Taiwan is on the way to becoming a super-aging society, the number of older persons who living alone continues to increase, and “lonely death” is a common issue. Many older persons no longer seem to have any expectations for tomorrow and the future. Eden Foundation has long been concerned about the issue of aging. This year, Eden conducted a survey on the living conditions of older persons in all of our day care centers also community-based site for senior citizens throughout Taiwan, and found that the proportion of older persons living alone and senior caregivers has reached nearly 30%, and has been rising year by year. The needs of older persons who living alone require the attention of the community.
Charity Ambassadors, Mr. Nine Chen and Mr. Qiu Fengze, called on the public to care for older persons living alone.
According to the 2022 Older Persons Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, one out of every six older persons in Taiwan suffers from depression, and at the same time, the suicide mortality rate of older persons over 65 years old in Taiwan has always been the highest among all age groups, in the fast aging social trend, the mental health of older persons should be emphasized as well. Eden Foundation organized the “Hey, everything okay with you?Keeping lonely older persons company as they look forward to tomorrow's visit!” press conference and held on the 8th, Aug. During the press conference, a survey on the current living conditions of older persons was announced, and the charity ambassadors, Mr. Nine Chen and Mr. Qiu Fengze, also attended to participate in the “Culinary Old-fashion War” with two senior service users, they also called on the public to care for older persons with the most common greeting “Hey, everything okay with you?”
During the culinary war, our charity ambassadors, Nine Chen & Qiu Fengze, Grandma Little Solar and Uncle Jun-Lin were preparing the ingredients.
A total of 193 questionnaires were collected in this survey, mainly targeting at senior citizens served by Eden's Community-based Long-term Care Service Centers and Community-based Sites for older persons. The survey found that more than 70% of senior service users would feel “bored” if they are not in the center or site. As for the most popular things to do in the centers, “exercise” and “eating” were the most appreciated services for the seniors, such as satisfying their basic needs and maintaining their physical functioning. Regarding the satisfaction of their current life, more than 90% of senior service users were satisfied, and less than 10% of them felt depressed in the past month. This shows the importance of “companionship” to life in older age and the key to aging well.
The sound of bowls and plates clinking against each other and the aroma of the food was mouth-watering. Together with the two charity ambassadors on stage, the chefs were Grandma Little Solar from Eden’s San-Hsia Taipei University Community-Based Long-Term Care Service Center and Uncle Jun-Lin from Keelung Qi-Du Dementia Community-based Site. 72-year-old Uncle Jun-Lin came back to Taiwan to take care of his older brother with intellectual disability after 40 years of hard work abroad. After his brother passed away, Uncle Jun-Lin realized that he began to forget things and was diagnosed with dementia by the hospital and was referred to the Keelung Qi-Du Dementia Community-based Site.
For Uncle Jun-Lin, who lives alone and has a low income, he often feels bored at home, but only after attending classes at the site did he begin to find life meaningful. Every morning when he arrives at the community site, he greets other service users, assists prepare the noon meal of dining together service, and helps the staff tidy up the environment after class, making his days full of fun. Uncle Jun-Lin says this is his second home, and he doesn't know what he would do without Eden.
Uncle Jun-Lin exercising with other seniors at the Keelung Qu-Di Dementia Community-based Site.
At the age of 84, Grandma Little Solar who has a gentle and smiling personality, used to live with her husband in Taichung, but after her husband passed away, she lived alone. Because her daughter didn't want to let her live alone and noticed that Grandma Little Solar was beginning to experience forgetfulness and repetitive speech, her children decided to bring her to live with them in Taipei after discussion, and to let her receive the service from Eden’s San-Hsia Taipei University Community-Based Long-Term Care Service Center. At the center, there are a variety of courses, plus art and music therapy, accompanied Grandma Little Solar out of the original life of living alone, and become a lot of smiles, and with the support of the family, her health condition has improved a lot, and the level of disability and dementia has been assessed and reduced from level 3 to level 2.
Grandma Little Solar is living a happy life in San-Hsia Taipei University Community-Based Long-Term Care Service Center.
Mr. Ben Lin, Vice CEO of Eden Foundation, said that in the era of older age and live alone, aging alone will become an issue for everyone. Eden's service emphasizes on localization, and actively establishes “community-based site” and “day care” services in place, arranges suitable courses for seniors, and closely communicates with the caregivers to assist in the linkage of resources, in the hope that every senior can find the services they need in the neighborhood. For seniors who are unable to leave their homes, our love is brought into their homes through meal delivery, home-based services and home visits. We invite the public to support Eden's “Care Service Programs for Older Persons” to help seniors not to be lonely in their older age, and to be able to live a good life even if they are alone! if need any further information please dial support hotline 0800-025-885, or search for “Eden services for older persons” on the internet.
Our Charity Ambassadors, Nine Chen & Qiu Fengze, Grandma Little Solar and Uncle Jun-Lin completed the “Culinary Old-fashion War”.
