Seniors singing out for action on issues
WHAT started out as a group of seniors calling for change has grown into a group of activists campaigning for the rights of their peers.
Seniors Creating Change is a group which heads out into the public to use song to promote seniors’ issues.
Co-ordinator Jane Andreasson said anyone was welcome to join the group of activists.
She said the group was not a choir but a group of activists using song to effect change.
“Seniors Creating Change started as a once-off flash mob performance,” Ms Andreasson said.
“From there several people in the group said ‘this can’t be a one-off, it’s been so good and we’re so inspired’ and it continued.”
From that initial flash mob, the group has grown to more than 100 people, although not all take part in events.
“Everyone’s welcome and it’s free to be involved,” Ms Andreasson said.
“It’s a project that’s run by Townsville Community Law, it started all those years ago as a project and it remains that way.”
Ms Andreasson said the group aimed to raise awareness of different issues affecting seniors.
“Obviously the big one being elder abuse and to raise awareness that there are services available and people available for free to help as well,” she said.
“If there’s an issue that’s affecting seniors from government, local state or federal — we’re apolitical, we do not align with anyone — but if there … is something that’s happening that they feel needs a spotlight on or some attention, they may sing about that particular issue, and raise that awareness. During Seniors Week one of the songs they sang was Please Raise Our Pension, and so that’s trying to just highlight that the pension isn’t a lot, a lot of seniors live below the poverty line.”
Ms Andreasson said the group also performed in several aged-care homes before COVID restrictions.
“It’s about trying to break down social isolation for many older people, and probably one of the most isolated people at times is people in aged-care facilities,” she said.
“When we go to aged-care facilities it’s a group of people the same age or similar age to those in the aged-care facility, it’s just a different experience and our group sings songs from way back in the war days, through to modern music.
“Sometimes you’ll see some of the residents singing, they bring back those memories, and they start tapping their feet or clapping their hands or singing along.
“During COVID everything came to a grinding halt, including our own group.”
Ms Andreasson said COVID changed the way the group interacted.
“We started meeting via Microsoft Teams. We made sure we had a toll-free number so if people didn’t have internet access they at least could phone in and listen. A month after doing that as a group we started performing virtually with aged-care facilities.”
“Meeting virtually opened up our eyes to thinking about members of our own who have gone off to Brisbane or Melbourne or moved away permanently to live, and that they can still connect now.
“That’s been really lovely and some of our members that aren’t coming back to physical gatherings yet for health concerns, I have the projector turned on with Teams running and so they can listen in to all of us together so nobody’s left behind.”
Ms Andreasson said the group was informal. “The biggest thing is we’re not a choir; I like to say we are a group of activists raising awareness about seniors’ rights, calling for an end to elder abuse.
“It doesn’t matter if you can sing, it doesn’t matter if you can’t sing, it’s about getting together and raising that awareness and highlighting those issues.”