In January 2010, Mary Douglas-Jones, Viv Morris and Denise Perrin set up the Village Agent project in ten parishes within the Chew Valley. The aim was to help older open remain in their homes for as long as possible.

The team soon found that people did not expect any help and held the view that living in the countryside meant going without. Project Manager, Denise, remembers: “It took a while for people to accept that they had contributed all their lives and were entitled to the same level of support as people living elsewhere. There was also a belief that showing any signs of not coping would lead to them losing their independence and probably their home.”

Slowly, the team managed to gain trust by repeating that this was far from the truth and what they offered was more choice, comfort and new solutions that could help them feel confident.

In those early days there were many meetings in Bath and Keynsham to remind service providers that they should not ignore rural residents. Denise adds: “We made it easier for service providers to meet residents living in isolated locations. At our large events they would talk to more people living in B&NES villages in a day than they had met in the past year. Slowly the wider impact of rural isolation was being understood and we increased our area of cover to twice the size.”

As part of the charity, West of England Rural Network (WERN), the Village Agents have grown in reputation and recognition. Bath and North

East Somerset Council, Virgin To find out more, visit: Care and other significant www.wern.org.uk

service providers work closely with the team ensuring that rural residents are no longer an afterthought.

Ten years on, there is more focus on helping people reconnect with things that give them joy and help them to feel better, day-to-day. This is called social prescribing and the team are forging closer links with The three Valleys Health Primary Care Network. This includes nine independent GP practices in the Chew, Somer and Cam Valleys.

Helen Harris, Manager for three Valleys Health, says: “Social Prescribing provides local support and encouragement to people of all ages; connecting them with regular opportunities and activities to support specific needs. This is a great opportunity for us to build on the success of the WERN Village Agents and roll out across our wider rural area.”

All this good news requires a bigger team of Village Agents to help more people to live independent and fulfilled lives by linking them with support and information services. Could you be a Village Agent? WERN is holding a recruitment fair on Tuesday, 25th February at Paulton Village Hall, Farrington Road, BS39 7LW between 4.30 p.m. and 6.45 p.m.