Seniors helping seniors is a win-win
Print Edition
WHEN Jiang Beibei retired from work in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang and returned to her hometown Shanghai, she had trouble readjusting to life in the Minhang District.
What she needed was something rewarding to do to focus her attention outward instead of inward.
She eventually broke her introversion by signing up as a volunteer in a program that taps senior citizens to assist other elderly folks who need help.
“Volunteers came to me and said if I found something to do maybe I would feel better,” said Jiang. “And it worked!”
As Shanghai tries to step up care and services for an aging population, all resources in society are being called to the cause.
One big resource is the body of retired people who are still fit and able.
In the Gumei Community of Minhang, senior volunteers started as a model project in the Pingji No. 2 Neighborhood. It has been so successful that the program is being expanded throughout the whole community and is expected to be promoted district-wide.
Pingji is home to 1,650 people 60 years and older and 230 people over 80. It has a “mutual help center” where senior citizens can go during the day. All volunteers at the center are themselves older.
Volunteer groups
Retired engineer Qiao Wenyan founded the center. She set down a complete series of management rules for volunteers, including cleaning, safety and service.
“We have five groups of volunteers, with 10 members for each group,” said Qiao. “They take turns on a weekly roster. All are about 65 years old. They are very responsible and eager to help people who aren’t as healthy and fit as themselves.”
The center provides meals, entertainment and basic healthcare services. Senior clients and their families are required to sign statements that the elderly who patronize the center are capable of taking care of their own basic needs.
“Before the center was formed, we did a survey in the neighborhood to see what kind of seniors we should target,” said Qiao.
“We found that the residents most badly in need of such a facility are those who are still pretty alert and able to look after themselves in terms of toilet and basic mobility. In other words, we are here to help when their children have gone to work for the day,” she added.
On the first day the center opened, more than 100 seniors and their families signed the agreement.
Jiang Beibei uses her talent in songwriting to compose tunes for the seniors. She has started a small chorus for those who like to sing.
Zhang Changshan, 86, is a regular at the center. He said he fell into lonely solitude after his wife died and closeted himself in his home. The center has given him a new lease on life.
Regular comer
“Just chatting with other people makes me happy,” he said. “Sometimes we watch sports on TV together. It sure beats sitting at home alone.”
According to the Minhang District Civil Affairs Bureau, about one third of the district’s registered population is 60 years or older.
The pressure of catering to an aging society is getting heavier.
More than 90 percent of seniors stay at home rather than go into elderly complexes because there aren’t enough facilities to handle demand. That means the community needs to mobilize more resources to help them on a day care basis, the bureau said.
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