Shyam Matharu

Growing older can be wonderful. The opportunity to live the life you choose – to travel, to spend time with family and friends or to pursue new interests. However growing older now, and even before COVID-19 is and was not by any means wonderful for everyone. Many people find that those extra years are not all they’d hoped for, with an average 13 years of their later life spent in poor health. 1.9m over 65 are living below the poverty line and 1.2m are chronically lonely. There is now a five-year health gap in life expectancy between people living in wealthy areas such as some parts of London and others living in deprived areas like the North East. If you want to help us challenge the narrative of ageism and discrimination within the debate around COVID-19 please get in touch. Older people have become a chronological age, rather than individuals with life stories of their own. Reduced to a series of risk factors, under pressure to sign a do not resuscitate order or refused access to treatment, with no recognition that some are healthier and fitter than others 20 years younger or more. I'm looking for potential corporate partners interested in helping Independent Age support individuals, communities and decision makers to ensure later life is something worth living for on a national scale. Connect with me today to find out more, I'm keen to hear from you.