Special Project Celebrates Coates Residents and Connects Local Students Through Storytelling

The unique lives of residents at our Coates aged care community were recently celebrated and put on display, thanks to a special project This is your life undertaken by local students from St Patrick’s Primary School in St Arnaud. 

Over several weeks, the class of grade 4 students enjoyed assuming the role of citizen journalists, as they visited Coates to interview residents about their lives, past experiences and connection to St Arnaud. They then flexed their creative muscles too, developing wonderful, eye-catching poster displays to share back – and commemorate – each resident’s extraordinary stories. 

Jane Snell, our home’s General Manager, thanked St Patrick’s students for providing residents with such a memorable and highly personal gift – one that she says will be cherished by residents for many years to come.

“Our residents were absolutely delighted with the posters, and it was so beautiful to see their faces light up when the students presented their wonderful creations back with them,” Jane says. 

“Each resident was so proud, and so were the students too! The posters have now taken pride of place across our community, and are all on display in residents’ rooms so that they can also be shared with family members, visitors and friends.” 

The wonderful initiative continues a series of intergenerational programs being run at Coates in partnership with several groups from the St Arnaud community, and Jane says each popular program continues to have extraordinary benefits for all involved. 

“We know how impactful these types of programs can be, especially for residents. Not only does it bring so much joy to everyone participating, but it helps bridge the gap between aged groups in our community and creates an inclusive space for meaningful interactions. We’ve seen both the residents and students grow through their involvement, from their confidence to their communications skills, which is so rewarding to see,” Jane says, 

“In this project, it was also interesting to see how students’ perception of each resident’s life story and its specific details were processed onto their final posters. They were all very creative! 

“I also think it was good for the younger generation to hear stories from residents about the challenges they faced growing up. Things like walking miles to school, having to complete chores such as milking the cows in the morning before getting to class, or even having no electricity, TV, or phones. As you can imagine, many of the students found this extremely hard to believe!” 

Health research suggests that aged care residents derive significant joy and fulfillment from engaging in intergenerational programs, which foster self-esteem, improve mental health, and help provide a sense of personal purpose and belonging. Several studies also demonstrate that older people connecting with younger individuals through structured engagement programs report decreased feelings of loneliness and isolation. 

Across Respect, a number of our homes are proud to host and take part in thriving intergenerational programs with local schools and day care groups. Not only is each initiative immensely beneficial to our residents but they also strengthen our homes’ connections with their surrounding communities through regular engagement and collaboration.