Positive impact of Intergenerational Relationships

The power of intergenerational relationships has been demonstrated on ABC’s Old People’s Home for Teenagers, featuring residents from RSL LifeCare’s Le Hamel Retirement Village and students from Heritage Christian School in Port Macquarie.  For 6 weeks, the groups met and worked on completing tasks, learning new skills, and importantly creating bonds as they learnt about one another.

On Monday 20 November 2023, the group met for the last time, and celebrated with a Christmas party.

Heritage Christian School teacher, Casey Baldwin, hailed the out-of-the-box idea as a great success and said everyone has bought in.

“I remember one of the students saying to me ‘Miss, I don’t know how to start conversations’ and I said ‘it will come’ and you watch her now and she’s great.”

After gaining inspiration from the first series of Old People’s Home for Teenagers, Ms Baldwin first approached the school’s principal and then reached out to Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.

“Sam Johnson from council suggested I go to Le Hamel Village and I spoke with Tulli and she has been phenomenal,” Ms Baldwin said. “She has taken this and run with it and she has supported me the whole way. She’s so excited, gets tears in her eyes because she’s so excited to see how well her seniors are going.”

Port Macquarie’s Le Hamel Village manager Tulli-Rae Fowler said more than anything, the program has been insightful.

“The impact it has across both seniors and students together and how much more alike they are in the problems and issues that some people experience,” Ms Fowler said.

“Age doesn’t really effect that they still go through those same struggles regardless, and it’s been beautiful to watch and witness them all grow together and create this bond.”