Caritas Plymouth, in partnership with Plymouth CAST Multi-Academy Trust, has started an ambitious 18-month funded project as part of an exciting national initiative known as Care Home Friends and Neighbours: Intergenerational Linking, which promotes young people’s engagement with older people living in care homes across England. Ten primary schools from Plymouth, Devon, Torbay and Dorset will be participating in this project to explore new ways to reach out to care homes.

By giving young people and older people living in care homes the opportunity to come together to share in new experiences, learning, stories and laughter, particularly individuals that otherwise may never meet, we seek to strengthen community connection and deepen understanding of each other and how we all live together. Over time, we hope that younger and older people will form meaningful intergenerational relationships that are mutually beneficial and that long-term, sustainable links will develop between the schools, youth groups and care homes.

The project is part of an international evidence-based, practiced informed initiative that promotes quality of life and delivers positive change in care homes for older people. The My Home Life vision is a world where all care homes for older people are great places to live, die, visit and work. 

If you would like to find out more about this project, please email caritas@prcdtr.org.uk.

We are grateful for a grant from the intergenerational linking initiative, which is run by partner organisations My Home Life England and The Linking Network, and is jointly funded by The Dunhill Medical Trust and the #iwill Fund, from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & SportFor more information about Care Home Friends and Neighbours: Intergenerational Linking, please visit the website and follow the project on Twitter