Vibrant Health Advocates – Veritas is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation rooted entirely in the community of Forfar, the county town of Angus. We were established to address something that statistics obscure: the quiet, ordinary challenge of being an older person in a market town where public transport is limited, health services are stretched, and the gap between receiving information and truly understanding it can make all the difference between staying independent and losing confidence in your own body and choices.
Our name carries its purpose deliberately. 'Vibrant' speaks to the energy and possibility we see in every person who walks through our doors, regardless of age or ability level. 'Health Advocates' describes exactly what we do — we advocate, educate and support, not prescribe or diagnose. 'Veritas' — truth — is our standard for every piece of health information we share.
In an age of misinformation and wellness fads, we are committed to providing older Forfar residents with guidance they can rely on: evidence-based, clearly communicated and always honest about what we do and do not know.
We are a small charity with a focused remit and a deep local commitment. Our trustees are drawn from Forfar and the wider Angus area, our volunteers are often people who have themselves benefited from our programmes, and our partnerships with Angus Council, NHS Tayside and local GP practices mean we are firmly connected into the broader health and care landscape of the region.
We do not try to be everything to everyone: we do one thing exceptionally well, and that is helping the older residents of this town stay mobile, informed and genuinely connected to their community.
"We believe that ageing well is not a passive process but an active, supported one — and that every person in this community deserves the knowledge, the physical capability and the human connection to shape their own health and wellbeing."
Every piece of health information we share meets our Veritas standard: evidence-based, clearly communicated and honest about what we know and do not know.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Veritas grew from a simple observation made by a group of Forfar residents in the early 2010s: that the town had a significant and growing retired population, a strong tradition of community self-help, and a noticeable absence of any organisation specifically focused on active ageing.
GPs were reporting that older patients were arriving with health conditions that had deteriorated partly through inactivity and partly through confusion about what was available to them. Informal conversations in Forfar's community hall and local café led to a small steering group, a successful application to a Scottish Government community health fund, and the first movement sessions held in a church hall on East High Street.
What began as twice-weekly chair exercise classes attended by a dozen people has grown steadily into a multi-strand organisation combining structured physical activity, health literacy education and personal advocacy. The growth has never been about expansion for its own sake — it has followed the real, expressed needs of the people we serve.
When participants told us they were confused by letters from hospital departments, we trained advocates. When they said they wanted to understand their medications better, we developed a workshop series. Every development has come from listening, and that listening culture remains the foundation of everything we do today.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Veritas exists to help the retired and older residents of Forfar and the surrounding Angus area live with greater strength, confidence and independence by providing accessible, inclusive group exercise programmes, honest and evidence-based health education, and skilled personal advocacy that amplifies the voices of older people within the health and social care systems that serve them. We believe that ageing well is not a passive process but an active, supported one — and that every person in this community deserves the knowledge, the physical capability and the human connection to shape their own health and wellbeing on their own terms.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Veritas is governed by a Board of Trustees who bring together professional expertise in health, community development and financial management alongside deep personal commitment to the town of Forfar and its older residents. Our trustees volunteer their time and knowledge to ensure the charity operates with the transparency, rigour and warmth that our beneficiaries deserve, meeting regularly to review our programmes, oversee our finances and ensure our work remains responsive to the real needs of the community we serve.
We are always glad to hear from people who share our values and want to put them into action in the Forfar community.
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