Renewed Olkkari activities are reaching a growing number of people

The Olkkari activities provided by the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County offer older adults free group-based support aimed at promoting wellbeing and preventing loneliness. Groups meet once a week to discuss participants’ everyday lives and different wellbeing themes, including mental wellbeing, physical activity and fire safety.

The content of the groups is tailored to local residents’ needs: The Wellbeing Path groups are built around broader sets of themes, while the Energy for Everyday Life and Mental Wellbeing groups take a closer look at particular topics. Olkkari activities can also be joined remotely from home.

The greatest challenge facing Olkkari is reaching older adults who are lonely and lack a support network – those who would stand to benefit the most from taking part.

The activities are being further developed in cooperation with, among others, client guidance services, health stations, organisations and municipalities. The aim is to make Olkkari a permanent part of services for older adults and to help more older people discover it.

“The activities are now available in every municipality in the wellbeing services county. For example, the Wellbeing Path groups have already attracted more than 2,000 participants this spring,” says Tuula Joronen, project manager of the project for further development of Olkkari activities.

In 2026, Olkkari activities will be expanded to reach new participant groups, including informal carers and home care clients who experience loneliness. Cooperation with municipalities and organisations will be reinforced, and the number of remote groups will be increased and their development continued.

Two Kirkkonummi residents, Jyri Byman and Teuvo Yletyinen, are very happy with their experience of Olkkari activities.

Byman has been attending the sessions held in Masala since 2024, after spotting a notice about the activities on the wall of a retirement home.

“I am a curious person, so I decided to join. Olkkari has become one of the key events of my week,” Byman explains.

The activities have introduced him to pleasant new companions and have also given him new knowledge about nutrition and healthy living.

“As a result of what I have learned, I have changed my eating habits in a healthier direction. I have learnt that the fat found in nuts is not unhealthy after all, and that starch is important. Especially now that I have become keen on fitness, proper nutrition is important.”

Byman says he would recommend Olkkari to others as well.

96-year-old Yletyinen takes part in Olkkari every week unless there is a special reason he cannot attend.

“I go there to join the conversation and enjoy a little light-hearted fun,” Yletyinen says with a laugh.

The group meets in central Kirkkonummi, where participants chat and discuss the world around them.

“It is a pleasant place to go because the atmosphere is relaxed. The best things are the quizzes and exercise sessions together with other people. If there is something we are unsure about, our instructor Pirjo will sort it out for us by the next time.”

For Yletyinen, the most important aspect of the activities is meeting other people.

“I am doing all right even though I live alone. I have a lot of acquaintances, and the fourth generation comes to visit me. Olkkari is particularly well suited to people who live alone, especially those who suffer from loneliness or whose financial situation is weak. In that case, even a small brighter moment helps you move forward,” Yletyinen reveals.

For more information about Olkkari activities in your area, visit luvn.fi/en/olkkari-social-hub-seniors

This news article was published as part of the “Elinvoimaa ikääntyneille” supplement. Read the full supplement online (in Finnish).