PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 6.10.2021
New charity launches to help those ageing without family
Yesterday at the Conservative Party Conference the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid stated in his keynote speech “Health and social care begins at home. Family first, then community, then the state” echoing the view expressed by Jeremy Hunt in 2015 when he called for families to take greater responsibility for looking after their grandparents.
A great deal of unpaid care and support is already provided by millions of family carers every day but what if you are one of the growing number of older people ageing without family, who have no adult children or grandchildren to call upon?
Ageing without Children (AWOC) is launching as a new charity tomorrow – 7th October - to support the 1.5 million people in the UK over 65 who do not have any children.
The charity has been founded by Kirsty Woodard who has worked on the issue of ageing without children since 2014.
AWOC will work to highlight the particular challenges facing a group who have largely remained invisible in social care policy, help set up local peer support groups, and encourage further research into the needs of people ageing without children and how they manage later life.
The new charity will also help other organisations providing services for older people to be AWOC Confident through the use of its toolkit “Working with the Invisible Million” which can be downloaded here https://bit.ly/2ZVq5Jb
Paul Goulden who is Chair of the new charity said
“Building on Kirsty Woodard’s campaign to get the issues of those ageing without children onto the public policy agenda, now is the time for AWOC to launch as a new charity. Health and social care reform is recognised as more important than ever and the impact of the Covid19 pandemic has highlighted the fact that those ageing without children are still largely invisible and in need of support. We recognise that many families continue to provide informal for older relatives often in extremely challenging circumstances – and many of those who are ageing without children are or have been family carers too but face a future without that reciprocal support. As a charity we want to ensure that we give a voice to the growing number of people ageing without children, reflect their experiences and work to develop useful resources and supportive networks”
For further information contact Paul Goulden on 07765 401641 or Kirsty Woodard on 07919 335680
ENDS