Age Strong

“Older people are our underdeveloped renewable natural resource.”- Professor Peter J Whitehouse

“We’re all on this amazing ride together, younger people are just older people in training, and ageing is an elite sport. Let’s get good at it.” – Paul Springer

Age UK Lambeth has a bit of a plan. The idea is that we older people (and at age 73 ¾ I qualify) do a lot more of developing and delivering services older people and the whole community need. Together we open the floodgates of our capabilities, experience, knowledge, and desire to increase wellbeing for all.

We call what we’re doing Age Strong, and this is just the start. We don’t know how far it can go, and we shouldn’t. We’re just beginning with some things we can actually do and seeing, by teaming up with our MYsocial members, where the road leads.

Our Wednesday 2pm “Together” sessions on Zoom are a great way to see how much potential we all have. Today we talked about the Mentor approach below, about some organisations who want us all to take action they can support, and about how we can make the most of all that and go further. First discoveries: absolutely everyone brings something special to this party; many of us are already mentors, we just to think of it that way; together we can make a difference for each other and for all ages; by getting into any of the programmes below you can, whatever your background, help Age Strong be what it ought to be for all our sakes; if you have a something else you’d like us to take up, we all want to know.

So… here below for a start is the short introduction to our Mentor approach. It’s a bit of a formal wee piece, and some of it is a repeat of what you’ve just read, but it says more and is at least brief. See what you think, and if anything I’m saying in this blog is interesting you can join us for a “Together” session on a Tuesday at 2pm (we talk about all of life, not just this) or just tell MYsocial you want to know more.

THE MENTOR CASCADE – Age UK Lambeth has started an Age Strong programme. Working with partners in all sectors in the borough, we are positioning our vastly capable older population to develop and deliver help and opportunities that they and the whole community need: help delivered by older people- for everyone.

Our approach to this work is based on opening the floodgates of older people’s capabilities, experience, knowledge, and desire to be both social problem-solvers and financially viable contributors for all our sakes. 

Based on wide consultation, we are now initiating a practical way forward which has generated enthusiasm: older people trained and acting as MENTORS in key areas of their own and everyone’s lives. 

Working with high level anchor partners, we’ll initially be offering Mentor training, and effective ways to put that training to use, in the following areas: 

• Frailty Prevention
• First Aid and health self-care
• Wellbeing 
• Promoting Physical Activity
• Work and Opportunity

Mentors will be enabled to help a wide population in the borough, from family and friends to all of Age UK Lambeth’s network and beyond. 

The Cascade effect: Mentors will be trained as trainers. The effect each Mentor has will in any case ripple through the population as people helped can then be a positive influence on all around them. In addition each Mentor can bring others into Mentoring, directly cascading the benefits of their training.

Supported and facilitated throughout their activities by Age UK Lambeth’s flourishing MYsocial programme, Mentors will have a powerful online reach even in these CV-19 times. Through all of Age UK Lambeth that reach will be extended borough-wide.

Age Strong and our Mentor work are rooted in being place-based, while also intended to be of value as prototypes everywhere.