‘Life changing’ project highlights connections across the generations at Brunelcare

Residents at our Colliers Gardens extra care housing site have joined forces with local young people and Bristol’s City Poet to create a new book of poems and memories highlighting connections across different generations.

The project was developed as a partnership between Brunelcare and 1625 Independent People, which works with young people who are homeless, leaving care or at risk of homelessness in the city. The project was made possible by the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund and 1625’s regional partners and funders.

Three workshops were held at Colliers Gardens throughout Spring 2026, supported by 1625’s Heritage Team and facilitated by Bristol City Poet Sukina Noor. Through the workshops, both our tenants and young people from 1625 got to know each other, shared memories and life experiences, and wrote poems on the themes of ‘people’, ‘nights out’ and ‘places’, including 1625’s Grade 2 listed base in central Bristol, Kingsley Hall.

Bristol City Poet, Sukina Noor, said: “This experience has been life changing. One of the most incredible workshops I have ever done, and I have done a lot of workshops, across the world even. But this was so special. It was beautiful to see connections made and memories shared and the sparkles in the eye as stories were told.”

Julie Walker, Centre Manager at Colliers Gardens, said: “Residents were telling stories about the sessions for weeks afterwards, so it had a huge impact. It goes to show that being different ages is no barrier to forming a bond – there was a real connection between the two groups and so many similarities in their life experiences. Our tenants got as much out of it as the young people did.”

Following the workshops, 1625’s Heritage Team put together a booklet called ‘Connections’, which included the poems and stories from those who took part. A celebration event was held at Colliers Gardens, where booklets were shared with the participants and the young people from 1625 read out their poems for tenants.

Margaret, one of our tenants from Colliers Gardens who took part in the project, said: “It was lovely and it was good to think back to memories of my younger years. I find as you get older, you can remember more from your childhood. I loved listening to the young people reading out their poems.”

Danni, a young person from 1625, said the project had a big impact on her: “It was very wholesome working with the tenants at Colliers Gardens. It showed me that no matter where you start in life, there are so many paths that you can take, and that gave me hope for my own future.”

Our housing and care sites are rooted in their communities and developing partnerships with other organisations and groups is just one of the ways that helps ensure residents stay connected to their local areas. Projects like ‘Connections’ highlight the benefit that intergenerational relationships bring to everyone involved, and the vital role that older people can play in thriving, interconnected communities.

Kate Brooks, Heritage Activities Coordinator at 1625, said: “The young people we work with often don’t have connections with older people in their lives, so this project helped to provide that. It was great to see the tenants sharing their memories, and my favourite part of the booklet is the stories about nights out! One story is about going to a rave and another is about going to a jazz club in the 1960s, but the experiences and feelings are still so similar.”

Thank you to all of our colleagues and residents, the 1625 young people and team who took part in the project and helped to make it such a success!