Jenny Crombie is a people-person. And when she found herself single again at the age of 80, she realised she needed to get out and about if she didn’t want to be lonely.
She still drives, lives in Knox and is busy with her children and grandchildren. But she loves coming to the Social Connections group to meet others her age and to go on the bus outings, which she thoroughly enjoys.
“We all have lunch and tea, there’s a lot of laughter, we listen to music and do arts and crafts,” Jenny says. “It’s a great way to make a whole new circle of friends.”
Jenny used to volunteer over the years – both at Eastern Health and at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Courts – and she knows how important it is to stay connected and busy.
Paul Warwick, Director, AgeWell Centres (Victoria) says many clients across the 15 centres in Melbourne, Ballarat and Geelong, access Uniting AgeWell’s social connection programs which include centre based activities, outings, culturally specific groups and art, music and seniors gyms.
Project Lead Social Connections for the east and outer east, Jennifer Holman, says bus outings which run two days a week, include a vast range of destinations – art galleries, exhibitions, markets, movies and theatre, gardens … everything is up for consideration. There are also home visits and individual support.
“There is no doubt that COVID lockdowns increased the social isolation of many of our clients, who are thrilled to be back at the centres again and having fun,” says Jennifer. “They say they have missed socialising, companionship and the emotional and mental stimulation that goes with this. These sessions afford them the opportunity to create new friendships, to meet new people.”
During COVID, many clients received one-on-one social connection visits from activity workers at their homes. This entailed playing board games, or chatting – whatever the client wanted to do, as well as assisted shopping or going out to a café for coffee or lunch.
An interesting trend is that one-on-one home visits continue to be popular. “COVID lockdowns affected people differently,” Jennifer explains. “Some are thrilled to be back in a group setting, others prefer individual visits at their homes.”
Our AgeWell Centres across Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat offer a suite of restorative, wellbeing and social connection services. Services on offer range at the various sites.
Learn more about our Allied Health and Therapy Programs