The Healthy Living in Later Years Project will form a part of the Netherton Feelgood Factory’s wider community support work which provides services to socially isolated and vulnerable older people in the Netherton area of Merseyside. The local wards have an ageing population with 22% of residents being of pension age or above. This is far higher than the national and regional averages of 18.1%. This fact, combined with high levels of deprivation, means that there are considerable challenges facing the community in terms of services for older people. The Feelgood Factory is a main provider of non-statutory services to older people in the local area. Most of this work has been made possible through the services of volunteers. The Feelgood Factory has a core of about forty volunteers who help to provide a range of activities to older people including a shopping service, an accident prevention service, a small befriending service, a gardening service, self-help support groups, and falls prevention training. In 2006-7, 4,343 hours of voluntary support were given to over 500 older people. Our volunteers are trained to undertake the work they do and operate to a high standard. The purpose of this project is to employ a volunteer development worker to increase the numbers, and develop the skills, of our teams of volunteers and to develop new volunteer-led services within the community With more trained volunteers we would be able to increase our capacity to provide services for vulnerable older people in the area. In particular we would like to extend our befriending service, provide a transport service to take people for health-related appointments and start up a handyman service. An extra £50,000 a year would enable us to provide assistance to a further 500 older people living at home and to recruit 40 new volunteers to help and support them.