What is mutual aid for the elderly?

Mutual-aid elderly care is a brand-new model of elderly care. As a supplement to community-based elderly care, mutual-aid elderly care emphasizes mutual assistance and comfort among ordinary residents. For example: Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs: Feixiang County, Hebei Province has explored a new rural social mutual aid and elderly care model of "village-level sponsorship, mutual aid services, mass participation, and government support", which better solves the daily care, spiritual comfort, and cultural activities of the elderly. It not only reflects the traditional home care customs, but also promotes family harmony. This model has been promoted across the province. "Village-level sponsorship" means that the village committee uses collective funds, idle properties or rents idle property facilities from farmers, and the village collective bears the daily operating expenses such as water, electricity, and heating according to its ability. "Mutual aid service" means that children apply and the elderly move in voluntarily, and clothing, food, and medical care are guaranteed by themselves and their children. The young people in the hospital take care of the old, and the healthy take care of the weak. They help and serve each other and live together. "Mass participation" means that the village collective organizes, mobilizes and encourages villagers, social forces and volunteers, especially "successful people" who go out to do business, to repay the villagers and provide financial support or services for the Mutual Aid and Happiness Home. "Government support" means that governments at all levels provide support and guidance in terms of policies, infrastructure construction, funds, management training, etc. The goal of “reaching a coverage rate of more than 40% in the construction of rural mutual aid welfare homes” was included in the provincial government’s “Government Work Report” as one of the “Ten Practical Things to Benefit and Benefit the People” in the province in 2012. Rural "mutual aid and happiness homes" are mutual aid and elderly care methods created by rural grassroots people based on their own needs. They are in line with rural realities. 11,454 rural mutual aid and happiness homes have been built, accounting for 22% of the total number of rural areas in the province.