Initially set up as ‘The Edinburgh and Leith Old People’s Welfare Council’, and later changed to ‘LifeCare’ in 2005.
LifeCare was initially created by three trail-blazing local females who wished to deliver activities to “give older members of the community a fuller share in community life”.
The charity was one of the first organisations set up to do this in Scotland and we quickly built up a wide range of essential services, many of which are still on offer today, which have greatly enriched the lives of many generations of older people living across Edinburgh.
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The issues the charity supports haven’t changed across the years. Care services provided today continue to tackle long-term issues with isolation, loneliness, dementia, mobility issues, food poverty, mental health problems and we provide support for unpaid carers. Our vital services enable the elderly to remain living in their own homes, to stay physically and mentally well, to remain connected, to stay mobile, active and to eat well.
Today, LifeCare provides essential help and support to hundreds of local older people a year. Services include three centre-based Day Club services at The Cottage in Portobello, St Bernard’s and The Dean on Cheyne Street, Registered Outreach, Help at Home and Community Engagement Activities.
In addition to this we have recently reintroduced Meals on Wheels through the pandemic – we have delivered over 12,000 meals to doorsteps to date.
We operate a fantastic partnership project, Vintage Vibes, with Space (Broomhouse) offering activities specifically designed to tackle social isolation and loneliness amongst the over 60s.
From our Cheyne Street building in Stockbridge, we run our successful and fully accessible community café ‘CaféLife’ and operate our bright and spacious community hub for local classes, activities and clubs.
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