Teenage Writers Bridge Gap To Older Readers

Young people are helping to bridge the generation gap with their own poetry and prose.



Teenagers who attend a writing group run by Durham County Council's Clayport Library are helping a local care home's own reading group.



Not only do they write for the older people but they also visit the Hallgarth Care Home to read to them. The Hallgarth Reading group, run by James Freeley, Karen Craggs, Senior Nurse and Gail Bowden, Events organiser, is part of an initiative by Southern Cross Healthcare, to determine the benefits of reading to people who may have associated memory problems.



A specially created competition for the best writing judged by Hallgarth residents was won by

Catriona Ryan of Durham City.

'' Our partnership with the Care Home means the young people have a real purpose to their writing and are learning to write to deadlines, '' said Frank Donnelly , who leads the group at Clayport Library.

'' Their work is also helping the older people with their recollection especially as they can put a face to the name of the young person reading to them, ''he said.