GROWING OLD – MAKING DECISIONS
Those elderly people who are not forced to live in institutions because of illness or destitution have, at some stage, to make a decision about where they will spend their remaining years of life. Should they choose to live in the house or flat they have occupied for years, or move to a smaller house within the community? Should they seek to live in a ‘retirement village’ or complex? Should the concept of ‘almshouses’ be revived?
Whatever decision is made, it is important that the old person makes the choice and that it is not dictated by others. If the choice is to continue to live in the general community, in the person’s own home, or in a flat, the community needs to be pressured to provide appropriate facilities, such as social clubs, access to shops, and community helping organizations, and efforts need to be made to provide the old person with an occupation. A retirement village is usually expensive and only the well-to-do can afford it. The advantage of such places is that services are readily available; illness is not as great a problem, because of the facilities provided; and the environment encourages group activity, giving a much-needed sense of purpose to life. A disadvantage of many retirement villages is that they are relatively isolated and the inhabitants may find it difficult to go into the town centre or to visit friends, without seeking the charity of someone to take them. This can promote a feeling of being cut off from real life and create an artificial, unhealthy way of living. The old idea of almshouses, situated in the town itself, has attractions as these can provide independence for the old person and, at the same time, the facilities and services needed for the person to enjoy his independence without fear of accident, illness, or incapacity.
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