How to solve the problem of old-age care for empty nesters and elderly people who have lost their independence

During the Dragon Boat Festival, Sanli Street organized elderly people who lost their independence to visit the grassland on the shore.

At present, China has entered the rapid development stage of population aging, and the problem of providing for the aged is imminent. In the tide of providing for the aged, there is such a special group. Because of illness or accident, they suffered the bad luck of losing their only child after middle age. At present, the mode of providing for the aged in our country is mainly family-based, and the elderly who have lost their families are facing a series of practical problems such as illness and providing for the aged due to the departure of their children.

Status quo: Feeling lonely when no one takes care of you when you are sick

Li Honglong, a social work service agency that loves neighbors, has served the elderly who have lost their independence for many years. He admits that the main difficulties of the elderly who have lost their independence are the problems of providing for the elderly and getting sick. On July 28th, he visited an old man in Dongqili Station, and learned that Mr. Zhou, who was nearly seventy years old, had just been discharged from hospital because of anemia and diabetes, and his wife was hospitalized again. For physical reasons, Mr. Zhou can't go to the hospital to take care of him. His wife can only be alone in the hospital, while Mr. Zhou is at home and eating is a problem.

Ms. Wang, who lives in her fifties in Sanli Street, faces the same dilemma. After losing her beloved daughter, she has been unable to come out for many years and has been out of touch with society. It has already passed the best childbearing age, and both husband and wife have been laid off. They simply have no conditions to raise another child. "In the first few years, my eyes were crying and I could only keep dropping eye drops. I was sick, and the 12 ambulance came, and no one helped me carry it downstairs. When I went to the hospital to see a doctor, no children lined up to take medicine, no one accompanied the bed, and I could only squat on my own. "

21 years ago, the only daughter who was only 13 years old was washed away by the flood. Last year, her wife, who accompanied her to bear the pain of losing her independence, died of illness. Bao Chuanyong, who is over 6 years old, currently lives on the meager income of low-income and public welfare posts arranged by the community. The economic situation is not good, and the old man doesn't take it to heart. What she is worried about is that there is no one at home to do heavy manual work, and what to do if she is seriously ill in the future. Bao Chuanyong's worry is actually the knot of most elderly people who have lost their independence. Because there are no children, the elderly who have lost their independence are faced with difficulties in many things in their lives: entering nursing homes and operating tables, and no children are responsible for signing; Handling credit cards and loans was rejected because there was no guarantee. "It's nothing. It would be really terrible if one day I suddenly fell ill and no one was around." Ms. Zhao, who has a similar experience with Ms. Wang, is very sad to talk about these.

Appeal: Longing for more care from the society

The elderly who have lost their independence are an extremely sensitive group, and some of them even call themselves mentally disabled. The reporter found that the elderly who lost their independence have an instinctive alert to the people around them. Even relatives and friends, they don't want others to know their real situation, but at the same time, they are eager for the society to give them more care on the issue of old-age care.

Mr. Zhou said that he can live without relying on others at ordinary times, that is, he hopes to have someone (volunteer) by his side when he is sick. What the old man said is very pertinent, and volunteers don't need to do much, as long as they can help them fetch water, take medicine and cook. They don't have the money to hire a nanny, so I hope the government can give some subsidies to volunteers so that they can take care of them around.

Ms. Wang loves and fears volunteers. To be sensible, she also understands that volunteers are trying to help them, but when she sees these volunteers who are similar in age to her children, she can't help but think of the pain that she deliberately doesn't remember at ordinary times. Ms. Wang is in good health at ordinary times, and she is more receptive to the mutual help between neighbors. Zhao Nvshi, on the other hand, hopes that the government can give them more preferential policies. When they are old, they will inevitably get sick. If they can have regular physical examinations, they will be relieved of their worries to some extent.

The loss of children means the loss of the warmest emotional communication object for the elderly who have lost their independence, and they refuse to contact and communicate with the outside world. But with groups in the same situation, they are willing to open their hearts. During the interview, many elderly people suggested whether it is possible to establish a nursing home for those who have lost their independence. When ordinary old people live in nursing homes, their children should sign as guardians and visit them frequently, which will aggravate the anxiety and loneliness of the elderly who have lost their independence. When ordinary old people chat, they are basically children's topics, which is precisely the weakness of the old people who have lost their independence.

mutual assistance: integration into community groups has a sense of belonging

According to a data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, there are 76, new families who have lost their independence every year in China, and at present, there are more than 1 million families who have lost their independence nationwide.

In order to solve the increasingly prominent problem of providing for the elderly who have lost their independence, Guangzhou has set up a "special area for the elderly who have lost their independence" for the first time. At present, Guangzhou Home for the Aged has opened 5 beds to accept the elderly who have lost their independence, so that the elderly are not "lonely". According to the reporter's understanding, there is no old-age care institution specifically for this special group in Hefei. However, it is gratifying that this issue has been paid more and more attention. In 213 and 214, Ailin Social Work Service applied for the social work demonstration project "Yiyang Home" supported by the central government to provide services for the elderly who have lost their independence. Many communities have also established mutual assistance platforms among the groups who have lost their independence to help the elderly get out of their homes and their closed spiritual world.

In March this year, Sanlijie Street introduced professionals to provide public welfare and targeted psychological counseling to the elderly who lost their independence in the area by purchasing social services. It didn't take long, but it achieved good results. They organize the old people and set up various interest groups to guide them to open their hearts and participate in social activities. Xu Xialing, the person in charge of Love Handicraft Workshop, said that every day from 3 pm to 5 pm, they have arranged different activities, and the old people can choose to participate according to their hobbies. Some time ago, they organized some old people to play in the newly-built grassland on the shore, and many old people smiled for the first time. Ms. Wang lamented that after being out of touch with society for so many years, she finally breathed fresh air that day, and her mood was much more relaxed. She integrated into such a big family and found a sense of belonging. Bao Chuanyong turned the pain of losing his loved ones into love for others, and did some good deeds every day to live a full and happy life. Here, I would like to recommend a small tablet for the elderly, which is completely developed according to the needs of the elderly. It is also equipped with a variety of rich functions such as family companionship, entertainment and health management. Together with the appropriate health hardware package, it will give the elderly friends a happy old age.

I hope that in the near future, the social security will be more and more perfect, and more service platforms will appear for those who have lost their independence, so that the elderly who have lost their independence can have a sense of old age, be full of hope, feel the warmth of the big family and have no worries.