Older People Tell Their Stories in New Initiative

With all the news highlighting negative issues surrounding older people, it makes a refreshing change to see efforts being made to explore ageing in a positive sense.

One such project is the Better Life initiative by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). This is a five-year project which is researching how to best serve the needs of, for example, adults with learning difficulties and moreover enables older people with high support needs to express their views online. It is hoped that such an initiative will help to counteract the inevitable stereotyping of certain groups of older people. Such groups, which will now have a voice, include those living with dementia, Asian older people, and older gay and lesbian people among others.

Better Life draws attention to the fact that even the most vulnerable older people are capable of enjoying a good quality of life. As a JRF spokesman says: "Older people tend to be portrayed as dependants, or burdens, or patients or sufferers defined by their condition, or as passive service users or care receivers."

What is needed is a shift in society's attitudes. A learning disabled man, John who contributed to the project summed it all up: "Just because we get older doesn't mean we can't do things."

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