![Caption: Left to right: Muirenn Riederer, Valma Knowles, Jemeeka Leigh and Michaela Throssell Caption: Left to right: Muirenn Riederer, Valma Knowles, Jemeeka Leigh and Michaela Throssell](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/d9de7adc-aaf7-42cd-bae1-7968171d5681.jpg/r0_0_1024_680_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
AGE is proving no barrier to the strong friendships which are blooming at Mercy Place Mont Clare, thanks to a new partnership with Methodist Ladies College (MLC).
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Residents at the Claremont home have been striking up friendships with Year 6 students from MLC as part of an intergenerational partnership between the school and the aged care home, which aims to encourage companionship and connections between young and the old.
MLC students are now visiting Mercy Health Mont Clare residents every week to write 'life story books' which detail the seniors' lives.
The books are being used by staff to increase their knowledge of the background of individual residents.
Mercy Health Mont Clare Service Manager, Jenny Jones, said the benefits of the partnership extended both ways, with the children and residents involved genuinely enjoying their time together and forming strong bonds.
"We're delighted by how well our intergenerational partnership with MLC has been received, by both the residents and students alike," she said.
"Our residents love spending time with younger people and the life books that are being created help them to share stories about 'the good old days', and to showcase their special hobbies, talents, and life lessons."
Mercy Health WA State Manager, Ms Anita Ghose, said Mercy Health was genuinely thrilled to have secured the innovative partnership with MLC.
"As well as residents being able to take a trip down memory lane, the partnership also provides an opportunity for students to get to know 'someone else's grandparents', as many of their grandparents live interstate or overseas," she said.
"The partnership is also a way for young people to learn from and respect the elderly in the wider community.
"They've certainly loved spending times with residents and many of them share some of the same interests, particularly reading and music."
Mercy Health is a Catholic community not for profit provider of care, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and grounded in a 2000 year history of caring for those in need. The organisation is a national service provider of health and aged care throughout Victoria, Southern New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
In Western Australia, the organisation cares for over 300 people across six residential homes, with 78 independent living units.