Meet Kathleen, whose life has changed during lockdown – perhaps for the better.

Doorbells Covid-19 is a humorous, poignant and reflective film short that asks questions about where and how we live as we grow older.

Whether living alone, ageing without children or caring for others, what are our options?

How do Kathleen’s choices resonate with our own decisions about how we live? What choices do we really have about where we live now and in the future?

Doorbells Covid-19 has been commissioned by Care & Repair England and Elders Council of Newcastle and is supported by Rayne Foundation. It has been created Skimstone Arts.

Join us for a free online screening of Doorbells Covid19:

Wednesday 29 July, 2.30pm – 4pm. Book a free ticket here.
Wednesday 5 August, 2.30pm – 4pm. Book a free ticket here.

Q&A and discussion with the Doorbells Covid19 team

Each film screening will be followed by an informal Q&A and a discussion in small groups about housing and ageing.

If you’d like to, join in with the discussion and share your thoughts and questions about where and how we live as we grow older.

The discussion is part of Northumbria University’s evaluation of the Doorbells project (read more about this below) and some of the anonymised discussion notes may be used in project reports and journal articles. Joining the discussion is voluntary and by doing so, we assume that you give your consent for anonymised documented notes to be used in this way.

Your input will help the Doorbells team to research ways of improving housing services for older people, people ageing without children, and carers.

If you have any questions about the project or its evaluation, please email Dr Natalie Forster, Northumbria University, on natalie2.forster@northumbria.ac.uk. You can read more about the evaluation here.

The Doorbells project

This film is part of a three-year project which aims to improve the lives of older people living alone, people ageing without children, and carers, by addressing housing difficulties which people can face later in life.

The Doorbells project is pioneering the use of the arts to support people to make well informed housing decisions and produce evidence on how to improve older people’s housing services and alternative housing options.

Doorbells began in 2014 with a theatre production, created with older participants’ input, about growing older in homes and neighbourhoods. Two further theatre productions and a film were also produced. Watch the previous Doorbells film short here.

Who’s involved?

Doorbells is a partnership project between Care and Repair England, Elders Council of Newcastle, Skimstone Arts and Northumbria University, supported by Rayne Foundation.