May 17, 2012

Sonia says….

TOPIC: Volunteering.Community.Ageing.Equality.

There was a shocking reminder recently of the often hidden abuse of elderly care home residents living with dementia when the BBC’s Panorama showed footage of an 80-year-old woman being beaten by a member of staff.

We know thousands of older people in this country are susceptible to mistreatment of all kinds, and residents need support, preferably from a trusted and independent individual with whom they can develop a meaningful relationship and who can speak up for them, giving a voice to the voiceless. (Guardian 25 April 2012).

Sonia says :

No-one could fail to be appalled at the sights shown on the Panorama programme but this also has to be put in the context of several other things – what homes are paid to provide this care, the reluctance of the indigenous population to take on this demanding work, and most of all the responsibility of society members to take care of our elderly and those most at risk. 

Having now worked in the charity field for nearly 20 years and most recently taking a lead for volunteering and community development, it is clear that, where provision of care includes volunteers and the local community, not only does this provide extra pairs of hands but also extra ears and eyes for both the person receiving the service and those who care for them.

Just because someone goes into a care home should not be an excuse for society to ignore them.  Many care homes are built on our high streets, and as in the case of the Panorama investigation, in a local residential area.  The the door may be shut (or even locked) but this should not stop local people making the effort to meet their new neighbours and see how they can integrate them into local community life. 

David Cameron has asked, many times, as he talks of the Big Society, how many of us know our neighbours?  Surely knowing our neighbours should include those in care and those who cannot come out alone but would welcome a visit and a hand of friendship.

It is easy to be shocked and angered by cruelty to those who cannot answer back, but it is also easy to take some personal responsibility for ensuring that all older people, wherever they live, can feel connected to the wider community – you just have to knock on the door and introduce yourself.

Sonia Douek is Head of volunteering and community development at Jewish Care and has developed a strategy for the organisation that has seen the growth of volunteers in the organisation reach 2,800 people.

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March 29, 2012

Sonia says…

TOPIC: MENTAL HEALTH, YOUNG AND OLD

It’s long been known that elderly people are more prone to depression and other mental-health problems if they live on their own. New research suggests the same pattern may also be found in younger, working-age adults.  – Amanda Gardner, Health.com – March 23, 2012

 Sonia says :

We now know that a third of the Jewish community (of all ages) live alone, which has the propensity that many of these people will have no contact with a community that prides itself on being like a family.

This week saw the launch of an Agenda for Ageing Well in the Jewish community – the culmination of 18 months of work and a consultation with over 500 people of all ages.

It calls upon all of us in the Jewish community to find a way to reach out and connect to people of all ages on a regular basis to ensure that, as we age, we are enabled and encouraged to flourish and participate to the best of our physical and mental abilities.

For a community whose Biblical heroes have all lived to a ripe old age, we need to challenge the current emphasis that we are putting on only engaging youth.  Youth become young adults, who, before we know it have become the middle and older aged members of our community – and who hae told us that there is nothing for them unless they need caring for or they want to pursue religious activity.

The report, produced by Jewish Care and ResponseAbility, encourages us to think cross and inter generationally so that we can keep connected, be spiritually enhanced, play an active role and stay healthy and active or supported when our health fails.

Sonia Douek is Head of volunteering and community development at Jewish Care and has developed a strategy for the organisation that has seen the growth of volunteers in the organisation reach 2,800 people.

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March 26, 2012

Twentysomething Thoughts: The Travelling Grandma

Anna Cusi Buscarons, blog contributor, twentysomething

Like most people do, I love to travel and discover new places. Nowadays when I think (or rather daydream) about holidays it’s no longer a long holiday trip but a 3-day escape instead. The days of being a little girl –and then a teenage girl- and going on lengthy holidays with my family are over and for the past few years short trips with friends or to visit friends have started replacing those travels.

It is now much easier to travel around and get to know European capitals and cities for a reasonable price than it was just a decade before. I am constantly hearing in conversation: “this weekend I’m going to Paris to celebrate my best friend’s birthday!” or “next week I’m going to Venice with my boyfriend!” Young people are really taking advantage of this situation.

Every time I tell my 79-year old Spanish grandmother that I’m travelling somewhere she looks at me with a nice surprised face and says: “Oh my dear, you never stop travelling around!” but what you don’t know yet is that she is –albeit a in different way – just as travel-addicticted as I am.

My grandmother prefers to travel by bus and go to neraby destinations. Since she got widowed she has been travelling along with a girlfriend and they both join organised trips for elderly people from her town. She always enjoys these trips very much and meets with people of her age. She also enjoys short trips so that she doesn’t get too tired, although she usually does a one-week trip somewhere a bit more far away once a year. This really makes “her year” and then she talks about this trip for at least three months…

I asked her a few questions about her travels:

Why do you like to travel?

I get to know and discover new places and I meet up with friends from town.

Do you prefer long or short trips? Why?

I do more short trips but I actually prefer the long ones because you have more time to spend.

What do you enjoy the most when you are on a trip?

To visit new places and monuments, to stay in a hotel, to talk with my friends and to sing in the bus.

What was your last trip? Where are you travelling next?

The last trip was in December, it was a one day visit to a little typical town from the mountains. We don’t know yet where the next trip will be to because but it will be around May/June and it is going to be a long one so I am already excited.

In my opinion travelling is important as it keeps my grandmother active. Every time she returns from somewhere she is already thinking about making lists for the next trip, even if just a one day trip to visit a market in a nearby town.  We should all do more little escapes for as long as we have the time, engery and resources to do so. Age won’t hold her back, rightly so.

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March 7, 2012

Sonia says…

Topic: International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is held annually on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.

“Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures” is the 2012 theme of the internationalwomensday.com website and this has been widely used by hundreds of organisations including schools, universities, governments, women’s groups and the private sector.

Sonia says :

How appropriate that this year International Women’s Day coincides with the Jewish festival of Purim.

The story of Purim, which tells of how the Jews were saved from the threat of extinction by the Persians, centres around one central character –Esther.   Esther was encouraged to place herself close to the King of Persia and then use her position, at great risk to herself, to persuade him to think again and thus save her people.

Whilst sounding so much like a fairy story, and written in simple language that can be understood at any age, what really links this story with the theme of International Women’s Day is that women, throughout history, have been the voice of moral reason, the instigators of peaceful solutions and the role models to the next generation.

At Jewish Care we have the privileged opportunity to learn stories of amazing courage and moral fortitude from those older people who use our services, no more so than from the women.

This blog has given me the opportunity to think about those women who have inspired me – not least my mother who bravely brought up two children on her own at a time that this was rare in the community, whilst carving out a career that was traditionally in a man’s world.

But also those women I work with, those who volunteer their time and talents selflessly to better our community, and those women who have used our services and shared their stories of strength in either the last war, in coming to this country and starting again or creating lives for them and their families despite difficult life circumstances.

Take a minute, this International Women’s Day, to remind yourself of those women who have inspired you and made you who you are.

Sonia Douek is Head of volunteering and community development at Jewish Care and has developed a strategy for the organisation that has seen the growth of volunteers in the organisation reach 2,800 people.

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February 22, 2012

London Fashion Week’s Tough Cookies

Anna Cusi Buscarons, Jewish Care Intern

It’s Fashion Week time again. Last week it was New York, now it’s London’s call and in the next weeks it will be Milan and Paris. It’s that time of the year when celebrities, fashion lovers or ‘fashionistas’, journalists and fashion magazine editors, and fashion bloggers (the new phenomenon on the network) meet to witness the reveal of next seasons pieces. Amongst the most popular designers and fashion show assistants, two names stood out as women who were making their mark in the industry, despite reservations about whether they belonged in the fashion world in the first place: Victoria Beckham and 95-year-old Zelda Kaplan.

Victoria Beckham debuted as a fashion designer in her early thirties and she is now showing her collections all over the world with rave reviews. The 37-year-old’s designs are focused on catering to chic and elegant women who want to look stylish at any age. She’s had such success that last November she was awarded the “Designer of the year” at the Annual British Fashion Awards. Few people believed that “Posh Spice” could succeed in fashion since she seemed little more than a celebrity clothes horse sitting on the front row at Fashion shows and making a shopping list. But she jumped from the front row to the runway and it looks like she is going to remain there for a long time.

In the news this week we heard a great deal about 95-year-old American fashionista Zelda Kaplan, who passed away last week after collapsing in a front row at New York Fashion Week. She was a fashion-devotee known for her love of Manhattan’s Fashion shows and nightlife despite her advanced age. Aside from this, during her lifetime she was a staunch humanitarian, frequently travelling to Africa to fight against female mutilations and campaigning for the rights of women. Whilst on these trips, she used to collect hand-woven fabrics to create original and unusual outfits, usually composed of brightly coloured suits and matching hats. She was an active woman who lived fiercely until the day she closed her eyes while seated in a front row show.

These two women have been in many conversations within the fashion circles during these days and both of them should be an example of how we should live our passions despite others prejudices or getting to certain age. Could you imagine a former Spice Girl showing her collection along with the best international fashion designers? Could you imagine a 95-year-old partying and assisting glamorous events looking stunning? They did it.

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February 21, 2012

Sonia says…

TOPIC: Elderly, get back to work! And downsize your homes whilst you’re at it…

Elderly people should be encouraged to go back to work and move into smaller homes, says David Halpern, one of David Cameron’s key advisors. (Telegraph, February 10 2012).

This follows on from Grant Shapps (housing minister) in January when he said that councils should help elderly people to move into smaller houses and let their homes out with the local council arranging and managing the rental, but the income would go to the elderly person.

He said it would help with the housing shortage and provide older people with money to pay for any care they need without having to sell their home.

Sonia says…

One has to wonder what is behind these statements?  Is this really about a housing shortage, and about ensuring that older people have the finances they need to live fulfilling lives?

We all know that having a purpose to each day makes us feel better, but we also know that work environments can be stressful and demanding and that as we grow older in a fast paced environment we can struggle to keep up with technology and change.  We also know that moving house at any age is one of the most stressful situations we will face in life.

In a world of personalisation and person-centred care, it does seem bizarre that the government will encourage us to choose when we are most vulnerable how we would like to be treated, whilst at the same time start dictating how and where we should live our lives if we are older and fitter.

These sweeping statements from government ministers need more thought, and more consultation.  A number of immediate thoughts come to mind:

– With regard to working till we drop, would we not be better influencing companies who have older workers to adopt a phased approach to retirement so that we are using older people’s skills whilst allowing them the opportunity to reap the rewards of a life in full employment?

- With regard to downsizing, whether to free income or create income, this takes no account of those older people who are now the primary caregivers to their grandchildren, or those who wish to remain in an area close to their nearest and dearest whom the government is reliant on to provide them with the majority of their care when they need it.

And finally, a little nearer to home, maybe we should be first asking ministers to rent out their ‘second homes’ to ease the housing crisis and donate the funds to homeless projects! Just a thought…

Sonia Douek is Head of Volunteering and Community Development at Jewish Care and has developed a strategy for the organisation that has seen the growth of volunteers in the organisation reach 2,800 people.

 

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February 2, 2012

From fortysomething to eightysomething in a day

Maralyn Roberts,  External Communications , Jewish Care

After reading Janice Turner’s powerful editorial about the realities of extreme old age in The Times Magazine (28th January) I have decided to  follow the advice of the poet Jenny Joseph and wear purple in old age.

“When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.”

Janice Turner wrote movingly about the reality of life as an 80-year-old woman.  In order to experience what life might really be like for her in four decades time she underwent a dramatic physical transformation with the help of special latex makeup and acting lessons to teach her how to move like an old woman.  She found the results were dramatic and depressing: “I feel despised, patronised, pitied, excluded from everything whizzy and new.”

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