COVID-19 has hit young and older people in our community particularly hard. With the federal budget calling for youth job creation and better aged care supports, Lively is ready to answer the call with our unique intergenerational model.
Over the course of the last seven weeks, thirteen older residents of Darebin Council area in Melbourne and three young helpers aged 18–23 have been working together to try out a new vision for home care. During this time, the helpers, who have no formal training in caring outside of that provided by Lively, have been providing a helping hand, support and companionship to our Lively “members” — the older participants in our trial.
“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
— Aboriginal Activists Group, Queensland, 1970s
This quote, born out of Australian indigenous activism, neatly expresses how we want to think about Lively Home Care; it acts as a compass for us as we navigate the uncertain territory of designing a new model for caring.
Those who read our previous post will know that at Lively, we’ve been playing with an exciting idea; the idea of re-imagining home care, and developing a home care model that employs young jobseekers to help older people stay connected and live well.
At Lively, we’re working on ideas and service models that we think have the potential to fundamentally reshape Australia’s aged care landscape. And we’re excited about sharing our journey and learning as it happens with others who are interested in building a more positive future for young and older people. We hope that the ideas, insights and learnings shared through these posts provide inspiration for others to follow, or prompt you to reach out if you’re keen to replicate or collaborate. Here we go!
At this year’s Victorian Seniors Festival, we were thrilled to partner with StoryPod to launch Tech, Tea and Tales – a series of pop-up technology help and story sharing events, employing ten young jobseekers to teach older people about technology, as well as recording their life stories and experiences on film.
