“Passion for Life – Putting Older People in the Driving Seat”
‘Passion for Life’ provides a framework for older people to make incremental changes in their lives to improve their health and well-being, particularly after a life-changing event such as retirement or bereavement. The project (open to tenants of other housing providers and older home owners) centres on five themes: health and well-being; movement; social networks; safety in the home; and a fifth theme chosen by participants; and has been extended to two other programmes in the county with plans to roll it out further. Each session or ‘life café’ involves a mix of interactive activities, guest speakers and sharing personal experiences and at the end of each café participants are encouraged to ‘commit to a change’.
Why we liked this project
This project is a proactive and positive way of engaging with all older people in the community as well as other local service providers. It empowers older people to achieve personal goals and make positive changes to their lives regardless of age or physical ability. The project (largely driven by participants) has had a positive impact on older people’s lives (supported by feedback from participants) and has already been extended with plans to roll it out further (with participants taking the lead). The ‘life cafes’ also help older people to maintain their independence by increasing awareness of other in-house and external services and developing new friendships.
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