I consider myself to be a good spirited, healthy and able bodied person. I love to keep active, I often jog, I kick a football when I can, I even ski (albeit dangerously) and my newest pursuit climbing really enthrals me to the max. You can often find me in and around the city, drinking, dancing, exploring new tastes and cultures at will.
I have the world at my feet and embrace it with bright wide-open receptive eyes - always willing to help as many others as I can along the way. I have many dreams and the horizon beckons me to them.
I am simply like most people my age and until recently upon speaking to a friend about his job for a charity that works within care homes I never realised I have had a rather screwed on approach to my present but a clouded naivety to my future. I have found that river runs deeper with wider berth than I had consciously cared to imagine.
The young, active, and virile among you have it all to look forward to, however, as we get older, people inevitably slow down and body-clocks slowly grind to a halt. As this natural progression dawns among us we expect the best care from those around us. The state provides the best it can for our needs with a compulsory state pensions and care facilities. A number of 450,000 residents make up the numbers of our care home population, who are left to live out their days in what should be exemplary physical care. What sometimes is overlooked though is that mandatory thirst for mental stimulus that is core in human nature.
It is often a neglected and unseen notion that those once active minds of our older generation are lacking in that nourishment. The ex-musicians, architects and sportsmen of days gone by can keep their treasured token memories of past success and happiness but it can often all left behind for a routine of tv, dinner and dominoes. This may seem a standard approach to the latter stage of life but have we just been conditioned to believing this?. The staff that work in your average home will often do as their title suggests ‘care’ but that can sometimes only be on a physical level; It is an unfortunate situation, but bureaucratic and financial shackles wrapped around care homes mean that the residents don’t get that beneficial one-on-one mental care they need. However, this is not the only hope we should accept and hope for. A resident does not have to believe the old cliché ”I’m too old for this, “ - they need to be encouraged.
Luckily, Sheffield has its own answer to this unrest in the senior ranks in an initiative that is driven to shine a light into the life of persons in this period of their lives.
My friends charity Learning for the Fourth Age are a new pioneering organisation that work tirelessly to bring joy and fulfilment to our senior citizens, with an inspiring effort from a team of volunteers who are funded on a non-profit basis. Their staff will head into the homes and sit and complete activities with a resident. They give them a one-on-one mentoring service where they can encourage and dually complete tasks with the residents; this can range from arts, crafts, learning a foreign language and music. What the mentor will do for them is asses their individual needs, and provide them with all the assistance necessary for them to push forward; for example, an ex-artist who hasn’t drawn in years due to ill-health can expect a encouraging volunteer to sit and complete drawing exercises with them – in time that person with his new found confidence can continue in his new latest work, his first in twenty-years perhaps.
Charity development coordinator, Jason Briggs, is enthusiastic about what their work can do for people ”People like this depend on other people but doing this makes them feel worth while again,” he said ”It improves an old persons well being and gives them lots to look forward to.”
Alzheimer’s is often rife around homes and with this is mind mentors for the charity, take the time to assess a person and stimulate their minds with activities that cater for their every need and desire. This in turn brings a refreshing breath of fresh air to their lives; the once able and active contributors to society are allowed to feel like givers again.
It has been proven that in many scientific studies that Alzheimers can be improved by brain stimulation in later life.
The Nuns Study carried out by a team from The University of Minnesota in the US adds weight to their ethos.Researchers found in cognitive activities with aged nuns, that whether it be filling in a crossword, playing mind stimulating games or drawing - the effects of the disease were significantly numbed.
At a time where cost for care facilities are ever rising for residents and their families a charity like this is needed. The government’s care home model at it stands says persons who own more than £22,250 in property and savings will astonishingly find that they must finance most of their care themselves. For this amount of cash it is not far fetched to expect the sort of care Learning for the Fourth Age provides. What is needed is that same level of care that is given to our young children and that isn’t given to them.
Mueti Mbado, manager of Fulwood Lodge residential home, uses the charity and says he can see a positive difference in his residents.
He said: "We sometimes have difficulty with spending time with each resident individually but the charities' volunteers are people that can spend up to two hours with them so they are a great help.
“It’s definitely very beneficial to residents, the volunteers are all very good and the activities that they do are specific to each patient which is important. The residents who take part and their families are all very pleased.
“The residents are getting one-on-one time and they are always happy and refreshed after sessions.
“They have worked well and we will continue to use them.”
The charity currently works in 8 homes in Sheffield alone, 11 in Leicester and 1 in Leeds. For the future they would like to work to the same ethos with persons who suffer from drug and mental health problems.
Helping a person who thinks they’re over the hill continue to keep on climbing mountains is perhaps something we should all consider.
LEARNING FOR THE FOURTH AGE
No comments:
Post a Comment