Research & Development: Community Engagement

• The culture and spiritual life of older people in residential aged care
  Funded by Resthaven, in partnership with the Flinders University of South Australia, with Dr Ann Harrington the lead researcher.
  Research will be conducted during 2011/2012. This research will inform a larger research funding application being constructed by FUSA with a UK-based university and other aged care providers in Adelaide. The research should generate information useful to Resthaven to review practice and services. The research will investigate what culture and spiritual life means to older people living in residential aged care facilities.
  It is anticipated that the information that is gathered will assist Resthaven staff to provide the best possible service and environment for residents.
  For further information, contact: headoffice@resthaven.asn.au
  
  
• Connecting the Community: supporting the Serbian community to access aged care
  A Community Partners Program funded by the Department of Health and Ageing
  This project aims to familiarise older Serbian people with the range of aged care supports and services, particularly those existing in the community that can assist people to remain independent. Resthaven project staff have been working with key Serbian community leaders and groups to increase their awareness of aged care services and their capacity to guide older members of their community to appropriate services and supports. Resthaven has facilitated a number of expos, workshops, and radio and newspaper promotions. For further information, contact: community@resthaven.asn.au.
  
  
• Social engagement for older people in retirement living
  An ARC linkage project with ECH (lead organisation), University of Adelaide and other aged care providers
  Resthaven is a partner in an ARC linkage project involving local and interstate aged care providers and universities in a collaboration led by ECH and Adelaide University (Professor Andrew Beer as lead researcher) investigating social engagement for older people in retirement living. For further information, contact: community@resthaven.asn.au.
  
  
• Older people’s community engagement
  A joint initiative between Resthaven and COTA Senior’s Voice, funded by Resthaven Inc.
  The aim of this research is to identify factors that support and enable older people to continue to engage in their communities, and to recommend strategies to increase older people’s community engagement. For further information, contact: community@resthaven.asn.au.
  
  
• Resthaven 75th Anniversary Grants:
  In 2010, Resthaven celebrated its 75th anniversary and made available grants of up to $5000 to benefit charitable and not-for-profit organisations and community groups for projects/initiatives that support older people, their carers and/or volunteers living in metropolitan and rural South Australia. The grants have supported initiatives that have built the capacity for local communities to respond to the needs of older people: reducing social isolation, engaging older people in activities and learning opportunities, and utilising people’s strengths and abilities to support their peers.
  
  Projects included:
  • Learning to use ‘Skype’ and ‘Facebook’ for seniors. 
  • The ‘Dreams and Dance of Life’, volunteers documenting the stories of older people
  • ‘Mensmove’, the establishment of a men’s group. 
  • ‘Parliamo, Mangiamo e Ascoltiamo in Compagnia’ (‘Let’s Talk, Eat and Listen with Friends’), a gathering of 120 people from the older Italian speaking community.
  • A learn to swim program for senior Vietnamese women. 
  • ‘Teaching Active Elders to Wii’.