Elder Abuse in Gary - Case Study Example

Meeting the Needs of Elderly Citizens in Gary I: Executive Summary The number of elderly citizens in the USA is increasing by the day. The need to make sure that these people are supported is high and urgent. A long term solution will be needed in order to make sure that these people have been taken care of. A home for the elderly will be needed for the elderly people in Gary to make sure that all the needy elderly people are supported by the society. II: definition of the problem The necessity care for the elderly is as important as the need to take care of young ones. In the past, there have been concerns to take care of children since these members of the society are seen as the future of the society. However, the truth is that even the elderly do have an importance in the society. The changing nature of the social fabric has made it harder for most families to take care of the elderly. Socioeconomic changes have brought more problems to the quality of life that older people can have. These people need support in various dimensions of life, beginning from the economic, health and social needs. This is a pressing need for United States of America and must be dealt with decisively and with finality. Yet, the various programs that have been put in place in many parts of America whether by the federal government or state governments have not been able to provide for a solution that will last longer. Many elderly people in the United States continue to live under deplorable condition because they cannot afford proper healthcare, food and even social support (Zastrow 415). Gary has not been left behind in this and as the population of Gary increases, the number of elderly people who badly need this support from the federal and state governments will increase. As of the present time, the percentage of these elderly people who are over 65 years of age is about 13 percent. This number is assumed to double in the next 35 years, further pointing to the need for a lasting solution, a solution that will last for more than fifty years unlike the ones that will last for ten or less years (Hoffmann 78). Yet, even as the number of elderly people increases, the guarantee of retirement pension is not available to them as was the case before. Most senior citizens of the past were guaranteed of a good retirement package after they retire from work, regardless of the work they were doing. Even those with manual jobs could be guaranteed of a good retirement package that would help them navigate their sunset years. The baby boomers (those born around the time of world war II were lucky in that the economic boom that followed made it easier for them to get job security throughout their lives and to be guaranteed of a good life after retirement (Pappathi 48). This is not the same scenario with the elderly people of today and it is going to be worse for tomorrow’s elderly generation who are living in these times of economic uncertainties, unemployment, and worse still the lack of guarantee of a reliable retirement package. Even those who are employed and have a retirement/pension plan going on, the fact is that they cannot be guaranteed of a pension because the pension/investment plans they have been contributing to can collapse as has been seen in the past one decade (United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division). These uncertainties are a major threat to the way elderly people will be able to live. The society has an inherent responsibility to take care of these people since the general quality of life in the society depends on how everyone in the society is able to get good standards of living. In this case, it is everyone’s business to ensure that these elderly people are taken care of. Part III: Objectives At the very least, Gary, as a small urban community, will require a plan to take care of its senior citizens who may not be lucky enough to have the economic and social capital to sustain a quality standard of living in their old age. The needed resources will be s follows; Support home for the elderly The home or the facility can be a boarding or a daytime services facility. If it is a day home, the elderly who will qualify to get assistance from the home can report at the home every morning and leave in the evening. They will be able to get healthy food, medical services and a chance for socializing. Nurse / health professional A resident nurse will be needed to be able to give the elderly people they need. As discussed above, one of the main issues that most elderly people are facing in America is lack of proper healthcare (Basavanthappa 41). With a resident nurse at the elderly home, it will be possible to give the elderly people who will qualify to benefit from the home. It must also be noted that most elderly people may have various heath conditions that need to be monitored more frequently. The nurse at the home will be able to do this and be able to recommend for further treatment where necessary. He or she will also work with the cook at the elderly home to make sure that the dietary needs for the elderly people have been determined and that the elderly people are getting the necessary and required diet. Cook to help in proving the elderly with palatable meals. To be able to serve these needs, the facility will need a cook to be preparing meals for these elderly people. The cook must have the qualification necessary to be able to be planning the diet for the elderly people based not only on the age factor but also on the many issues that older people may have. Most elderly people have some health complications that may determine which food they can and cannot eat. In this case, the cook will have to be able to know these factors and prepare meals that are in line with the health needs of the elderly people. IV. Plan of Action Of course, for such a project to be able to succeed, it will have to have sponsors as well as a plan that will make sure that the project is successes not only currently but also in the future. Who will be involved? Government Needless to mention, the government will play a major function in the success of the project. While the project may benefit here and there from private donors, this is a project that must be spearheaded by the government. There are various government grants and policies that can be used to finance the project. The project will need a lot of money both for the purchase of physical requirements (land, construction of the home, medical and food supplies) and non physical financial needs (salaries, maintenance, security etc). In this case, the government at federal, state and even at local levels will be needed to participate in the project and offer financial help. Private businesses and individuals Businesses and individuals will also be involved in the project. Donations from businesses and individuals will be needed. For the home for the elderly to be to be successful in the long schedule of time, it will have to get the support of the well wishers who will support the home financially (Byrne 45). The support can be in form of financial support or material support such as donations of food, medicine and other utilities that may be needed in the home. The support from the private businesses and the individuals will be necessary because even with the support from the government, it may not be possible to meet the needs of the elderly home. The donations and support from the business and individuals will be necessary to supplement what the government will offer in financial support for the home. However, these parties will have to be involved in the project from the beginning in order to ensure that they understand the need and thus motivate them to be able to donate. The community The society as a whole will also be a very major part of the success of the elderly home. Additionally, it is important to ensure that they are involved so that they will offer the social and economic support. How To begin with, it can be expected that regardless of the fact that there is the problems of American elderly people being neglected, the American society is a philanthropic society, whether it is a the individual or societal level or even from the government quarters, the willingness to help those who are in need has always been there. In fact, the American government has always been a pioneer in the global community of states to implement social welfare of those who are unfortunate for one reason or the other (Pinch 58). In this regard, it will be feasible to convince the government to support this project both at the start and as it continues to serve the elderly people in need. It will also be possible to persuade individuals and businesses to support the project. As a result, the project will start with an awareness campaign to make sure that the problem is well understood by both the government and the society itself. From there, people and the government will be asked to support the project. From the government side, the relevant politicians will be asked to forward the issue to the relevant authorities so that financial support from the government can be solicited for. On the society side, donors and supporters will be asked to donate whatever they can that can be useful in the development of this project. The donations may include the land onto which the home will be built or the materials needed for the construction of the home. When The project will start on 2015 June. This will give the planners sufficient time for the planning of the project and also for awareness campaign to be carried out. Once these two have been achieved, it will be possible for the actual project to start. The following is the estimated outline; January 2015- may 2015 This period will be used for the planning as well as the awareness campaign. Of course, these are two different activities but since they are interrelated, they will be carried co-currently and this will help in saving time. The awareness campaign will be carried in two modes. The first mode will be about talking with the individuals the society in general in order to sensitize them about the need for this project and how it will be useful not only to the elderly people of Gary but also to the Gary community as a whole. The second mode will be talking to government officials in order for the project to get financial support from the government quarters. The government will be sensitized as to why taking care of the increasing number of needy elderly people is important for the community of Gary. As Brogden (152) says, the support of the society in such a project is important since it gives the project the fuel to keep going even years after it has been started. June 2015 – December 2015 The project will begin by the construction of the home. During this time, the process of identifying the elderly people who should qualify to benefit from the home will be carried out. This is extremely important in that not all elderly people are in need of this support. Where The project will be carried out in Gary. While the actual land where the home will be constructed is not identified yet, the project will have to get a plan within the community. This can be community land or land donated by a local individual. The donation of the land, if it will come from a private or individual will be either as land itself or as financial donation that can be used to buy the land. V. Monitoring and Evaluation This will be a continuous process to evaluate the way in which the project has helped in solving the identified issue. Necessary modifications will then be made to the project for a solution that has been optimized to help as many needy elderly people as possible. Works Cited Basavanthappa, Boris. Essentials of Mental Health Nursing. New York, NY: JP Medical Ltd, 2011. Print. Brogden, Mike. Crime, Abuse the Elderly: Routledge Advances in Maritime Research. London, NY: Routledge, 2013. Print. Byrne, Gerard. Community Mental Health for Older People. Sydney, AU: Elsevier Australia, 2009. Print. Hoffmann, Rasmus. Socioeconomic Differences in Old Age Mortality. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media, 2008. Print. Pappathi, Keith. Ageing: Scientific Perspective & Social Issues. New York, NY: APH Publishing, 2007. Print. Pinch, Steven. Worlds of Welfare: Understanding the Changing Geographies for Social Welfare Provision. New York, NY: Routledge, 2002. Print. United Nations. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division. Living Arrangements of Older Persons: Critical Issues and Policy Responses. Washinton, DC: United Nations Publications, 2006. Print. Zastrow, Charles. Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People. New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Read More