Impact 2023 - Older Citizens Avocacy York

This year, in 2023, we have completed 468 cases.

The issues we helped with include benefits, health / care, consumer issues, housing, finance, family and employment.

We help people across York and the peripheral wards.

Most of our cases are signposted to us from the NHS, York Council or local charities such as Age UK or have already worked with us. Our outreach and social media numbers are on the rise which is great news.

In 2020/21, we completed 290 cases through the lockdown period. Of these people 75 needed help with benefits which is 26%. To compare, in 2022/23, we completed 468 cases for older people which is a 61% rise and of these, 41% (192 people) needed help with benefits which shows how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting people over the age of 50 in York.

Award-winning service

We’re delighted to have been recognised at the Charity Governance Awards 2020 for our work improving the impact of our service. Read more here

Supporting veterans

OCAY has responded to the need for advocacy identified in the Armed Forces Covenant Survey last year. We are really proud that The Veterans Foundation is helping us by funding this work. We want to ensure that veterans know about our advocacy service and can access it easily. Read more here

The Charity Governance Awards 2020 WINNERS

Older Citizens Advocacy York were the winners in the – Improving Impact – category for charities with 0-3 paid staff.

Why we won

The judges thought OCAY did really well in improving impact measurement as well as its governance, ensuring the board had the skills and information it required to function at its best. Judges praised the determination of trustees to learn more about organisational impact; trustees made sure they had clear pathways and processes to obtain and make use of users’ feedback on services, including things like ‘ease of access’, etc. Judges were also struck by the ability of the organisation to develop well thought-through measurement tools, which have enabled the charity to compare baseline information about clients with post-intervention feedback, and get an overall sense of the change the organisation is affecting for clients as a result. The judges also recognised the ability of trustees to use evidence to support changes in strategy like helping clients with claims for benefits. More specifically, judges noted that trustees have been very effective in using the learning emerging from their work with clients to better understand clients’ unmet needs, and have shaped the organisational strategic priorities and fundraising efforts accordingly.

It’s an amazing accolade for OCAY to receive this national award and is all thanks to our amazing team of volunteers, trustees and staff. Well done to you all.