A Better Life

Introduction

Developed through extensive consultation with internal and external experts, this five year programme is focusing on a significant challenge: how to ensure quality of life for the growing number of older people with high support needs in the UK.

JRF will commission a range of work to inform and produce clear, costed recommendations for policy and practice that can help older people with high support needs now and in the future, whatever setting they live in.

Five main areas of work

• Defining what makes 'a better life'
  By hearing what diverse older people with high support needs say about what they want and value. (Contact: Philippa Hare).
• Improving residential and nursing care
  By building our understanding of how to maximise older people's choice and quality of life in care settings so that we can influence policy and practice development. This work, led by My Home Life, also includes direct work with managers of Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust care homes (Contact: Philippa Hare).
• Researching housing with care schemes
  By informing those involved in policy and practice about how housing with care schemes can support older people who have, or who develop high support needs. (Contact: Ilona Haslewood)
• Identifying alternative approaches
  By exploring other accessible and affordable approaches to support, housing and community for older people who have, or who develop high support needs. This programme looks beyond what is commonly available, learning from imaginative practice, both in the UK and internationally. (Contact: Philippa Hare)
• Producing recommendations
  By picking out the strongest ideas and approaches from the above research with the help of older people, and promoting what needs to happen through clear, costed and credible recommendations. (Contact: Philippa Hare)

Our commitment

JRF has committed £1.5 million to this programme over five years (2009 – 2013). Please note however that we do not accept speculative enquiries for funding. We issue call for proposals and invite submissions to them. There are no current calls for this programme.

Six early messages from the programme

1. This is about all of us

   Old age is not about 'them' – it’s about all of us. We’re all heading in that direction, and some of us will require a lot of support. We know that this life stage can bring real loss, difficulty and frustration…but portraying older people as dependent and a ‘burden’ is a barrier to thinking together. We need positive narratives and images of later life to challenge ageist assumptions. The question of affordability (to the State), although central, should not be allowed to sideline all other concerns.

2. Let's hear the real experts

   Those already experiencing this life stage are the real experts. By listening to them (and especially to those with high support needs and from diverse backgrounds) we can better understand what they want and value – from life, not just from services. It does mean that we need to go the extra mile to encourage and support their voice to be heard.

3. Citizenship and meaningful lives

   The voice we can already hear reaffirms that, whatever our age and support needs, we all wish to be treated as citizens. This implies being able to live meaningful lives, based on strong, personal and respectful relationships, and making an active contribution to society.

4. One size won't fit all

   Older people in the UK, including those with high support needs, are becoming more and more diverse, with hugely varying lifestyles, cultural backgrounds, expectations, financial circumstances, family composition, education, experience, and resources. Some face additional challenges because of interacting conditions and forms of discrimination. A 'one size fits all' approach won't meet all our needs.

5. Looking inside and outside the box

   Many of the challenges and even solutions aren't new - simple changes to the current 'system', such as making it easier to navigate, could lead to a better life. But we also need to open our minds to innovative approaches developed outside the UK, or for other groups/life stages. More could also be done to share learning across the four countries of the UK.

6. Giving and taking

   There is a real appetite for ways of living into old age that reduce loneliness, strengthen links with the community, and are based on mutual relationships and reciprocal support. Developing our understanding of how to promote happy and inclusive communal living can make a lot of difference to the lives of people in care homes, retirement villages or extra care housing schemes. In all settings, supporting the supporters (paid and unpaid carers and family members) is crucial to ensure a better life for older people, as well as for the supporters themselves.