Learning from practice

The Latin American Golden Years Day Centre was set up in 1992 in Lambeth to meet the needs of older members of the Latin American community. The Centre quickly established itself as a place where older people could come to relax, socialise, learn new skills and take part in a range of creative and educational activities.

The management committee is now considering how to expand the organisation. Should the organisation continue to focus on the Latin American community (over 3,500 in Lambeth) or broaden its services to include all communities?

A capacity building programme for the organisation was developed with help from the PCT, local authority Adult and Community Services (formerly Social Services), Age Concern Lambeth, and Health Action Zone funding for an independent consultant.

The consultant’s remit is to:
- Map similar or complementary services provided to older Latin American people in Lambeth and its neighbouring boroughs, identifying any gaps and highlighting examples of good practice
- Analyse Lambeth’s population for future trends in the Latin American community and make recommendations for effectively responding to these
- Undertake detailed and extensive consultation with stakeholders, including the PCT,local authority, voluntary and community organisations and the Latin American community to identify ways of working together, shared resources, funding sources,etc.

The outcome of the exercise will be a business plan and fundraising strategy, based on the needs of the organisation and its target community