What’s on Your Doorstep? Helping Shape Age Friendly Communities

What makes somewhere a good place to grow older?

Is it having a bus service you can rely on? A bench in the right place? Somewhere to meet other people? Accessible shops and community spaces? Green spaces that feel safe and welcoming? Or simply knowing your neighbours and feeling that you belong?

These everyday things all contribute to creating an Age Friendly Community – and we want local people to help us understand what that looks like in the places where they live.

What is an Age Friendly Community?

An Age Friendly Community is somewhere that enables people to live well, stay connected and remain part of community life as they grow older.

It is about looking at our communities through the eyes of the people who actually use them.

That includes things such as transport, housing, outdoor spaces, accessibility, community activities, social connections, information, volunteering and opportunities for people to have a say in the decisions that affect them.

But Age Friendly does not mean designing communities only for people who are older today.

We are all ageing.

Children, young people, families, working-age adults and older residents use the same streets, parks, shops, transport, community buildings and neighbourhoods.

What makes somewhere accessible, welcoming, connected and enjoyable generally benefits everyone.

The communities we help shape today are the communities we will all rely upon in the future.

Why does this matter?

We believe the people who use our communities know them best:

• They know which bus route makes getting to an appointment difficult. 
• They know where the best bench is to sit and have a chat. 
• They know which community building makes everyone feel welcome, 
• They know where crossing the road feels unsafe, 
• They know which footpath becomes difficult in winter 
• They know which local places would be a real loss if they disappeared.

These might sound like small observations, but together they tell us a great deal about what helps people remain independent, active, connected and well.

That is why lived experience needs to be part of conversations about how our communities develop.

Rather than beginning with services and asking people what they think about them, we want to begin with communities and ask:

What is it actually like to live here?

Why the VCSE sector matters

Our voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations are already embedded in communities.

You are running the coffee mornings, food projects, support groups, community centres, sports clubs, walking groups, befriending projects and activities where these conversations happen naturally every day.

More importantly, you often have relationships with people whose voices may not always make their way into a formal consultation.

That makes the VCSE sector incredibly important to this work.

We want organisations to help create opportunities for people to participate in ways that feel comfortable to them – whether that is through a conversation over breakfast, taking photographs while out walking, adding something to a community map or taking part in one of our Community Detective activities.

Age Friendly shouldn't be something that is done to communities. It should be shaped with them.

Could someone you know help shape what happens next?

A really important part of this project is identifying local residents who would like to take another step and help influence the development of Age Friendly Communities.

Some people who become involved may be interested in joining the Age Friendly Communities Steering Group, ensuring that lived experience continues to sit alongside organisations and decision-makers as this work develops.

People don't need to be experts.

Their experience of living in their community is their expertise.

For VCSE organisations, this is an opportunity not only to take part in a creative community project, but to help us find those residents who have something to say, who care about their community and who may never previously have considered that their voice could help influence change.

What’s on your doorstep – and how can we make sure it remains a great place to live as we all grow older?

On 1 October, International Day of Older Persons, we will bring communities together to celebrate, and we want to share what you know about your community as part of the event.

We want to hear from anyone who has something to tell us about where they live.

It could be a place you love, a person who makes a difference, a community group everyone should know about, a favourite walk or green space, somewhere people naturally come together, or something that has been part of your community for generations.

Equally, tell us about the things that could be better. Is there somewhere that's difficult to access? Something your community has lost? A transport issue? A place where a bench would make a difference? Or something relatively small that would help people stay connected and independent as they grow older?

Tell us what's on your doorstep

Please feel free to contact us with your stories about your community. Email community@heysmilefoundation.org and tell us:

• Where? Tell us the village, town or community you're talking about.
• What or who? Give us the name of the place, person, group, service or community asset.
• Why does it matter? Tell us what makes it important to you or your community.
• Show us if you can Send us a photograph too – whether it's somewhere you love, something you'd like to change or something you think deserves celebrating. You don't need to write an essay. A photograph and a few sentences are enough.

Some stories might celebrate what is already working brilliantly. Others might help us understand the small things that make everyday life more difficult.

Together, these stories will help us build a picture of what people value about their communities, what could be better and what might help our towns and villages remain great places to live as we all grow older.

Your experience of your community is your expertise.

Conversation → Community Insight → Celebration → Influence → Change