Aged People’s Council Seeks Community’s Help

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29334, 13 October 1960, Page 9

Aged People’s Council Seeks Community’s Help

>l | 'HE Christchurch Aged People’s Welfare Council has the names A of more than 150 old people in its short list waiting for accommodation. These old people are in desperate need of supervised accommodation. The council wants to increase its activities in the prevention of boredom and loneliness among the aged. It wants to extend its craft work, more into the field of group employment.

It also wants to start on the project in Lyttelton street, where it hopes to build a residential home for old people. But it cannot think of these things until it has the backing of the community. Money is needed for the work in hand and an income for the work in the future. The public will be asked to enrol as associate members of the welfare council at 10s a year. The campaign will open tomorrow. Increasing Needs The needs of elderly people are continuing to increase because the numbers are increasing and also, though to a lesser extent, because of increasing social standards. “We expect to do a little more for them now than was done, say, 25 years ago,” said Dr. H. R. Donald, chairman of the executive of the council The crucial age period is 75 and over. Increasing mental and physical frailty then take their toll. The numbers in those ages have trebled in the last 25 years. What must be done for old people is to provide them with facilities for delaying, the ageing process, to combat loneliness and boredom and have supervised accommodation for those losing their independence. There comes a stage in frailty when people cannot be left alone overnight. No amount of home-aid service can fill that gap. During the day old people can be looked after by homeaids, meals on wheels, and by Nurse Maude district nurses. Great work has been done by voluntary workers in such organisations as the Nurse Maude

Association, the Red Cross Society, and church social services. The available acute medical beds in the public hospitals in Christchurch are largely taken up by old people who require little more than accommodation. Public Responsibility “If there are no relatives the care of old people is essentially a community responsibility and the problem has now reached such dimensions that the community as a whole must accept it,” said Dr. Donald. The welfare council, which was formed in 1952, consists essentially of representatives of the community. The Mayor of Christchurch is president and there are representatives of the Health Department, the Social Security Department, local authorities and all organisations actively interested in the care of old people. The welfare council runs a central office where all inquiries about assistance are received and an up-to-date register of those in need is kept. It provides instruction in craftwork and employs three full-time instructors who use two light vans. The welfare council has its own occupational centre to which old people go. The three young women instruct about 200 old people a week, of whom about 80 are isolated in their own homes while the others are in residential homes. Those old people who live alone in their own homes are picked up once a month by volunteer drivers and taken to a party, usually at one of

the residential homes. In addition the welfare council has sponsored two residential homes, Langford House in Sydenham and Windsor House in Shirley. Langford House has accommodation for 48 frail ambulants, persons who can still get about. Windsor House, where the welfare council shares control with the Christchurch Rotary Club, has accommodation for 89, including a hospital wing for 14. This hospital will have to be enlarged for it is already too small. No Regular Income The welfare council has no regular source of income except street appeals, and it has used these in the last two years only. It gets £2OO a year from the Christchurcn City Council and about £750 from the Government, which goes towards the salaries of the three instructors in craftwork. The central office costa about £2OOO a year to run. As a way of raising funds, the public are being asked to become associate members of the Welfare Council at a subscription of 10s a year. This takes the place of membership of the Old Folks’ Guild, which has been discontinued. The council’s expenditure last year exceeded its income by £l4OO. The badge of associate membership bears a symbol of a bee and this represents community effort against approaching winter. “Associate memberships will be sold first and foremost on the merits of the cause and the responsibilities of citizens,” said Dr. Donald. Associate membership forms j may be obtained from doctors’ receptionists and from chemists. Competition Planned Local organisations, societies and groups of individuals may wish to help in obtaining associate members and their assistance will be welcomed. A television set or £l5O is being offered by the welfare council to the organisation which enrols the most associate members, with the stipulation that this prize is to be given to an old people's home of the organisation’s choice. Organisations which wish to compete may obtain membership forms from the welfare council’s office. Each organisation can make its own decision on how and to whom it sells them. Sales will also be made by individuals who wish to help this cause. Any associate member is entitled to enrol other associate members, and each nCw member he so enrols will entitle him to a good conduct stripe. Five stripes will qualify a member for his wings with a special membership badge and the honorary rank of worker bee. Furthe.’ promotion is in units of five. A count of 25 will qualify an associate member as a bumble or queen bee. The privileges attached to these ranks will be announced later. Physical Health In addition to the aims already stated, the Aged People’s Welfare Council wants to 'run a campaign for the maintenance of physical health in the old. This will probably mean employing a physiotherapist It is also keen to start on the project ip- Lyttelton street where it has a combined scheme with the Christchurch City Council The welfare council was given a good section in Lyttelton street and it gave the front portion to the City Council which has already embarked on the construction of pensioners' cottages. On the back part of the section the welfare council hopes to erect a residential home to accommodate SO frail ambulanta with a hospital wing to take 20 bedridden old people.

"We cannot think of these things until we have the backing of the community," said Dr. Donald.