Ageing Well Is Everyone’s Business: A Call to Action During Dementia Action Week
As we mark Dementia Action Week (19–25 May), we are reminded that ageing well is not just about adding years to life, but about adding life to those years—especially for those living with dementia and those who care for them.
Too often, healthy ageing is framed as a personal lifestyle choice. But in truth, it’s a community and system responsibility. How we age is shaped by everything around us—our housing, access to services, community networks, and how welcome and visible we are in public spaces. For people living with dementia, that truth becomes even sharper.
Infrastructure organisations like Compost London CIC have a crucial role in this landscape. While we may not deliver frontline services, we enable and strengthen the grassroots groups who do. We support the frameworks, capacity build the partnerships, and point to funding pathways that allow communities to respond in ways that are culturally relevant, accessible, and meaningful.
Something all infrastructure organisations can and should do:
- Champion local voice – especially among older residents from marginalised communities. Their lived experience must shape strategy, service design, and delivery.
- Support the supporters – by providing training, governance advice, and fundraising support to grassroots groups working with older adults and carers.
- Promote age-friendly practice – by encouraging funders and local authorities to adopt inclusive approaches that respect and respond to ageing populations.
- Foster innovation through partnership – by connecting community insight with clinical research and academic expertise.
At Compost London CIC, we know that behind every successful community service for older adults is often a small, underfunded group doing extraordinary work. These are the organisations that provide companionship, hot meals, home visits, cultural support, and dementia-friendly activities—often on a shoestring, and often without recognition.
That’s why we don’t just support groups—we invest in them.
Through our Nourish Fund, we help smaller voluntary and community organisations across Newham access the support they often can’t afford. This includes free governance reviews, fundraising and bid-writing support, safeguarding training, and strategic advice. It’s practical, tailored, and delivered at no cost—so that the groups closest to the community aren’t left behind.
As Professor Liz Sampson of ACHA (Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing) rightly says:
“Research shows us that staying active and connected isn’t just good for the body—it keeps the mind strong too. In older age, whether a person has dementia or not, every conversation, walk, and activity can support our memory, sense of self and wellbeing.”
We couldn’t agree more. But conversations and connection don’t happen in a vacuum. They happen because someone has secured a grant, written a policy, booked the space, and built the trust. Compost London is here to make that invisible work visible—and possible.
Our message to commissioners, funders, and system leaders is simple: ageing well doesn’t happen by accident. It must be built—together.
To find out more about the Nourish Fund or access support for your group, visit:
👉 www.compostlondon.org.uk/nourish-fund
This Dementia Action Week, let’s recognise that ageing well isn’t just a personal goal—it’s a shared responsibility. Let’s back the groups doing the quiet, essential work—and give them the tools to thrive.
Useful Links
Dementia Action Week | Alzheimer's Society
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