The Power of Intergenerational Connections in Active & Healthy Ageing

Description

The Ranelagh Community Response is a registered charity in Dublin that supports people in the Southeast area, including Ranelagh, Rathmines, Rathgar, Donnybrook, Milltown, Ballsbridge, Sandymount, and Irishtown. It is almost exclusively volunteer run, with people coming from various backgrounds to engage and assist in their community. We provide nutritious meals, provide social activities, events, food parcels and assist with various small tasks to help the community amongst other initiatives. It is difficult to put into words the impact and reach of what is happening here in Woodstock and the wider community.

For Active & Healthy Ageing, Ireland has initiatives like the Active Ageing Programme, which aims to keep older adults engaged in physical activities and connected to their local community leisure centres. Ranelagh Community Response offers several programs to support the community, particularly focusing on nutrition, social inclusion, and intergenerational engagement. We meet people where they are at and provide bespoke responses to differing needs.

Here are some of our other key initiatives:

Meals on Wheels: They provide high-quality, nutritious meals to people in need across Ranelagh and surrounding areas. This provides opportunities for our volunteers to engage with those living in isolation and to introduce activities and further interaction. This is a vital service on many levels. We even have a cargo bike for deliveries, which gives our community the opportunity to see the volunteerism and work that goes on. Our work is very visible in the community and Woodstock is considered a hive and a hub for this valuable engagement.

Community Care Group: Volunteers assist with small tasks, such as transportation to medical appointments or social outings. This is both practical and aims to tackle social isolation while breaking down social and generational barriers.

Food Parcel Deliveries: We distribute food hampers and essential supplies to vulnerable individuals.

Intergenerational Inclusion Programs: We involve Transition Year students in community activities, fostering connections between younger and older generations.

Social & Recreational Activities: We organise events to encourage social interaction and combat loneliness, these range from coffee and chats, film showings, social breakfasts to garden parties and BBQs. We ensure that voices are heard and that the range of activities are shaped by the needs and interests of those using our services.

Gardening & Sustainability Initiatives: This fosters sustainability, inclusion, and intergenerational engagement. Here’s how gardening is integrated into their programs:

Community Gardening Projects: Volunteers, including adults from Gheel Autism Services, assist with gardening tasks, helping to maintain green spaces and grow fresh produce.

Planter Box Initiative: Transition Year students and local residents grow flowers and plants from seeds, which are then distributed to elderly community members for their gardens or window boxes.

Sustainability Efforts: We repurpose food scraps for compost, mixing banana skins, eggshells, and coffee grounds to enrich soil. We also plan to build a greenhouse to grow plants for local distribution.

Social & Therapeutic Benefits: Gardening provides a relaxing and rewarding activity for participants, encouraging physical movement, mental stimulation, and social interaction.

Aim of Initiative

The aim of this initiative is to create an atmosphere that encourages the sharing of food, knowledge, skills and resources.
An atmosphere where people feel empowered, engaged and part of their community. We aim to break down social, cultural and generational barriers to foster an inclusive future for all. A place where loneliness is a thing of the past and peoples needs are met in a collaborative and community led manner. A place where older people are valued, heard and included, so that they can be full and active participants in their own lives, and community! We would love to see this rolled out in more sheltered housing complexes, and we aim to inspire others and provide a roadmap for others.

Who is it aimed at

This initiative is aimed at meeting the needs of older people in our community, but it doesn’t stop there. Ranelagh Community Response is aimed at EVERYONE, young and old, from a variety of backgrounds, building a caring, active, intergeneration, inclusive community where everyone feels valued.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Understanding needs, mapping of our community to understand who we can collaborate with. This involves patience, understanding and lots of listening. We aim to be responsive not prescriptive.
2. Engaging Community, from local volunteers, schools, council staff, HSE (public health nurses and community psychiatric staff), Garda, AF Ireland, local representatives to artists, gardeners, those in direct provision, local businesses, musicians and much more.
3. Ensuring sustainability of initiatives from a volunteer perspective. We want to be in the position to meet the varied needs within our community. While we certainly have community champions, we aim to empower as many people as possible to get involved.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Meeting the needs of our diverse community, the realisation that there is no ‘magic bullet’. We need to be creative and responsive at all times.
2. Funding is a challenge that we have to mention. Securing ongoing financial resources is essential to keep these programs running, while acknowledging the wonderful support we already receive. Consistent funding sources would be helpful.
3. Reaching the most vulnerable individuals. Our outreach work does a lot to identify those individuals in our community and because we have a great network of local volunteers and allies we are often informed of those in need, however, we want to always ensure that our services reach those who need them most, such as isolated older adults, people with disabilities etc.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Tackling loneliness and social isolation through intergenerational engagement and increased social participation. We take into account that people have different needs and we respond to them accordingly. Older adults and young volunteers build meaningful connections, reducing isolation.
2. Community engagement: shaping a stronger and more resilient community for all. A community that takes action together for the purpose of the community, creating stronger social bonds and fostering a safer society for all.
3. Improved wellbeing, our food programmes and social activities contribute to both physical and emotional health. With the rising cost of living, our food programmes are very much an essential component in what we do.