Briefcase- Interview with Church Organiser of donations

Interview with a Food Bank Organiser in a local Church 

While researching how to connect with the two generations I found out that my local church ran a function where they connect the elderly with the youth. Due to covid they have had to stop their progress. In this interview I will be asking how it benefitted the community and how will they start connecting the two generations together again when the restrictions are lessened.

In these functions, what activities do the elderly and youth do? How has this changed due to COVID restrictions? 

We already have a group of seniors who meet on a weekly bases, so, we arranged for a group of teenagers come down from the high school. This is to initially allow the two groups to integrate and mingle/ Then because we have facilities on site, we arranged cooking classes and activities between older and younger generations. 

Obviously due to the old people having to shield we haven't been able to restart these activities since lockdown.

How often did you organise this event? Do you think the more regular it can be the more the two generations feel connected? 

We did it monthly, but a few of the teenagers came down on a weekly basis to bond with the older generation.

 

It would have been great to organise the cooking activities weekly and it would definitely be more beneficial. However due to the low funding we were unable to do this so regularly. 

How does connecting the older and younger generations benefit the community? 

The community centre is on a large council estate. Theres a shared fear between the older generation of the perceived actions of the youth. Also some of the young fail to show respect to the older generation. Bringing the two generations together has made an incredible difference to these perceptions and greatly improved the communication and relations between the two generations. 

Do the teenagers who volunteer with this feel more comfortable to talk to their own elderly family members about their past and youth?

From anecdotal discussions, I believe that breaking down the barriers of the two generations have definitely impacted how the youth respect their own elderly members of the family. 

Does this organisation improve the view that elderly have of the younger generation? 

Yes, it has definitely worked both ways and the older generation feel more comfortable to understand the younger generation better. They are less scared to approach them.

What benefits do the elderly take from this function? 

The elderly feel like they have a purpose.

What benefits do the youth take from this function?

Not only do they learn new skills but they have learnt how to communication with different peer groups and helping to break down the barriers. 

How will COVID impact how the elderly and youth connect? 

Obviously, because of the elderly having to shield they have had to stop connecting together. However, we hope that when restrictions are lessened the skills both groups have learnt will not be lost. 

Do you think COVID has a negative impact on how the elderly perceive the youth? Eg. rumours about schools and universities spreading the virus/not taking the rules seriously. 

Yes. The rumours spread by the media makes the elderly believe that the youth rather would have fun and would prefer to have a disregard for other people's safety. 

How will this hinder this organisation trying to connect the community? 

It has made it incredibly difficult to bring the community together when they can't physically meet up. 

How will you combat the effect COVID has on this perception and expanding on the functions you do after the restrictions have gone? 

We have to slowly try to integrate the communities together because of the fear that the virus has given people. And we will encourage elderly to connect online and through different social media platforms. We will eventually set up a group on facebook to connect the youth and elderly together. And when everything goes back to normal we will rebuild our community and implement additional activities such as painting, dancing etc.