‘Amar Bari, Amar Jibon’ – Developing Suitable Living Environments for Bangladeshi Elders

ABAJ team with Susan Kay, CEO, Vivensa Foundation, and Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor, at the City Hall – 16 May 2025.

Bangla Housing Association (BHA), in partnership with The Open University and the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (Housing LIN), has recently completed a pioneering three-year research project examining the persistent housing and health

inequalities experienced by Bangladeshi elders, aged 50 years and over in East London.

Funded by the Vivensa Foundation, the project represents a one of its kind research collaborations coproduced with the community. A team of tri-lingual community coresearchers and transcribers, recruited locally and trained by The Open University, carried out 76 interviews with men and women aged 50+, alongside eight multigenerational family interviews. Participants were drawn from households across Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Redbridge, including intergenerational and multigenerational families living in social housing, private rented accommodation, and owner-occupied homes. Guidance and insight throughout the project were provided by two advisory groups: the Bangla Research Advisory Group (BRAG), made up of eight community representatives, and the Professional Advisory Group (PAG), comprising senior stakeholders from housing, health, and social care sectors.

Interim findings were shared earlier this year at a London BME Landlords roundtable with Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development. A wider consultative event followed on 16 July 2025 at City Hall, also hosted by the Deputy Mayor and attended by more than 70 community members and professionals.

The final report is scheduled for launch at the House of Lords on 5 February 2026, hosted by Lord Best.

In the meantime, the research is already sparking community dialogue. On 8 November 2025, a Bengali drama titled Growing older in the East End, written by one of the coresearchers and informed by the study’s findings, was performed by a local drama group at the Rich Mix Centre, in Bethnal Green. The event drew an audience of more than 100 people, including many of the elders and families who took part in the research. The performance was followed by an emotional and engaging community discussion, with audience members emphasising how powerfully the drama captured the real-life housing and health challenges facing Bangladeshi elders, issues that too often remain unseen.

This project marks an important step toward ensuring that the voices and lived experiences of Bangladeshi shape the homes and communities in which they live. As the final report approaches, the hope is that these insights will lead to meaningful change across East London and beyond.

Below are some pictures from the Drama event held on 8 November 2025