When I founded Ageing without Children back in 2015 I was under no illusions of how difficult the situation facing older people who had no adult children or adult children willing or able to support them would be. In 2014 the IPPR had published The... Continue reading
Read any report on inequalities on ageing and you’ll see many of the same things: the adverse impact of being isolated with poor support networks, loneliness, having poor health and a low income. Certain groups will be highlighted as being particularly at risk,... Continue reading
SUPPORT FOR THOSE AWOC-NOT ALL OLDER PEOPLE ARE GRANDPARENTS, AND THIS ASSUMPTION CAN BE DETRIMENTAL
Our guest blog for Independent Age CLICK HERE TO READ Continue reading
Context The numbers of people over 65 without adult children are set to double from 1.2 million at the present time to 2 million by 2030. At the moment 92% of informal care is provided by family [1] and 80% of older people with disabilities... Continue reading
Over the next 20/30 years there will be unprecedented numbers of people without children reaching oldest old age. Policy and planning focused on older people being supported by their children/grandchildren in later life will not meet this need and risks leaving individuals ageing without children... Continue reading
It is Carers Week, the time to highlight the work of the unpaid carers that prop up the health and social care system. Everywhere there are articles pointing out how much unpaid carers save the state and how much the system would collapse without them,... Continue reading
One of the many things that makes ageing without children so difficult for people to engage with is that bluntly, thinking about it is hugely uncomfortable. There are many wonderful campaigners – Beth Britton http://d4dementia.blogspot.co.uk Nicci Gerrard and Julia Jones of Johns Campaign http://johnscampaign.org.uk ,... Continue reading
Before AWOC mark 1 closed in 2019, one of the concepts we had been exploring was that of ‘alterkin’. Drawing on the circles of support model, and our own research with people ageing without children, we looked at what could be created that would offer... Continue reading
Dear AWOC members and supporters, Looking back at 2017, one of the most remarkable thing for us is that AWOC is still here. We started the year with high hopes of receiving a grant from the Big Lottery Accelerating Ideas programme, a process... Continue reading
It’s now 3 years since the first blog about ageing without children which was later picked up by The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/social-life-blog/2014/apr/25/ageing-without-children-family-care In those 3 years we’ve learned a lot! People ageing without children includes more than just those who have never been parent through choice... Continue reading