Seasons 1 and 2 of the Emmy and AACTA award-winning Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds demonstrated unequivocally that intergenerational care could improve the health and happiness of Australia’s elderly.
Now in a world first, older adults and teenagers are being brought together for a compelling new intergenerational experiment.
We see if the power of an intergenerational program can also alter the lives of our most vulnerable young Australians — teens — in the five-part, one-hour-long documentary Old People’s Home for Teenagers, narrated by Annabel Crabb.
Loneliness and isolation are hazardous to one’s health.
Most Australians will experience loneliness at some point in their lives, with the elderly and teenagers being especially vulnerable. Half of all older people who live alone identify as lonely, but teenagers are also at risk of social isolation.
Teenagers, who are frequently perceived as being ‘moody,’ account for more than a quarter of our population but are arguably our most undervalued generation.
The Old People’s Home for Teenagers is the first intergenerational program of its kind, and we’ll see if spending time with older adults gives our teens resilience, confidence, and creates a rite of passage into adulthood over the course of five weeks.
Will they change their attitudes towards the elderly and help to eliminate ageism throughout Australia? Will the teenagers give older people a sense of purpose and improve their overall mental and physical health?
If this can convert some of the feral teenagers from the path of destruction why not give it a shot.