I am delighted to highlight the launch of the new Roar – Connections for Life website. The content is limited just now but will evolve and grow in the coming months. It has been redesigned to reflect the massive changes that both Roar and all of society have been and are going through. Our old website was very much aimed at showcasing the fantastic work we do with older people, a place for information about our many local services and how to join in.
Our new website will be relevant to people of all ages and from far and wide because there is so much we need to understand if we are going to live longer in good health and with a sustained sense of wellbeing and connectedness.
Despite Covid-19, mortality rates continue to improve. More people in their 50’s and 60’s are likely to have surviving parents, aunts and uncles and more children will know their grandparents and great-grandparents. There is no other time in history when this has been the case and we should celebrate this remarkable improvement in life expectancy.
However, living long is not the same as living well and if we want to be healthy and socially fulfilled in later life or if we want this for our loved ones then we need the knowledge, encouragement and tools to help us.
Over the past 10 years Roar has built up an expertise based on research coupled with the lived experience of our members. One of the most important elements to happier ageing is our ability to stay on our feet for as long as possible. In our hugely sedentary world this is a challenge for many age groups but it’s a killer for older people, which is why the phrase ‘sitting is the new smoking’ was coined.
We hope our new look graphics and content reflect that older people are not a homogenous, colourless group but a vast array of unique individuals. Tapping into what motivates anyone to take care of themselves is key. For one person it could be getting out to the bookies and for another it is being able to play with their grandchildren.
Keeping people motivated to keep moving as we deal with the pandemic is vitally important. We must ensure that we don’t end 2021 with a population of older people who survived Covid-19 but are now immobile and FRAIL.
We will be offering some very accessible, practical, evidence-based exercises, tools and information that people can make use of at home and that families can talk about together. If I was to pick 2 of the most important messages we will be conveying, they would be ensuring an older person can practice safe ways of getting off the floor so that they can get themselves up in an emergency and building in sit to stand exercises throughout the day to keep core and leg strength function.
We are also still very much open and continue to deliver services to 100’s of people across Renfrewshire, and supported by our incredible staff and volunteers. These are of course limited by the restrictions but we hope to add information about the new local services we will be offering as the vaccines are rolled out.
Please do get in touch with us at info@roarforlife.org if you would like more information on any of Roar – Connection for Life’s work.