Penny Shepherd considers the recently published 4th Edition of the My Future Care Handbook… The My Future Care Handbook, produced by non-profit My Care Matters, has been used by AWOC East Kent, AWOC Hastings and other AWOC groups and individuals over the last few years.... Continue reading
AWOC Board member Paul Goulden writes... It is now more than 11 years since our founder Kirsty Woodard first raised the issue of ageing without children in her article in The Guardian. At the time it was seen as interesting but niche within the ageing... Continue reading
Rhian Bowen-Davies took up her current post as Older People’s Commissioner for Wales in 2024. By 2030 1 in 4 people in Wales will be over 65 and this figure will include a growing number of older people ageing without children who may face particular... Continue reading
I am Yvonne and I set up AWOC Dorset with my husband Tad in October 2021. Following a move to Dorset sixteen years earlier, and at a time in our lives when we found everyone else (or so it seemed) having children, I found support... Continue reading
Existing support tends to assume that everyone has family or friends People who are ageing without children or other “next generation” family support are a significant and increasing proportion of the growing number of older people. Penny Shepherd explains why advance care planning materials need... Continue reading
Organisations must update their approach to emergency contact details, says Penny Shepherd of AWOC East Kent Whether on official forms or elsewhere, being asked for your “next of kin” is often problematic for AWOCs. “When people ask me to record my next of kin, I... Continue reading
Planning for later life is one of those things that everyone knows they should do but like other things we know we should do; eat more healthily, do more exercise, drive less, stop watching Question Time because it makes our blood pressure soar! it’s one... Continue reading
Ageing Without Children – One Simple General Election Ask . . . With the UK General Election in full swing, this is a timely opportunity to ask politicians to recognise the growing and important issue of ageing without children. The Longevity White Paper from the International Longevity... Continue reading
Has the time come to collect more official data on ageing without children? Mapping informal carers and their support needs has rightly become a key priority for health and social care in recent years. However, equivalent information about access to informal care, including where there... Continue reading