Social worker Jamie Pottage has gone into too many cold homes where elderly people can’t afford heating, are losing weight because they aren’t eating well, and no longer feel relevant.
It is a symptom of today’s society, he says, that many elderly people are socially isolated, and it needs to change.
In lower socio-economic areas around the region, he says his role with Age Concern Nelson Tasman reveals increasing deprivation and loneliness among the elderly.
“We’re seeing absolute poverty – people haven’t got the money to heat their homes and are living in freezing homes. They aren’t getting enough calories and are losing weight. We get calls from people who say they haven’t got any food, and when I look in their cupboards – and I do look in their cupboards – they really don’t have any food.
“Their houses are in disrepair, their social networks have disappeared and the kids aren’t around. They’re hoarding, their sanitation isn’t so good, and they don’t know how to access services.
“It’s compounded by mental health and cognitive decline.”
Jamie says it didn’t used to be like that, and it’s not just the cost of living. Where once, older people were valued in society for their wisdom and experience, he says people often feel less relevant as they get older.
He says youth are venerated in western culture and there is less respect for older people. Family members are also more likely to be working nowadays rather than having someone at home and are often living further afield, whereas in the past there would have been someone who could help an elderly family member.
People are also living longer and remaining in their own homes. The latter is encouraged due to the shortage of aged care facilities, and though there may be services available to them, Jamie says it can be very isolating.
“Isolation is a product of modern New Zealand.”
Age Concern is a charity that relies on donations to help it operate and it receives referrals from the police and other agencies. Jamie says that some elderly ask for help and it tends to be when there is a crisis. For others, pride stops them asking for the help they need.
Technology can also be a barrier, he says, with more services and information moving online and some older people struggling to navigate them.
As well as a lack of care beds, he says there is little respite care available for those caring for partners at home, often with dementia.
“The partner is caring for them and they’re at their wits end and there is nowhere for them to go. Especially if they don’t have money for premium rooms.”
He says there is a waiting list for non-premium aged care rooms locally, and a three-month waiting list for respite care.
More subsidies for older people would be a good start, he says, including an increase in the winter heating subsidy.
“You go into so many cold houses where people refuse to turn the heating on because they can’t afford it.”
Despite the often sad situations he comes across in his job, Jamie says he loves his work.
“It’s really great work. It’s hard sometimes when we want to do more for people, but I really enjoy older people and their perspective. They’re so enthusiastic and appreciative for our visits.”
He says that visits make older people feel heard and that they haven’t been forgotten.
To improve the way older people live – and he points out that everyone ages – he says society will need to change its thinking.
