The Southern Cross | August 2024

There were heartwarming interactions when Sacred Heart College students gathered for their final face-to-face catch up with older members of the community during intergenerational high school program Rite Now!

The Meals on Wheels SA program is run in collaboration with Sacred Heart College (SHC) and Mary MacKillop College.

It is based on the Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice and ABC television show Old Folks Home for Teenagers.

Aimed at Year 9 students, the program ran in Term 2 and Term 3 kicked off with ‘about me’ worksheets which all participants filled out and submitted. Their responses were used to match cross-generational participants with similar interests. After written communication, face-to-face catch ups followed and concluded with a shared lunch at West Adelaide Football Club.

The older participants were Meals on Wheels customers, volunteers, old scholars and community members.

Meals on Wheels volunteer Rex was among the participants.

When The Southern Cross joined the group for lunch, the 76-year-old was busy giving Year 9 student Sage advice for a job interview the following day. “I’m really enjoying the program,” Sage said.

“Rex is a really nice guy.”

The program was launched through SHC in 2023. It is an opportunity to break down age related stereotypes, build connection and improve wellbeing.

Seventy-seven-year-old grand-father Bruce participated for the second time.

“I’m still corresponding with the lad from the first one,” he said. “It’s nice to get the perspective of a youngster.”

The chance to connect with Year 9 student Rainer was a joy for 80-year-old Barrie. The former actor has grandchildren of his own but doesn’t see them much as most of them are based overseas.

“The pairing I’ve had with these young fellas has been very fortuitous,” Barrie said.

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“It’s great to have these deep conversations, not just for the sake of talking or killing silence.”

Barrie enjoys watching Old Folks Home for Teenagers and cherishes the chance to have similar interactions of his own.

“There’s something about growing old…you pick up on stuff,” he said.

“It’s almost like you want to run in front of young people – not to wave red flags exactly – but to say, ‘be careful if you go down that road and make sure there’s somebody waiting at the end, in case you have to come back out the way you went in. Some roads are dead ends, and you can’t go through’.”

Rainer enjoyed soaking up Barrie’s advice.

“Barrie and I have lived completely different lives,” he said.

“We’ve grown up in completely different times and we agree on a lot of things, but he’s lived a whole lot more of life than I have.”

Barrie learnt as much from the teens as they did from him.

“They know stuff I don’t and have different ways of looking at things.  Evolution doesn’t go backwards, this fella is me, evolved. He’s a better version of me, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Young people have suddenly shown me things so many times in my life, sometimes just by me watching and observing. I love the connection that we have and that this program brings.”

That was the case for Ralph and student Cooper. At 97, Ralph was the oldest participant and had plenty of wisdom to share, especially on relationships. Ralph, a former butcher, was married to his late wife for 68 years.

“I was 22 when I married Mary. She was the only woman I ever had in my life,” he said.

Cooper soaked up the tales of yore.  Ralph also advised him to “keep fit and look after your health”.

Meals on Wheels SA staff and a team of teachers, including Nick Vasic, were on hand to oversee the gatherings.

“In some ways, you get the teens at their worst in Year 9 because they can be a bit prickly as individuals; they’re in their own bubble,” Nick said.

“We’re encouraging them to get outside of that bubble, talk to different people, and be open to the fact that this older person might have gone through some really amazing and different experiences, but also some really similar ones too.”

The program will continue for other students at both schools in Term 3.

To join the program in 2025, contact Meals on Wheels via intergen@mealsonwheelssa.org.au