« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Well? Issue 4: Spring/Summer 2004
Intergenerational Work
The mental health of children and young people has always been a priority in West Lothian, and plans are now underway for an initiative which aims to bridge the intergenerational gap by looking at mental health and well-being across age groups.
Intergenerational work has a number of benefits including:
Enabling younger people to have greater access to older people's experiences, wisdom and knowledge.
Breaking down negative perceptions held by both younger and older people.
An opportunity to look at shared and common issues on mental health and well-being.
Work already underway in West Lothian, including the MOOD Project which supports older people at risk of depression, would provide an existing infra-structure on which to build, while initiatives could also link with the New Community Schools.
Kevin Hurst, service development officer with West Lothian Council, says: "We're proposing a series of group work sessions with secondary school age youngsters and older people, which would incorporate both raising awareness and understanding of individual mental health and community well-being. We would use a variety of approaches to generate dialogue and promote integration between the groups."
Kevin Hurst
t: 01506 777327
e:Kevin.hurst@westlothian.gov.uk
What generation gap...?
It all began when Robert Cook from the Mental Health Options for Older People (MOOD) project in West Lothian was invited to give a talk on volunteering to the Primary 7 class at Croftmalloch Primary School in Whitburn. The pupils were so responsive that Robert then invited some of them to meet his older MOOD members, where they joined in with games, harmony singing and carpet bowls.
"Since then," says Robert, "we've been exchanging visits during one term every school year and it's proving to be very beneficial on both sides.
"It's obviously important to start young when you're trying to change attitudes towards mental health, and this is an excellent way of encouraging youngsters to interact more with older people and to recognise the valuable part they play in society."
Robert believes that the family unit is not what is used to be when, 30 or 40 years ago, older people were an integral part of the family. Now that families live apart or are more spread out, there's simply not the same level of interaction between younger and older people.
He's hoping that the intergenerational work at MOOD can be extended to include other primary and secondary schools in the area, coordinated by a sessional worker.
"It's been fascinating hearing pupils' comments when they describe who or what old age means to them. We also talk about how some older people need help and the ways in which the younger ones can help them. So it's very beneficial in two ways - from an educational point of view and from a volunteering perspective."
Robert Cook, MOOD
t: 01501 749974
e:Robert@moodproject.org.uk
« Previous | Contents | Next »