The wrap up

This semester I have learned that the elderly are as I have always thought are the corner stone of our culture. They are able to share their wealth of experience and it is our job to help them and assist them. I admire the people that are able to work with them, in the past I have never understood the elderly and their often stubbornness. Now I see that we as a culture need to support them and care for them. Two days ago a fellow counselor said to me no way in hell could he work with the elderly that he admire that I was able to work with the elderly that were schizophrenic. While yes I admit in the past I avoided them like they had the plague. I have come to a new understanding and see that you often have to repeat, repeat, listen and repeat.

1970's and the elderly

The elderly in the 1970's were still in a way in shock from the murder of President John F. Kennedy. President Johnson sent many grandchild of theirs, the elderly, off to war in a foreign country, Vietnam this ended up being a war that would never end. The elderly were in a good way according to those that I interviewed the economy was good because we were in a war and with social security they were able to live in a better way. This population has been hard to work with they are very private and there is not a lot of information for them.

1930 to 1935 for the Elderly

In this time period money was beginning to be scare so people had to find their own entertainment. They would ofter listen to the radio, go to the movies, or had nice fireside chats. This was the time when "mystery novel continued as people escaped into books, reading writers like Agatha Christie, Dashielle Hammett, and Raymond Chandler" (American Cultural History).

During this time period economic reform and concerns dominated the political agenda for those around the nation. Many leaned towards the elderly for advice to try to figure out a way to get out of the worsening economy. Shanty towns blossomed up around the nation and were often given the name, Hoovervilles. This was the era of the beginning of rough times through out the nation. One of the national disasters that happened during this time was the Dust Bowl in Kansas, the Southern Plains of Texas, and Oklahoma. The farmers lived through ten years of "drought, dust, disease and death" which was the springboard to the next era of the great depression.

References:
American Cultural History. (2011). American Cultural History- 1930-1930. Retrieved on November 27, 2011 from http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html.

The elderly in the 1900

The average life expectancy in the early 1900's was 49.5 years of age where in contrast an elderly person today could live until well into their late 80's. The elderly had a hard life style back in the early 1900's they had to rely on family and their neighbors. Social Security did not start until 1935.

"During the 20th century, the number of persons in the United States under age 65 has tripled. At the same time, the number aged 65 or over has jumped by a factor of 11! Consequently, the elderly, who comprised only 1 in every 25 Americans (3.1 million) in 1900, made up 1 in 8 (33.2 million) in 1994. Declining fertility and mortality rates also have led to a sharp rise in the median age of our Nation's population -- from 20 years old in 1860 to 34 in 1994. " (Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/statbriefs/agebrief.html).

This statical information is shocking to me how much it has changed in the last century. To think that the average age a person lived was just a little bit beyond 40 makes me now understand why our own social security system is in such a tragic state right now. In 1935 when the system started no one ever thought that the mean age of living would double.

References:

Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/statbriefs/agebrief.html

Life Expectancy. http://www.efmoody.com/estate/lifeexpectancy.html

Ingrid Spies

Eldery Treatment

In the Syracuse area there is a high population of the Elderly. I did not quite realize how high it was until I began working with the mental ill and found myself at different places where the elderly are being services also.

In our area there is a program called Pace. In this program they provided a range of services for the Elderly. Listed below:

The service that I feel is the most beneficial is the transportation service. For example my grandmother is 94 years young and lives in Rochester, NY about 1.5 hours away from Syracuse. About three months ago we went to her house to bring her to an appointment when my father and I got there her house was locked up and she was nowhere to be found. Then there was a few hours of truly not knowing where she was and begging the security maintenance man to let us in of the elderly community that she lives in. We were just about to call 911 when a call was received telling us she went to urgent care the night before by driving herself. It truly is a wonder that she did not kill herself or others when driving there that night, since her eyes are deteriorating and she can barely see. For months know my mom and I have been saying that she should not drive, but she is not willing to give up her freedom. This is actually typical for the elderly population they have had the freedom of being able to get in their car when every they have wanted to for years, and when they get older they do not want to give up that freedom. With the Pace agency providing transportation to and from stores, doctors appointment, and even to families members houses this provided this population with a solution to the problem with dignity.

As you can see from the chart above there is an endless amount of services that this agency provides for this population in the Syracuse area.

References:

http://www.pacecny.org/pages/services.html

A Mentoring Programing Helping Inner City youth

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/new_mentoring_program_gives_sy.html

Facebook Connection

I have created a Facebook page for our graduating class here is link.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/242526295766395/

I know that there have been times that I would have liked to give a shout our or needed assistance for others.

Ingrid