Leicester Black and Minority Ethnic Elders Forum
The Black and Minority Ethnic Elders forum is a representative body for organisations that provide services to BME Elders in Leicester. Age Concern Leicester Shire and Rutland provides administrative support to the Forum, which enables it to meet six times a year.
The BME forum aims to support its member to maintain and improve the quality of life and dignity of Black and Minority Ethnic Elders through representation and engagement .
The Forum seeks to :
- Eliminate all forms of exclusion
- Provide a platform for voluntary and community BME Elders groups to engage local government and the wider community as a collective voice
- Determine the needs of BME Elders through research and consultation
- Represent BME Elders and influence the development of service provision
Recent achievements and activities
Forum members participated in the British Institute of Human Rights training programme and the Equality and Human Rights Commission project, both of which are focused on enabling older people from black and minority ethnic communities to play a greater role in influencing public authorities.
Engagement with the NHS has enabled the forum to develop a dialogue and raise issues such as BME specific funding, hospital-acquired infections and culturally approproate catering .
The Forum participated in a consultation process led by Leicester City Council concerning their draft five year Strategy for Older People.
Please contact us at Age Concern for any further information concerning the Forum or if you represent an organisation that is interested in joining.
The current membership of the forum is listed below:
ASRA Midlands Housing Association - sheltered accommodation and general needs
Bangladeshi Youth and Community Shomiti - culturally appropriate day care facility
Centre for Ethnic Health Research - focusing on improving health and social services
Chand Project - providing health advice and exercise
Chinese Community Centre - lunch club, exercise, Cantonese and Hakka spoken
Federation of Muslim Organisations - umbrella group for Muslim groups seeking to improve the lives of older people
Golden Fellowship - catering for the social needs of over 50s, including educational trips, computer courses and exercise classes
Gujarat Hindu Association - providing cultural, religious and art activities
Irish Forum - information and advice
Maya Luncheon Group - lunch club
Mamta Ladies Group - meeting point for elderly women, activities include; exercise, food and hygiene courses and outings
Polish Day Care - providing social contact, activities, advice and information and outings
Rushy Mead Milap Group - lunch club
Saffron Support for Elderly People - to maintain older people in their own homes, by offering support, advice and information
Serbian Club - maintaining Serbian traditions and looking after the elderly, cultural and religious functions
Shama Women's Centre - educational, cultural and social activities for women
St Matthews Community Solutions Centre - Somali information and advice group, includes community activities
West Indian Senior Citizens Project - lunch club and day care facilities