A healthier, more socially engaged life

The room is alive at the Wednesday ‘Sunshine’ Social Group; chatter, laughter and the delicious aroma of baking homemade pizza fill the space. As the group finishes their light exercise session, Richard, with the aid of his walker moves along with the group to a selection of board games. There’s some new games, some familiar ones, but all good fun, before they all prepare for their hot lunch to be served by in-house chef Rochelle. 

“It’s quite a full itinerary”, says Richard putting his fork down. “After being picked up by healthAbility’s courtesy bus, we have morning tea and chat across the table. We then do light exercises, maybe some active games like carpet bowls, noodle soccer or beanbag throw, and then some trivia or board games before lunch. After we have eaten, we do games like ‘9 letter words’ before being dropped home again. I love getting out, but it also gives my wife who is my carer a bit of respite too and it’s great she doesn’t have to take me to and fro”.

Richard, a long-term Eltham resident continues to live independently with his wife. However, his arthritis and mental health concerns have certainly taken a toll. “My mobility for the past 10 to 12 years has been very poor, so I was finding I was spending most of my time at home and the only time I would leave the house was to go to Doctor’s appointments. In 2017, my Occupational Therapist identified me as being socially isolated and approached Rachel, the Team Leader here and they found a place for me in this group, and I’ve been with them ever since”. One of the aims of the Connect Well Groups is to keep the community connected through affordable leisure and recreational activities, benefiting both body and mind whilst building ongoing and meaningful social interactions. “I really enjoy chatting with the people here and all the activities they have, especially the monthly outing on a Friday to Morning Melodies at Darebin RSL”, says Richard.

“I originally came to healthAbility as a public member about 15 years ago and I’ve seen a lot of specialists, such as exercise physiotherapy, dietetics, podiatry and dental. healthAbility itself caters for a range of people, like general public members, people on Low-Income Healthcare cards, Commonwealth Home Support Programs through My Aged Care, Home Care Packages and the NDIS which I am now on. The NDIS package assists Richard to participate in several other Connect Well Groups such as the Friday Outings Group and the Thursday Online Trivia Group, thus expanding and enriching his social and friendship network.

Rachel, the group’s Team Leader sings Richard’s praises, “He’s an active and invaluable member, always contributing suggestions to the program’s activities and the lunch menu. He’s also an active member of the Positive Aging Advisory Committee which initiated the Memory Care Café in conjunction with the Nillumbik Council enabling people with dementia and their carers to have an activity to go to in Hurstbridge, Diamond Creek or Eltham; a very successful addition to our Connect Well Group Program”.

Connect Well Groups accommodates a range of older people or those living with disability to operate throughout the week and cater for small groups including dementia friendly programs, outings, online groups, Men’s Shed(currently based in Manningham), groups for carers and many more. “We try to give participants a mix of options and activities to choose from, and the beauty of that is we have a blend of people on the monthly outings coming from many of the different weekly social groups, so they get to see some new faces and mix with people from the other groups. The Tuesday and Friday outings groups can be attended by people who don’t belong to any of the other weekly groups, and outings include things like visits to nurseries, the botanic gardens, the zoo or Morning Melodies”, says Rachel.

There is a Connect Well group to suit everyone’s physical, social, cultural, emotional and recreational needs and the friendly staff, volunteers and current members are always eager to welcome new friends into the groups.

Contact our friendly Social Support Team on ssg@healthability.org.au, go to the Connect Well Groups page, or call 9430 9125 to find out how we can help you get connected.