Aging and the Elderly....

My volunteering adventure has led me to sign up to become and ombudsman. An ombudsman is an advocate for the elderly and their families. 

As I sat down with the program coordinator, I was shocked and angered by the statistics that he presented me with. I realized how absolutely horrible we are to the elderly.

I had to admit how we, even I, treat aging as if it is some horrendous terminal illness.

In every venue possible, aging is depicted as undesireable.  Grey hair...dye it! Wrinkles.... zap it! There used to be a time where growing older was celebrated. Now everyone wants to be 21 or 25 forever.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH US?

Seniors are the wealth of our society.  They are the venue by which we enjoy so many of the freedoms that we take for granted everyday. 

The condition of a majority of nursing homes are disgusting. Let's not even discuss homes that serve to house the elderly. I found out that if you have a three bedroom home; all you have to do is make a few minor adjustments and you can offer "senior housing". What type of adjustments you ask? Oh just a a few handles to make the bathtub accessible and possibly a ramp outdoors. Now, this is not the part that REALLY angered me. No, what got my goat was that if a senior is receiving social security in the amount of $560 and enters a private senior home. The caregiving would receive $530! Now, that is a double edged sword. I realize that realistically, a senior will not be able to find any type of decent housing with that limited amount of money. However, why would society demoralize seniors in that way. Someone takes more than 75% of your check? More importantly, the government is so overloaded that they do not have the employees needed to ensure that the regulations for these homes are properly abided by nor that the seniors are being cared for or treated with dignity or respect. The government relies on community volunteers.

My heart was so heavy when I left the office equipped with the knowledge of such deplorable conditions and the limited resources available.

All I can do is what I can do to to help... I will post more information as I receive it for those of you who are interested.