Our Future Homes: Promoting Wellbeing & Community for an Ageing Population
Julienne Meyer (March 2025)
In 2023, the Government appointed an independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce, led by Prof Julienne Meyer, to look at options for the provision of greater choice, quality and security for older people. As part of the process, Janet Sutherland, Chair of Future Lives, was invited to present the findings of a survey of 7500 u3a members about their housing needs. The final report was published in November 2024.
Prof Meyer gave us an overview of the report and opened up a debate about whether the findings resonate with u3a members or if anything was missing.
Future Lives Panel: Initiatives for Care
Feb 2025
Many people are feeling gloomy about the failure of successive governments to tackle care as we age. The aim of this Future Lives session, and our first ever panel, was to showcase some examples of inspirational, community level initiatives to instil hope and optimism that small things can make a big difference.
Our panel included:
- Kiki Gale, Why Dance?
- Jon Devlin, Compassionate Communities
- Tania Woods, Live Longer Better
- Chris Skrabski, Age UK Hertfordshire
Secrets of the Human Brain: How can we age better?
Bob Pullen (Jan 2025)
Bob Pullen is a retired University Lecturer who has spent many years giving lectures on the brain to Medical, Pharmacy and Biology students. He has also undertaken brain research in England and America. During this time, he has learned many amazing facts about the human brain which he includes in this talk. He has also written a book about this subject: Secrets of the Human Brain.
Cohousing: Collective housing for healthy ageing
Owen Jarvis, CEO, UK Cohousing Network (Nov 2024)
Cohousing and other forms of collective housing can provide better options for healthy ageing. They are intentional communities, created and run by their residents. This talk provides an introduction to cohousing in the UK and some ideas on next steps for those interested in pursuing it.
Planning for later life without "someone you trust"
Penny Shepherd, Co-Founder, Ageing Without Children East Kent (Oct 2024)
We are encouraged to make Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) so that “someone we trust” can manage our affairs if or when we lose mental capacity. But what happens if we have no family or close friends – or no-one able or willing to act for us? This talk will focus on “advance care planning” for later life, rather than the “after death” issues of funerals and wills.
Upgrade your brain
Patrick Holford, Founder Food for the Brain Foundation (Sept 2024)
Brain size is shrinking, IQ is falling, mental health problems are rising. A recent EU report has declared a ‘global brain health emergency’. What is going wrong and how do we recover? Join us to dementia-proof your diet and lifestyle, and learn how to optimise your brain for better mood , memory, sleep and stress resilience.
Demystifying retirement housing: Options and costs
Kathleen Dunmore, Policy Advisor to the Retirement Housing Group (July 2024)
Ever felt a bit overwhelmed when it comes to thinking about retirement housing? What types of retirement housing are available and how much do they cost? Are there hidden costs and most of all, are they worth it? Join Kathleen to find out more and start to demystify retirement housing.
Making plans for the future from home, for free
James Norris, Founder of My Wishes and Digital Legacy Association (June 2024)
It is important that everyone makes plans for themselves should something unexpected happen tomorrow or at some point in the future. Planning for your future health and social care, what you want to happen to any dependencies (children, pets etc) and both your physical and digital assets isn’t as complex as you might think.
