Moira’s story: “You just don’t want to stop doing things.”

Moira George has spent much of her life helping other people.

Even in retirement, that has not changed. At Stevenson Village, she checks on neighbours she has not seen for a while, helps people with technology, encourages others to come along to activities and happily picks someone up if they need a ride.

“If it’s your home, you’ve got to try and make it a happy place,” she says.

But getting older has brought a different challenge. After a lifetime of being the person others relied on, Moira has had to learn that sometimes she needs support too.

Her husband died 20 years ago. Her grandchildren do not live nearby. The family members she might once have turned to are no longer close at hand.

“We’ve always helped the kids. We’ve helped sisters and brothers,” she says. “Whereas now they’re not around. You’re literally on your own.”

Virtual Village East has helped fill that gap.

Each Sunday night, Moira reads the weekly newsletter and plans her week around the activities she can join. Exercise, technology support, health talks, community sessions and outings now form part of the rhythm of her life.

Without that weekly connection, she says, “I’d have nothing to look forward to on Sunday night.”

VVE has also helped Moira keep up with a world that can feel harder to navigate with age. Through its sessions, she has learnt about technology, health, driving, wellbeing and services available to older people.

“I feel more educated in the outside world,” she says.

One experience had an especially deep impact. A wellbeing and mindfulness course gave Moira space to confront feelings she had carried quietly since losing her husband.

Although others may see her as outgoing and happy, Moira says she has her own “little demons” in the background.

“It was stuff that I was suffering inwardly, and now I knew how to deal with it.”

That support has strengthened her confidence and given her somewhere to turn when she needs practical help, advice or reassurance.

“I know I can get help at any time,” she says. “If I’m wondering about something or wanting to know about something, there’s nowhere else that I could go and find out.”

For Moira, that knowledge matters. She can remain independent without feeling she has to manage everything alone.

She continues to dance three times a week. She exercises. She learns. She helps others. And, perhaps most importantly, she keeps looking forward to what comes next.

Virtual Village East has given Moira people to turn to, new things to discover and the confidence to keep taking part.

When Moira considers what life would be like without it, her answer is simple.

“It would make a hole in my life.”

For Moira, Virtual Village East has helped ensure that getting older does not mean becoming less connected, less confident or less involved. She has support when she needs it, people she can turn to and something to look forward to.