, but it would need to be at a level that our trained Prevention Workers feel is safe and manageable within the service. Ultimately, the deciding factor is always safety.
Where someone’s cognitive needs are more advanced, we may not be the right service for them. In those cases, we will always do our best to signpost individuals and families to other organisations or charities that are specifically designed to support those needs. This is a very important part of our work: we will never simply turn someone away without help. If we are not the right fit, we will always try to point you towards a service that is.
Service-Specific Criteria
Clubs and Activities
Our clubs and group activities are for older adults aged 65+ living in Renfrewshire who are physically able to attend, can get themselves to and from the venue, can get in and out of a chair safely, and do not have advanced cognitive issues that would make participation unsafe in a volunteer-led setting.
Otago Strength and Balance
The criteria for Otago is similar to our clubs. This service is aimed at older adults who can attend safely and take part in the programme, including being able to manage their mobility well enough to come along and get in and out of a chair independently. As with our other group services, safety is central, and the physical and cognitive criteria are in place because again we rely heavily on volunteer support for these classes.
Stronger Together
Stronger Together is different again. This is a 12-week programme aimed at older adults who are not as physically able and who may need a bit more support than those attending our general clubs or classes. However, it is still important to make clear that this programme is not for people with care needs. It offers additional support within a preventative setting, but it does not replace a care service.
Befriending
Befriending has different criteria from our clubs and classes. This service is for older adults who may be physically unable to get to a club, or who cannot easily manage group attendance, and would benefit from companionship at home. Through befriending, we place a befriender with the individual to bring some of the outside world into the home.
However, befriending does not mean we can support advanced cognitive need. It is still a low-level preventative service, not a care service. If someone has significant or advanced cognitive difficulties, we may need to signpost to a more specialist organisation better equipped to provide that support safely.
Footcare
Our footcare service does not have one single set of eligibility rules in the same way as some of our other services. Each case is considered individually. During the initial booking appointment by phone, Angela, our Footcare Facilitator, will speak to you and discuss whether the service is suitable for your circumstances.
What We Are Not
It is equally important to explain what we are not.
- We are not a day centre.
- We are not a care provider.
- We do not offer personal care.
- We do not have specialist dementia trained volunteers.
- We do not provide support for high level physical or cognitive care needs.
We know this can be a difficult message for some families to hear, especially when they are trying to find help quickly. Sometimes people are angry or upset when they learn that we cannot meet certain needs. We genuinely understand that frustration. Families are often under pressure and looking for support for someone they care deeply about. But our responsibility is to make sure that people are placed in the service that is safest and most appropriate for them.
There are other charities, groups, and services that are specifically designed for people with more complex cognitive needs, dementia-specific needs, personal care requirements, or higher levels of physical support. Where someone does not meet our criteria, we will always try to signpost them to those organisations. We would never want anyone to feel abandoned or unsupported.
A Service Built Around Prevention
At its heart, Roar Connections for Life is about prevention.
- We help older adults stay active before mobility declines further.
- We help people stay socially connected before isolation deepens.
- We help people rebuild confidence, strength, and routine.
- We help bridge the gap when retirement, bereavement, reduced mobility, or loneliness begin to shrink someone’s world.
Whether that means attending a club which includes our craft and men’s club, taking part in Otago, joining walking football, receiving a befriending visit at home, accessing footcare, or joining Stronger Together, our goal is always the same: to help older adults in Renfrewshire stay connected, active, and supported in ways that are safe and appropriate to their needs.
Please Get in Touch
If you are unsure whether you or someone you know would be eligible for one of our services, please still get in touch. Every referral is looked at individually, and we are always happy to have a conversation. If we are the right service for you, we will help find the most suitable option. If we are not, we will do our best to guide you towards another service that may be better placed to help.
We hope this helps clear up some of the confusion around what we do at Roar Connections for Life and who our services are for. Roar Connections for Life is here to support older adults in Renfrewshire to stay active, stay connected, and remain part of their community.
