In partnership, the Working Group aims to identify, develop and test ways of improving the quality of life of older people who may be lonely and isolated and are at risk from declining health and wellbeing. In particular, the Group encourages work to identify and engage those who are hard to reach in the community by:
The Improving the Lives of Excluded Older People working group has merged with the Loneliness & Isolation working group. There was much overlap between the issues covered by each group and it was agreed they could be addressed more effectively through combined effort. While often associated with material deprivation, disadvantage and disability, older people who are socially-excluded are also isolated and very often feel lonely. Practical action to improve the lives of isolated and lonely older people should encompass those who are also socially-excluded.
Shelagh works closely with the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is a significant influence on strategy and raising awareness of current published research. She is committed to ensuring best practice and current research are shared and used as widely and effectively as possible within the Age Action Alliance network, and beyond.
Shelagh was awarded an OBE in June 2014 for her work with the elderly.
Our Chair, Shelagh, is now designated an Ambassador for the Campaign to End Loneliness and has delivered 12 workshops across Yorkshire and Humber to raise awareness of:
Negative portrayals of older people are commonplace: the media is largely preoccupied with the assumed cost of ageing, reinforcing a view that older people are dead weight in society - non-productive beneficiaries of state largesse; at the same time, however, they are perceived as well off, and in the eyes of some social commentators responsible for both the housing crisis and youth unemployment. Like any group outside the social mainstream, older people are routinely stereotyped and are the subject of many false assumptions and untruths.
Ditch the stereotypical obsession with zimmer frames, stair lifts, memory loss and mortality. It is the film about a 50-something woman starring an unknown teacher which captured the imagination of the jury and cinema-goers alike at the 63rd Berlin Film Festival earlier this year resulting in Paulina Garcia winning the coveted Best Actress award. […]