Healthy, Wealthy & Wise Project - UK

This is an activity based group with a focus on adult education. Weelky speakers are brought in from many sectors of the community & many Healthy, Wealthy & Wise (HWW) members participate in the annual Ely Festival as performers & help with stage events. Intergenerational relationships have been kindled over time with school reading programmes & the help of the Small World Theatre & their Generation X puppet programme to change negative attitudes between the youth & the elderly.

Ageing, Population, Health

The HWW Project wanted to show local authorities & others that it was possible for the ageing to live longer, healthier lives with the consequences of decreasing health care & social services costs to the community. With the rising cost of health care & declining health & social services, this programme is very positive. Activities such as continued education, music, dance, puppetry, travel & participation in community events, offered by the project, maintain a healthy brain & keep HWW members involved & engaged in life. Ely, outside Cardiff, is one of the largest housing estates in Europe. Poverty & umemployment are commom, with a full spectrum of social problems & criminal activities. "Car crime by under age drivers, muggings & a lack of respect for the elderly by gangs of young people have been identified as problems for the older residents of the estate". An attempt to rectify this problem by creating intergenerational opportunities is a focus of the HWW. The puppet project & Generation x has met some of the need here & members from HWW have also involved themselves in reading programmes with children in local schools. The HWW Project aims to establish The Healthy Living and Positive Ageing Centre in the first few years of this Millennium. Among many exciting programmes, Alternative & Complementary Medicines & Treatments, Intergenerational Activities, an Intergenerational Volunteer Bureau & a Positive Ageing Programme is on the Centre'sagenda.