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How far is our position within the mental health system ‐ as service user, survivor, carer or practitioner, for example ‐ fixed and defines what we can achieve? Is ‘expertise by experience’ something we all have and can share, irrespective of position, even when it may differ dramatically? Toby Williamson, previously head of policy at the Mental Health Foundation and an experienced practitioner, and David Crepaz‐Keay, senior policy advisor responsible for public and patient involvement at the Foundation and well known particularly within the survivor movement, debate these issues in an open and frank exchange of emails.

2009 should be seen as the year for making real progress in the development of services for older people with dementia, as well as services for older people with other mental health problems. It is also likely to herald the beginning of major challenges to ensure that resources are available to support that development. In our first article, Toby Williamson reports on the publication of the national dementia strategy for England, together with other important developments and the challenges. He also describes some initiatives that have important links to dementia care and the future of mental health services for older people.

People want to die at home, not in a health or care setting, but in an environment they love and cherish. This is the people's choice. Ahead of the government's forthcoming End of Life strategy, Toby Williamson comments on this new focus on ‘a good death’ and explores what the strategy may hold and its implications.

Our first two articles drew attention to how our changing demographics are influencing housing services. Here, in the context of a disappearing retirement age and the growing clout of the baby boomer generation, Toby Williamson discusses whether delivering services that are defined by age is really the best option for all.

With the numbers of older men increasing as the population ages, it is not only important to get a better understanding of their health and social care needs, but equally as important to challenge the perceptions that exist of who they are and how they relate to the world. Nowhere is this more important than in relation to their emotional health and well‐being. In this article, Toby Williamson looks at some of these challenges and describes a Mental Health Foundation project that is attempting to address these issues.

In the last couple of years, the government has made dementia a policy priority and 2008 has seen the publication of the first ever national dementia strategy for England. Here, Toby Williamson describes the challenge posed by dementia in that context, but also reports on some initiatives that give a voice to people with dementia, partly to challenge some of the ways that dementia is referred to, and to improve their lives in quite practical ways.

This commentary considers the demographic ‘bulge’ of the so‐called ‘baby boomer’ generation and the public mental health challenge that this group will represent as they move into old age. Toby Williamson argues that now is the time to start a debate with the aim of identifying long‐term solutions to these new challenges.

Low self‐esteem and confidence can make someone feel cut off from society and, as Toby Williamson explained, social exclusion can lead to depression and other mental illnesses. Here, June Kathchild explains about the Ransackers project, which has created a growing range of opportunities for older people to study (for the first time), giving the students a renewed zest for life.