Village Agents
Village Agents support people aged 50+ living in rural areas of Gloucestershire, bridging the gap between the local community and the statutory or voluntary organisations able to offer help or support.
We have a team of 28 part-time Village Agents who:
- provide high quality face-to-face information and support
- offer a facilitated signposting service and put people in direct contact with the appropriate agency
- help individuals make informed choices about their future needs
- identify unmet need in their communities
- primarily support older people, but other disadvantaged and isolated people are also be able to receive Village Agent support
- cover 160 of the most rurally isolated parishes of Gloucestershire; this has grown from 96 since October 2006
- are recruited locally and receive ongoing training
The Village Agent website contains useful information and links of relevance to older people, plus much more.
From June 2008, Gloucestershire Village Agents has been mainstreamed as a service, with 3 year funding from Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust and Gloucestershire County Council. The successful partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire Rural Community Council will remain in place with the Village Agents being employed and managed by GRCC. The latest report, available to read here, covers the pilot period of June 2006-June 2008 with the latest statistics and information about the scheme.
Contact
- Kate Darch (Village Agents Project Manager)
- Village Agents
Gloucestershire Village Agents is funded by Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, working in partnership with Gloucestershire Rural Community Council.
