Chris Clegg
The idea is simple and proven to work, yet our society that claims to be so modern and progressive has not tried it on the big stage, at least to this writer’s knowledge.
Why not build facilities to house orphans and seniors together?
Here is the argument. The greatest need orphans have is to have somebody love them. Give them affection and attention. Children – even teenagers – thrive on love and attention and is who is better qualified to give it to them than the elderly, other than their own families?
Many schools encourage their students to visit the elderly. The interaction between the generations is magic. The children look up to the elderly and the elderly, in turn, treasure the children. It is heart-warming to see the generations mingle at such events like Christmas.
Too often, the elderly are forced to move out of their homes into care facilities. Visits from children are often a highlight of their day. I am told by staff that the scheduled visits from elementary school students are an event the seniors look forward to. A shining light during an all too often dark day.
The elderly are potentially an untapped resource of knowledge and most are more than willing to share and give of themselves. The elderly have accumulated a lifetime of knowledge and wisdom. It would also give them another purpose in life and make them feel useful. Think of the value to their mental health that would give them!
Now, as I slide down from my utopia, I realize there are issues to make this work. Obviously, the orphans in need of treatment for mental disorders must be prohibited from mingling with the seniors, or at least closely supervised. You can’t just toss any orphan into a senior’s home setting.
I would still argue the benefits of such interaction would be enormous. The orphan would feel loved and special, that someone cares for them.
I can tell you from personal experience that some of the youth who appear in the youth court system have virtually no chance. They have never been loved, grew up in substance abuse homes, and been beaten and abused by the very parents who are supposed to protect and care for them. How can they possibly feel that anyone cares for them?
There are people who do. The first step is to introduce them to the people who do care. Seniors could be that link that repairs the chain. No child survives without someone loving and caring for them.
I wonder how the public would react to the idea. Being the negative society we are, I can hear the screams of potential liability and risk. I admit this proposal is not easy and would take an enormous amount of resources to implement, but I believe the end result is far better than what we are achieving today. The people in the social work field do terrific work against enormous odds but we can do better.
Doing the same old thing year after year in fear of failure is not a recipe for success. If you try something new or different, you just might stumble into a pit of brilliance.
There will be many who oppose the idea. Somewhere in this world there has to be a care facility willing to give this a shot. Maybe not in Canada, but somewhere else.
Nothing works if you do not try it. Like Wayne Gretzky once said, “You never score if you don’t shoot the puck!” or something similar.
It is time we give the elderly a chance to share their greatest asset – their knowledge – with more of today’s youth.