The VASS Support at Home Elder Group
For many older people, the greatest challenge is not the practical tasks of daily life it is the quiet weight of loneliness. The hours between visits. The absence of conversation. The feeling, creeping in at the edges, that the world has moved on and left you behind.
The VASS Support at Home Elder Group was created to address exactly this, to bring older Australians together every second Wednesday in a warm, welcoming, and culturally safe environment where they can share a meal, enjoy activities, forge new friendships, and simply feel part of something. Session after session, the program welcomes a wonderful group of elders to the VASS Broadmeadows centre, and the results are everything the program is designed to achieve.
What unfolds at each gathering is a morning of laughter, connection, gentle activity, and generous food a morning that matters deeply to every person in the room.
What the Elder Group Program Offers
Held every second Wednesday at the VASS Broadmeadows centre, each session of the Elder Group is thoughtfully structured to deliver genuine value across four key areas the things that make the biggest difference to an older person’s daily life and long-term wellbeing:
What Happens at Each Session
🤝 Social Connection and New Friendships
From the moment participants arrive, the room fills with the easy warmth of people who are genuinely glad to be in each other’s company. Some are returning faces, reconnecting with friends made at previous sessions. Others may be attending for the first time, welcomed immediately into a group that makes space for them without hesitation.
This is one of the most important things the VASS Elder Group does: it creates the conditions for genuine friendship to form. Not the transactional connection of a service appointment, but the real, unhurried kind that grows over a shared meal and a game the kind that gives an older person reason to look forward to coming back. Many participants describe the Elder Group as one of the highlights of their week, and the connections formed here often extend well beyond the sessions themselves.
🎲 Fun Games and Activities
Each session includes hands-on activities that are both enjoyable and purposeful. Participants have engaged in activities such as creating paper plate clocks, writing numbers around the rim, and attaching pegs to mark the hours a type of activity that looks simple on the surface but delivers quietly on multiple levels: fine motor engagement, number recognition, gentle cognitive stimulation, and the satisfaction of making something with your own hands.
Activities like these spark natural conversation about daily routines, shared memories, and everyday life, and the room is consistently animated with laughter and discussion as participants help each other and enjoy the shared experience. Fun and games are not a minor element of the Elder Group program. They are central to it. Engagement, laughter, and the pleasure of play are as important to the wellbeing of older people as nutrition and physical health, and the VASS Elder Group treats them that way.
🎥 Moments Captured on the Day
The warmth and energy of a typical Elder Group session is something that is best experienced in person, but the photos and video stills below give a genuine sense of what the atmosphere is like. The animated conversations, the shared laughter, and the visible enjoyment of participants as they engage with each other and with the day’s activities are a true reflection of what the program delivers every time.
🍽️ Lunch and Refreshments
At every session, participants are welcomed with a generous and thoughtfully prepared spread of food and refreshments. Tables are laid with savoury pastries, sandwiches, muffins, biscuits, fresh vegetables, dips, and water food that feels genuinely welcoming rather than perfunctory.
Sharing food carries deep cultural meaning for many of the communities VASS serves. For participants from Arabic, Turkish, and Middle Eastern backgrounds, hospitality through food is a profound expression of care and inclusion. The lunch at each Elder Group session is not simply a meal it is a statement: you are welcome here. You are valued. We have prepared something for you. Staff move attentively throughout the room, ensuring every participant has what they need and joining in the warmth of the shared table.
Why the VASS Support at Home Elder Group Matters
Social isolation among older Australians is a serious and well-documented issue. Research consistently shows that loneliness carries significant health risks for older people, contributing to cognitive decline, depression, and reduced physical health outcomes. Social participation, by contrast, is one of the most powerful protective factors for healthy ageing.
The VASS Support at Home Elder Group addresses this directly, providing a supported, culturally safe space where older people can come together, engage meaningfully, and feel genuinely part of a community. The program is delivered by VASS’s Support at Home team, whose multilingual staff connect with participants across cultural and language backgrounds, ensuring that every person who walks through the door feels truly seen and understood.
- Culturally safe and welcoming environment for all backgrounds
- Multilingual staff: Arabic, Turkish, and other community languages supported
- Ongoing sessions combining social, recreational, and wellbeing activities
- Lunch and refreshments provided at every session
- Fully covered by your Support at Home package, with no out-of-pocket cost for eligible participants
- Delivered by the experienced and caring VASS Support at Home team in Broadmeadows
Conclusion: Community That Keeps Giving
The VASS Support at Home Elder Group program shows up for participants consistently, and with genuine care. Session after session, elders arrive, are welcomed, eat well, play, talk, laugh, and leave feeling a little less alone and a little more connected to the community around them.
That is not a small thing. For many participants, these sessions are among the most meaningful social experiences in their week. The friendships formed here are real. The food shared here matters. The laughter at the activity table is genuine. And the care provided by the VASS team quiet, consistent, and deeply respectful makes all of it possible, every time.
If you or someone you know could benefit from the VASS Support at Home Elder Group, or if you would like to find out more about the Support at Home program and your eligibility, please reach out to our friendly team today.