Havant mayor to officially open new drop-in centre for Hayling Island’s elderly

Havant’s new mayor, Cllr Rosey Raines, will officially open Hayling Seniors Club at 18A Elm Grove this Sunday (10.30am).

The new free-to-use club – open to members who must be 66 or older – is the brainchild of Hayling Voluntary Services trustee Lin Green (chair) and vice-chair Mike Beel, who have been working on the project for five months.

Mike has overseen the transformation of the former shop unit, which will become the focus of a new support service for the island’s elderly population.

Lin, who has spent nearly 40 years working in healthcare roles, said: ‘If you get an elderly person to lift their eyes and look at you, you realise that there is actually a human being person there, not just a wrinkly old person.

‘They are just fantastic, they have a life that they are living, there is so much interest in them that they want to share.

‘They tell you all sorts of stories going back to their childhood – they turn back into children. They want you to be interested in them.

‘It gives them a sense of self-worth and once they start looking after themselves, they feel valued and then start to look after themselves even better.’

Until now, HVS has had to hire a hall at the nearby United Reform Church once a week to offer a meeting place for their members.

Before Covid-19 and lockdowns arrived, HVS was providing anything from 3,000 to 5,000 trips a year and had around 110 regular volunteers.

A HVS spokesman said: ‘The pandemic really hurt those people who needed our support, and, in many cases, ended the presence of a friendly face who could help keep an eye on them at the same time.

‘Many of our drivers were already retired themselves, and obviously people were reluctant to come into contact with people, even in the early days of the vaccine programme.’

Mike added: ‘We wanted our members to have a place of our own where they can enjoy each other’s company, while undertaking different activities, and having the opportunity to have a hot meal and drinks.

‘The United Reformed Church Hall has been invaluable, but the logistics and costs meant we could not offer what we will be able to lay on now.

‘On top of the pandemic, we have also faced all the problems caused by the cost-of-living crisis, especially the impact of huge increases in heating costs.

‘There was already a problem with the number of elderly unable to heat their homes sufficiently before last year’s big hikes in gas and electric bills.

‘From now on, those people who come to the Hayling Seniors Club do not have to worry about the cost of having the electric fire – or the central heating on – for at least the time they spend with us.’

Work has been going on over the last few months to rebuild the shop internally, and furnish the new club with kitchen facilities, as well as seats and tables that will accommodate up to 40 visitors at any one time.

Visitors to the HVS sessions at the URC Hall already enjoy chair yoga and Zumba sessions, which will continue at the new venue.