Member-only story
Picking Up the Pieces — & the Elderly
Merging Community Needs Through Service Education
The seriousness of the aging population problem has been knocking at my door louder & louder lately. As I finish off 8 decades on this planet, I have been facing my own physical decline as well as hearing about & encountering the situations others face. The other day, I was slammed hard by the realization of how critical the situation is for some.
While heading towards a bus stop to come home from an errand in town, I noticed an elderly lady having trouble walking while pulling her small wheeled cart. I quickly approached & offered to help her make it to her home which was in the building across the street. She was complaining of dizziness & had already fallen just a few minutes earlier. She’s been helped up by someone but had been left to continue on her way alone. I was aghast at the situation of her being 90 years old yet being without any caretaker to help with something as vital as food shopping.
I got her across the street & the few remaining steps to her stairwell door, but even that short distance required a rest stop on the roof of a subbasement at the edge of her building. This had been her 1st food shopping trip in about a week. She explained how she had no one to help her, her son living a continent away. I contacted the county social…
