What will life be like when you are 84?

You know that Beatles song: “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?”  But what about when you’re 84?

We (meaning social workers, researchers, gerontologists and the like) talk a lot about providing care for the growing population of older adults, the importance of creating communities where people can age at home, and the “third age” when older adults embark on second, third, or fourth careers.  We don’t just pull this stuff out of our hat. There is actual data involved.  But maybe, sometimes, we should just ask what people think about when they envision life as and “old person”.

Enter Sini Rantamäki, a Bachelor’s of Social Services student from Finland who is visiting the School of Social Work at Michigan State University through the end of January.  Sini is writing her Bachelor’s thesis on elder care in the United States and she is looking for twelve people in the East Lansing area who are in their 60s and willing to participate in a Photovoice project about aging.

What is Photovoice?

Photovoice is a form of participatory research that uses photography to record and reflect on project themes both individually and in discussion with a small group.  For this project, participants will meet four times during November and December and complete the project with an exhibit of photographs in January.

If you’re interested, please let me know. If you know someone else who might be interested, please share.  If you have questions, feel free to post them here.