What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the expression “helping the elderly”? Perhaps most immediately imagine a lonely grandmother, who once a month is visited by social service workers – to buy medicines and food, cook food and help with household chores. Or – to chop wood and bring water, if we are talking about the countryside. Well, the “worn-out” rule of crossing the road for the elderly has become almost a national tradition, which we were taught at school since childhood.
Nevertheless, visiting the elderly and helping them with housework is not the only way to take care of them. And the rule of giving elderly people a place in transport, inherited from the Soviet past, in Western countries can be perceived as an insult.
In some countries the elderly lead an active life, do sports and keep in good physical shape, and therefore the ways to help them are different from ours. We have collected the best volunteer initiatives to help the elderly around the world.
Long Live the Elderly Program, Italy
Since the 1990s, the number of nursing homes in Italy has been decreasing every year. Maintaining a nursing home is very expensive. So Italy decided to go a different way – they created a network to help the elderly at home.
Since 2004. In Rome, there is a program called “Let the Elderly Live”, founded by the Catholic Community of Sant’Egidio. This program takes care of people over the age of 75 by actively involving the community in their care.
Through telephones and other means of communication, a “solidarity network” is created around each elder. It includes everyone around the person – relatives, neighbors, doctors, social service volunteers, even local store clerks. These people constantly monitor the life of the old person, helping him in all spheres of life, keeping in touch with him and, if necessary, providing urgent assistance.
Third Age Universities
In a world of ideas, old age doesn’t have to be an expectation of death. This age can be a time to explore a new industry. Life is too fast for us to have time to listen to ourselves. Very often we don’t live it the way we want to live it, doing the wrong things and, as a result, getting the wrong things that bring pleasure. And if earlier old age was perceived as a time of disappointment, today, thanks to the trend of lifelong education, old age can become a period of realization of youthful dreams and new discoveries, a time of comprehending new horizons and mastering new professions.
That is why there is a network of “third age” universities all over the world, where older people can once again find themselves in the ranks of students. Each such university has its own programs, adapted to the needs of older people, their skills and interest. Through this, seniors can gain knowledge from a variety of fields, from basic computer skills to laughter therapy to art history. In addition to inviting specific people to performances, the elderly also hold master classes, which are open to all comers: both the elderly themselves, and volunteers and community organizations.
Combining children’s homes with nursing homes in Canada
People in nursing homes are almost always unhappy because they feel unwanted, lonely and abandoned. Just like orphaned children who grow up without the warmth and care of a family. This is why doctors and community activists in Canada and the United States decided to combine orphanages with nursing homes.
As a result of the experiment, the elderly felt needed, their general health indicators improved, and they had a desire to live. The children, on the other hand, found themselves surrounded by loving grandparents for the first time, and then became friendlier, more optimistic and more self-confident. The children and the elderly, who felt no one needed them, found themselves needing one another, because the former got caring grandparents to replace their families, while the latter realized their dream of a warm home full of restless grandchildren.