Contact
Contact information
Salonen Jemina
Operations manager
Education and welfare
Volunteering and outreach work for the elderly
Support for everyday life
Old age does not come alone. With aging, everyone experiences changes not only in their mental and physical well-being, but also in their relationships and everyday activities. You can experience many kinds of changes and challenges. Most of them are generally known and it is easy to find good solutions for them. Don't be alone with your worries, but feel free to ask for support.
On this page, you will find information and advice on the dilemmas that the elderly most commonly face in their everyday lives.
The short address for this page is riihimaki.fi/tukea-arkeen.
Information and advice for difficult situations
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The aim of outreach work for the elderly is to find elderly people who are at risk of being excluded from communities and services. Outreach work for the elderly involves needs-based work with elderly people over 60 years of age living at home in Riihimäki. Our aim is to strengthen the agency of clients and comprehensively reduce the feeling of loneliness and inequality through targeted individual work carried out by various partners.
In Riihimäki, the city's outreach work for the elderly is carried out in collaboration with the Kotokartanosaäti. The Tepsivä network of outreach work for the elderly in Riihimäki includes OmaHäme, OmaisOiva, Kanta-Hämeen Muistiyhdistys and the diaconal work of the Riihimäki parish.
Contact us if you are over 60, need content in your everyday life, would like to meet people, need advice or support in managing things. Together with the City of Riihimäki and the Kotokartano Foundation's volunteer elderly work supervisors, Tepsivä supervisors, we will discuss what kind of changes you would like to make in your life so that your life would be unique and meaningful.
Contact a Tepsivä instructor with a wellness prescription.
or by calling the phone number 050 598 2276
Contact is free and confidential and does not bind the person to anything. You can contact us yourself, as a relative or as a professional.
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Living alone does not always mean loneliness. On the other hand, you can feel lonely even when you are surrounded by people. As a person ages, isolation can be caused by mobility restrictions, long distances from loved ones, the loss of loved ones, poor livelihoods, and poor hearing or vision.
You can't always eliminate loneliness, but you can get help to deal with it and tolerate it.
Meeting place activities and open senior activities welcome you to join in activities that are open to everyone and free of charge.
Read more about meeting place activities.
Read more about open senior activities.
Do you find it difficult to participate in activities? If necessary, you will receive support in participating and help in finding activities that suit you. Contact us or Read more about investigative work for the elderly.
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Contact the volunteer and outreach work for the elderly coordinator when you need company in your everyday life and nice moments with another person. You can find contact information at the end of the page.
In buddy activities, the volunteer acts as a friend and companion. You can meet the volunteer at your home or arrange to meet at, for example, Riksula, a café or a library. With your friend, you can chat and exchange news, play games, read together, listen to music or look at photos. Together, you determine what kind of activities come naturally to you as friends.
The activities are based on volunteerism and are free of charge. Volunteers do not replace professional help and do not perform care or home care tasks. Our volunteers meet their friends on average once a week or every other week. The number of meetings is always agreed upon separately.
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You want to go outside, but for some reason it is challenging to go outside. An outdoor buddy offers you the opportunity to go outside safely in good company. A voluntary outdoor buddy supports and encourages you to move according to your own strengths and wishes.
The help of an outdoor buddy is helpful, among other things, when:
- when the living environment is new after moving.
- when going out alone feels difficult.
- when the risk of falling brings uncertainty to movement.
- or you have aids at your disposal.
With an outdoor buddy, you can go for a short walk together, explore the local area or enjoy the stimulation offered by nature. The activity does not include exercise guidance and does not replace professional help, but is based on ordinary togetherness and trust. The activity is free of charge.
Outdoor activities must be safe for both parties. The volunteer does not provide physically demanding or risky support, nor does he/she work at the client's limits. The volunteer must be given sufficient guidance on the safe use of available aids and information about risk factors such as a tendency to dizziness or falls. Our volunteers go outdoors with their clients on average once a week, but the number of meetings is always agreed upon separately.
Contact the volunteer and outreach work for the elderly coordinator when you need an outdoor companion and nice moments with another person. You can find contact information at the end of the page.
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The Cultural Buddy activity offers the opportunity to visit the theatre, museums or concerts in Riihimäki together with a volunteer. The activity is aimed especially at older people, for whom going to cultural events alone is challenging. The challenges can be related to, for example, physical functioning, mood or social situations. With the support of a Cultural Buddy, we can overcome the challenges and support participation in cultural services.
The activity is free of charge and is made possible by the following cultural actors: Riihimäki Theatre, Riihimäki Youth Theatre, Riemu Museum Centre and the Finnish Glass Museum. The cultural actors supporting our activity offer free admission to a cultural friend who comes with the customer. A cultural friend can also be invited to free events of Riihimäki cultural and event services, such as Riihimäki Easter, Arts Night or block and lunchtime gigs.
The cultural buddy activity is coordinated by open welfare services together with the cultural and event services of the city of Riihimäki. The aim is to support equal opportunities for participation in culture and increase the inclusion of older people. Culture belongs to everyone and it increases well-being, the meaning of life and enables the experience of learning, insight and inclusion.
Discover the exhibitions at the Riemu museums in the city of Riihimäki.
Read more about the events of Riihimäki Cultural and Event Services.
Discover current events in the city of Riihimäki.
Discover what Riihimäki Theatre has to offer on their website. (www.riihimaenteatteri.fi.)
Ask a cultural friend to accompany you to a cultural event or museum for yourself or a loved one by contacting Jemina Salone. Contact information below.
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When you want to use Riihimäki's public transport, the ride-hailing service, or you are thinking about ordering an R-ride for the first time.
Open welfare services offer bus buddies through volunteer activities, who help with the implementation of the service and, if necessary, go with you to familiarize yourself with the use of public transport and routes.
Get to know the public transport system in the city of Riihimäki.
The bus buddy activity is coordinated by Maarit Lindholm-Teräväinen, director of open welfare services, tel. 050 300 2202.
If you would like to become a bus buddy, you can contact Jemina Salose, volunteer coordinator for open welfare services, tel. 040 647 7112.
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The Books Home service of Riihimäki City Library is intended for those who cannot come to the library themselves due to old age, illness or disability. The Books Home service is free of charge.
Before starting the service, we will ask about your reading preferences and conclude a service agreement. It is also possible to conclude a service agreement on a temporary basis, for example during illness.
In the Books to Home service, we collect materials for you in a bag every 6 weeks according to your wishes and interests. The bag will be collected by a person you authorize or it can be delivered to your home by a volunteer. The library staff will take care of the due dates of your materials.
If both parties wish, the Books Home volunteer agreement can be expanded to also include friendship activities, in which case you can have coffee together, exchange news and, for example, discuss literature.
Contact the volunteer and outreach work for the elderly coordinator if you would like to join the Books Home service. Contact information can be found at the end of the page.
Discover the selection, events and services of Riihimäki City Library.
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When using your smartphone or computer becomes difficult, come to digital guidance.
Personal digital guidance for using your smartphone, tablet or computer:
- At Riihimäki Library, multi-purpose hall, without an appointment, on Mondays from 12:30 to 14:30
- Kotokartanosaätiö at Puistonkulma, Valtakatu 7-9 on Wednesdays from 13:00 to 14:30. You can come to Puistonkulma without an appointment or book your appointment in advance by calling 050 512 2755.
- Meeting point for Riksula's spring 2026 digital tours without an appointment: January 9 and 23 and February 6 and 20 from 13 to 15 p.m.
Digital guidance can be, for example, learning how to use a digital device or service, solving a single digital problem, or providing advice and encouragement for purchasing a new digital device or implementing a digital service. The guides are volunteer digital guides from the Kotokartanosäätiö.
Through SeniorSurf's remote guidance service, seniors all over Finland can request free digital guidance on how to use a computer, other digital device or digital services. Remote guidance takes place by phone or computer using the necessary programs. The guides are reliable and trained volunteers from all over Finland.
Request SenioriSurf guidance for yourself or a loved one by calling 044 700 7101. You can call SenioriSurf at any time, listen to the recording until the end, and you will be called back within two business days. The cost of the call is the local network or mobile phone fee according to the caller's operator contract. -
As we age, our bodies change. Because of these changes, older people are more susceptible to the harmful effects of alcohol than people of working age. Many older people take regular medication, and the medications do not mix well with alcohol.
Elderly people may use alcohol to try to relieve sadness, loneliness or depression.
When you are concerned about your own or a loved one's alcohol use, contact the Oma Häme mental health and substance abuse services first line. The first line will provide guidance, advice or an assessment of the need for treatment. Go to the first-line channels for mental health and substance abuse services here (www.omahame.fi).
Peer support for loved ones of substance abusers
The Neighborhood Compass is a three-year (2024–2027) STEA-funded project. The Neighborhood Compass produces and enables targeted support activities based on professionalism and peer support for the relatives of substance abusers, and increases their awareness of substance abuse. Read more about the services and helpline of the Nearby Compass here. (www.vikto.fi.)
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Falls are common, and the risk increases with age: one in three people over the age of 65 falls each year. Falls can also lead to a fear of falling, which can limit your mobility and social activities. This often leads to a decrease in mobility and functional capacity.
Falls can be prevented. Exercise is the most effective way to reduce falls, and therefore it is worth taking care of good muscle strength and balance through regular exercise. A varied diet and sufficient calcium and vitamin D intake are also key factors in preventing falls and fractures. It is also a good idea to take care of the safety and accessibility of your home and yard.
Read more about fall prevention on the Oma Häme website. (www.omahame.fi.)
Join the City of Riihimäki's applied sports groups
Adapted exercise refers to exercise for people who, due to injury, illness, other impairment of functional capacity or social situation, find it difficult to participate in generally available exercise, and whose exercise requires adaptation and special skills. These groups include, among others, people with musculoskeletal disorders, visually impaired people, long-term ill people and frail people over 65 years of age.
The insurance is valid for functions, events and events organized and supervised by the city.
You can find the appropriate exercise groups in our registration system.
Anne-Mari Makaroff-Vallioniemi
Applied physical education instructor
phone 050 435 9993
anne-mari.makaroff-vallioniemi@riihimaki.fi -
Mental health is an important everyday resource for everyone. It is health and functioning, as well as the ability to face life's challenges, changing situations and difficult moments. The changes that come with aging can challenge mental well-being. Depression may manifest as insomnia, pain and other physical ailments, loss of appetite and the inability to cope with everyday tasks.
Everyone can influence their mental well-being according to their own abilities. Even a little exercise, outdoor activities and social contacts refresh the mind and promote mental well-being. Don't be alone with your worries.
Come join in on open senior activities.
If necessary, contact the Oma Häme senior citizens' first line. (www.omahame.fi.)
MIELI Crisis Center in Hyminen provides low-threshold conversation support in difficult life situations and crises. You can come to the reception alone, with your spouse, loved one or family. The help is free of charge and you can remain anonymous if you wish.
The meeting can take place either as an online reception or as a face-to-face client meeting. MIELI Crisis Center Hymise will be on hand in Riihimäki at the Senior Corner of the Kotokartanosaätiö, Hämeenkatu 9-15, by appointment, phone 0400 755 284.
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When treating memory disorders, it is important to identify the disease as quickly as possible. This can slow the progression of the disease and reduce symptoms. Contact your health center's memory nurse if you are concerned about your own or a loved one's memory.
A nurse at your health center will assess your or your loved one's situation and, if necessary, initiate tests in collaboration with the health center doctor. The health center doctor will refer you to a specialist for further tests if necessary.
Home care and assisted living physicians are primarily responsible for memory diagnostics for home care and assisted living clients.
Do the following
If you suspect that you or a loved one has a memory disorder, contact your health center. You can contact us digitally or by calling. You can also share your concerns with the elderly customer service or another service you regularly use.
Refer to the services of Oma Hämeen Memory Disease Care (www.omahame.fi.)