MORE than 6,000 people have now met the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales and her staff as part of their Engagement Roadshow.

Since June 2012, a total of 241 visits have been made to groups around the country by Sarah Rochira, with around 6,050 older people being able to share their experiences, discuss issues that matter to them and obstacles they face in life.

In the last month alone, engagements have included the launch of an intergenerational art project in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and the Care and Repair Caerphilly AGM.

Ms Rochira said: “As I travel extensively across Wales as part of my Engagement Roadshow, many older people tell me about the happy, healthy and fulfilling lives they lead, lives with opportunities to spend time with their families and friends, and take part in activities that benefit them and their wider communities.

“But so often, even for the most active and resourceful older people, the world appears full of ‘a thousand little barriers that get in the way’, to quote an older person I recently met in Cardiff.

“Older people are incredibly resilient and good at coping with difficulties, but these barriers make growing older unnecessarily harder. For some, it can make even the simplest of tasks feel like a constant uphill struggle.

For more information on having the roadshow visit your area or group, call engagement officer Josh Hayman on 08442 640670.