Ageing Population – Thomas Reddall High School
This student group has proposed a specialised program to improve the wellbeing of ageing Australians.
Our idea is to set up a structured program/organisation to specialise in improving the wellbeing of aging Australians. The program/organisation will specialise in improving the mental and physical health of the clients through wellbeing exercises such as, regular group meetings and game nights, as well as, cultural days for Indigenous clients, special events such as Easter lunch, ANZAC ceremonies and Christmas dinners. It will also include a support program for the caretakers and a pen-pal mini program in which school children (15-17) will regularly write to elderly people in aged care facilities.
Some of the challenges we faced in the making of this project were firstly practical things like where these events would be held, where the money would come from, who would help run the program/organisation. The second was more humanitarian issues like how to support our clients who had illnesses like dementia, but also how to make our clients feel safe and respected while at our events/facilities. We also kept in mind the cultural aspect of working with our clients and we worked to create the most effective program we could.