More than 30 organisations gathered at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge on Thursday to offer advice to the town’s senior citizens.
Organised by the Tonbridge & Malling Seniors’ Forum (TAMS) for the fourth year running, the event saw more than 200 people attend to talk about the most pressing issues facing the older generation.
From loneliness and isolation to finding affordable later life care, there were stalls offering advice and suggestions on how all manner of issues could be tackled.
Cllr David Cure, for the Judd Ward, headed up the organisation of the event, which brought several services under one roof.
He stressed why these events are so important and argued that the biggest obstacle facing senior citizens is the large number of disparate organisations that have to be dealt with for obtaining different services.
These, said Cllr Cure, often ‘aren’t very joined up and need to start talking to each other’.
Tom Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge & Malling, also attended.
He told the Times: “There is such a wide range of issues that affect our senior citizens. Whether it’s loneliness or dementia care, we have such a diverse community. Unfortunately there is rarely a silver bullet.”
Expressing his admiration for those that give up their time, Mr Tugendhat was clear in his views that senior citizens’ issues are best solved locally.
