Seniors put pen to paper
Renowned Adelaide author, Patrick Allington, believes “everyone has a story worth telling” – and the stories only become more thrilling with age. Mr Allington is part of a seniors Writer-in-Residence program encouraging residents – and non-residents – to express themselves through words at South Australian aged care facility, Helping Hand.
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Renowned Adelaide author, Patrick Allington, believes “everyone has a story worth telling” – and the stories only become more thrilling with age.
Mr Allington is part of a seniors Writer-in-Residence program encouraging residents – and non-residents – to express themselves through words at South Australian aged care facility, Helping Hand. Seniors have the opportunity to write memoirs, poetry, short stories and other creative writing forms.
“What really attracted me to the program was the opportunity to hear a lot of people’s stories, and to help them to get their stories from their heads onto the page,” Mr Allington tells DPS News.
Supported by the SA Writers’ Centre, Mr Allington will be based at Helping Hand’s Parafield Gardens site in Adelaide’s north for nine months. With close family ties to Helping Hand, Mr Allington shares how his mother was a proud employee at the organisation for many years.
As an experienced author and educator, Mr Allington says while writing can be very therapeutic, he adds, “it is one thing to have memories inside your head, but it can be challenging and confronting when you put it on paper and expose yourself”.
He says the Writer-in-Residence program, which is still in its early stages, is “for anybody who has ever thought about writing their story, but isn’t sure how to get started”.
“The best part about working with older people is the amazing wealth of stories they have to tell, and I hope by working on this project, I can help people share their life’s experiences,” he says.
Visiting the facility a couple of times a week, Mr Allington will work with groups of seniors, as well as having some ‘one-on-one’ sessions with interested participants. There are also plans to compile the stories of seniors and publish their work in a hardcopy version.
Do you want to share your story? Contact SA Writers’ Centre on (08) 8223 7662 or email seniorsproject@sawriters.org.au
