Older Women’s Cohousing, fighting against unwanted solitude

admin on 24 January 2021

Members of the OWCH Project in one of the dwellings

Community housing project for women over the age of 50 deployed in North London. It consists of 26 individual dwellings that combine common areas so that community members have privacy at the same time as spaces where they meet and make community life. It is a group controlled by the same neighbours, where decisions are taken in a shared way and in which each woman collaborates in any way they can.

This housing model is a good form of empowerment for older women who live alone and want to share their lives with other women while also feeling independent. An important part of the project is that it is inclusive. To not discriminate by income level, part of the housing is social rental and therefore at affordable prices. The 26 members of the community, who are between 50 and 80 years old, are not only neighbours, but share their day-to-day activities such as gardening, painting, lunches with family members and friends, etc. In this way, they remedy loneliness and is expected that living accompanied can lead to a longer and better life.

Characteristics of innovation

Aging, Bank of innovations, Group intervention, Independent living, Innovative organization, Lab, Link with the community, User empowerment

Location

North London

Partners/Funders

The Tudor Trust, Quinn London ltd, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Philip Pank Partnership, Housing for Women.

Genesis

This North London community was inaugurated in 2016, but the project had been in the making for 20 years before that. It is inspired by a project started in the Netherlands, where older people began to live in small communities to fight loneliness and isolation. The Dutch government promoted this model based on studies that established a relationship between the loneliness of older people, their life expectancy and quality of life, and the use of public services such as hospitals or medical care and social services.

Implementation level

The project currently extends to the small North London community, but its boosters continue to organize gatherings, workshops and talks to promote this model among the elderly and other groups. They want to ensure that their experience serves to facilitate the process of establishing a cohousing community for other people.

Further information

Propose your innovation

See our selection of innovations

Banc d’innovacions

Access4you, accessibility certification for people with disabilities

Access4You is an Innovative initiative based on the certification of accessibility of the built environment for people with special needs

Help to care, support for people who care for others

Help to Care is an innovative mobile application created to support people who care for others in Kent and Medway, England.

Audivers 360º, immersive reality speech therapy for individuals with hearing impairment

Audivers 360º is a pioneering speech therapy project with immersive reality, aimed at children and adults with hearing loss.

Usuària utilitzant l'aplicació eRueca amb el mòbil

e-Rueca, a virtual support for citizens at risk of exclusion

e-Rueca is a virtual social center that provides information, guidance, and support to individuals in situations of social exclusion through a multi-channel online connection.

Projecte e-Fabrik - Joves col·laboren amb persones amb discapacitat per crear ajuts funcionals

E-Fabrik, innovative and solidarity solutions for people with disabilities

E-Fabrik is an innovative initiative that brings together young people and individuals with disabilities in a creative community with the aim of jointly conceiving solutions to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities in their daily lives.

Imatge d'una habitant del projecte Llar Casa Bloc a l'entrada de l'edifici.

Llar Casa Bloc, Social Housing and Support for Empowering Individuals in Vulnerable Situations

“Llar casa bloc” is a social housing network project promoted by Hàbitat3, providing social support and technological resources to promote autonomy and empowerment among its residents.

Biel Digital Glasses, 3D glasses to adapt the world to lower vision

admin on 8 January 2021

Biel using one of the prototypes of Biel Digital Glasses

Intelligent 3D glasses that facilitate mobility and personal autonomy for people with low vision. Low vision is a visual impairment that cannot be corrected with conventional glasses or surgery. It is a much more common disability than blindness (it affects 7 million people in Europe, and 70 million worldwide) and prevents daily tasks such as reading, moving in public spaces, avoiding obstacles or interpreting signals.

“Biel Digital Glasses” glasses use a combination of new technologies such as 3D vision, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to adapt reality to the visual ability of people with low vision. In addition to improving images, they identify obstacles, and warn about possible dangers, such as steps or semaphores. In this way, these glasses allow these people to reduce their social isolation and improve their mobility and personal autonomy.