It takes you to tango

Upper Killay group dances its way to success..

Our Better Together project for older people in Upper Killay, Swansea has really begun to take off in the last few weeks. Action for Elders specialises in helping older people, including those that are lonely, isolated and cut off from their local community. Simply put, we enable people to increase their mobility and broaden their social circle.

The exciting project, in partnership with Public Health Wales, Bay Health Cluster Group and Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) aims to improve the health of older people in Swansea by working with local communities.

It started with a coffee…

Our Better Together group in Upper Killay, Swansea is a shining example of how to become a catalyst for the empowerment of older people. Our participants first met for coffee (plus the occasional cake) and bonded very quickly. Over a remarkably short period of time friendships were formed and interests were shared. The group wanted to up their fitness level and enjoy the company of others while doing it, so a plan was hatched to put together a secret dance routine…

It was decided that the group would come up with a Tango Style Line Dance but the question was: how would they go about training for this event? Could they become as good as the professionals on BBC’s Strictly? Could they be better than them? Surely the idea that only celebrities and professionals can dance is wide of the mark?

Over the coming weeks we will find out if our Better Together group in Upper Killay can really cut it ‘Tango Style’ and show the local community that they have what it takes…

Better Together Sessions take place in Swansea:

TUESDAYS 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Side Room, Upper Killay Recreational Hall, Gower Rd, Upper Killay, Swansea SA2 7HQ

THURSDAYS 10.30am – 12.30pm
Activities Room, West Cross Community Centre, Linden Ave, West Cross, Swansea SA3 5LE

More About Better Together

Better Together is an innovative new project that sets out to build a clearer picture of the conditions which influence health, as part of a programme of work commissioned by the Health Foundation. It aims to understand how to improve the health of older people by tackling one of the key social determinants of poor health: social connections within communities.

The strength of the Better Together project lies in its ability to put larger public bodies such as Public Health Wales together with locally based organisations such as the Action For Elders charity, who have a proven track record of helping older people and an in-depth knowledge of the needs of local communities. Better Together also brings in the expertise of GP surgeries of the Bay Health Cluster Group and SCVS (Swansea Council for Voluntary Service).