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Description
Older people are one of the groups that are most at risk of social exclusion, especially in rural areas. Their care is often limited to providing them with food, while their psychological and social needs are not met. People who are dependent on caregivers usually have an inferior position in the family and are at risk of psychological and financial violence. According to the Biała Rawska Municipality Status Report (as of 2020), out of 15186 inhabitants of the municipality, 2157 people are over 65. The aim of the project is to counteract social exclusion due to age discrimination and to increase the level of empathy towards the elderly among caregivers and youth. We will conduct weekly art classes for seniors, led by an art therapy specialist, as well as monthly meetings with a psychologist and a social welfare employee. We want to improve the integration of seniors in the community (especially with caregivers and youth). To achieve this, we will organize meetings with music and a trip to a thermal resort, during which young people will learn how to take care of the elderly in unusual conditions. We want the project to increase the sense of belonging of the elderly to the community. This is why we will provide traditional neighbourhood benches in the municipality, that will make it easier for seniors to meet their neighbours and will contribute to increasing older people’s activity. As part of the project we want to conduct activities that teach people giving warmth, increase the sense of security, acceptance, respect and understanding. This is the reason why we are using the metaphor of a stove, which in the countryside is associated with a home fire, warmth and family. We want to take care of 10 seniors aged 65+, who are at risk of social exclusion and psychological and financial violence. Our partner is the Social Care Centre in Biała Rawska. In the project 10 caretakers of the elderly and about 10 young people will take part.
Summary of project results
The project was mainly for people socially excluded due to age. In rural areas, a particularly affected social group are seniors, who are often lonely and dependent. The distances from the property are large and it is impossible for seniors from the neighborhood to meet without the help of transportation. A large group of older people in the countryside are lonely. The project resulted in social integration of seniors by organizing weekly meetings with specialists in the field of art therapy for older people to enhance their tactile, visual and auditory experiences. The aim of the project activities was also to educate caregivers of seniors, to arouse empathy for older household members and to teach them how to deal with them in order to eliminate behaviors that have the characteristics of psychological or material violence. the project was also supposed to teach tolerance, using music as an example, in relation to different tastes, and through intergenerational activities, to build a diverse community together.
Thanks to the project activities, 13 elderly, sometimes lonely people, thanks to art therapy classes, created an integrated group that feels great in each other''s company, as evidenced by the fact that they celebrate various celebrations together, such as Christmas Eve, Grandparents'' Day, Easter, name days and birthdays. So we achieved warmth, acceptance, integration and better self-esteem of seniors. Classes with 14 caregivers provide an injection of knowledge in the field of care for the elderly and resulted in the emotional development of people participating in the project. Our partner actively participated in the classes. We learned from our partner legal provisions regarding helping seniors in various situations, and the partner also learns about the problems of older people. Three Meetings with music for seniors and young people showed how we often forget about connecting different generations in common activities. We also invited caregivers of seniors to the concerts to include the generation of caregivers in the discussion about intergenerational tolerance. Teaching tolerance and bringing out positive features in different musical styles turned out to be a lesson in tolerance and acceptance of differences.
An additional unplanned intergenerational activity, which is not included further in the report because it does not refer to the activities planned in the application, was Grandparents'' Day, where we invited grandchildren to joint workshops with seniors. Additionally, we learned in a project about caring for dependent people during one trip to the thermal baths. The effects of the project activities are also proven by the results of the surveys we conducted in the first months of the project (12 surveys) and at the end (11) in the group of seniors. The conference and Facebook reports spread knowledge about the problems of excluding people due to age.
8-13 older people participated in art therapy classes. 64 meetings were held. During the implementation of the project, we managed to organize unplanned activities at no cost - a meeting of seniors with a personal trainer who presented a lecture on exercises and principles of functioning in the treatment of spine diseases. Police officers participated in the meetings twice and talked about threats to seniors. An important element of the project was providing transport for seniors to classes. Seniors became close to each other, celebrated holidays and name days. They strengthened their self-esteem and built the willingness to reach out to other people. Meetings for caregivers, led by a psychologist, allowed us to understand the behavior of older people and the problem of treating seniors worse and ignoring their needs. 16 meetings were held, including 12 with a psychologist and 4 with the Partner. Also in the project, we integrated seniors with their caregivers and young people, organizing three joint meetings with music, and a trip to the thermal baths, which taught young caregivers responsibility for the elderly. We increased seniors'' sense of belonging to the environment by installing neighborhood benches in front of their homes for joint meetings and conversations. The local press - "Głos Rawa Mazowiecka i Okolic", published three articles about the project, its goals and activities being implemented, with interviews with project participants, which expanded the knowledge of the district''s residents about social exclusion due to age.