Over the past two weeks I have been given the opportunity to diverge into the elderly community more. I feel like I have learned so much going to Barro Logan to Casa de Manaña. Going to Barro Logan felt like home right away. Due to its colorful and beautiful artwork all over the community, it reminded me of my own Hispanic community back at home when I was a young girl. Although the community was beautiful and kept clean, it lacked proper necessities for our senior residents. In example, it did not have public restrooms, did not have public sitting for the elderly to catch their breathes as they are on a walk, or even proper walking pathways. The floors had dents that could possibly make a senior resident fall and break something. It was very concerning to see all the wrongs that the community had. But I did like the fact that my peers and I were able to walk around and discuss the possibilities that we can offer this community a much more safe and sustainable area to live for the elderly. Overall, that outing made me appreciate my senior residents a bit more because they are the reason why so many of us young folks are able to do what we do in this world. Now, looking at the outing from yesterday at Casa de Manaña retirement homes was absolutely amazing. I enjoyed the tour of the facility and learning about the history behind the place itself was fascinating. It was very interesting to have heard and seen how this retirement home was once a hotel in the late 1920s. It was so amazing to have seen the historical features and take in the different beautiful elements that make the retirement homes special. In addition to the tour, we had the opportunity to talk to a few of the residents that currently live in the retirement homes. I had the honor to speak with Greg, a 72 year- old man who kept saying he and his wife were the youngest individuals in the facility. I thought it was a funny aspect and fact that he kept sharing with me and my peers. But the one take away that I took from this outing was to enjoy life as it is and travel while I still can. Greg said traveling is the best that you could do for yourself. Exploring the world and finding yourself through those memories are the best.
The past two weeks have been so heartwarming and absolutely filled with love and care. Our love, care, and connection event were a success. It was amazing to see how we all were able to come together as a class and bring joy and absolute happiness to our seniors in the community. I was able to work with one of my peers, Jimena Salazar, to create a Jeopardy game for the seniors. It was a hit in my opinion. The questions gave the seniors some brain farts but also gave them the ability to think outside the box and dig deeper into their knowledge. It was pretty funny seeing how the seniors were shocked with the random questions. Seeing how much joy it brought to the seniors were so fulfilling. Overall, the event was really nice. We had multiple games and activities happening at the same time. Some of these game and activities included ring toss, yoga, donation boutique, and photo booth. The one activity that made me think the event was a success was the photo booth. The photo booth was really nice touch because it gave the seniors the ability to cherish the moment with their friends or loved ones. Now, looking ahead to our outing in Barro Logan. It was incredible to see how little the community is age- friendly in my opinion. Although the community had great walking distance, clean streets, and five- minute walking distance to food places, it did not showcase any accessible sidewalks with ramps, sufficient amount of nature, or even public bathrooms or benches for the elderly to sit on. It was breathe taking to eye- witness the amount of space this particular had to have these age-friendly exercise machines that can permit the seniors to work out in an easy manner. That was a thought that came to my mind when looking at the Chicano Park. There were various places or opportunities that we can do to help the Barro Logan community. Also, I was shocked to hear the air pollution issue here in the community. I didn’t think about that considering the amount of industries placed next to these residents’ homes. It was an eventful two weeks. But I am happy and glad to have been a part of it.
This past week my mind has opened ten times more to what I had thought senior wellness centers were meant for. I always thought senior centers were depressing, tiresome, and plain boring. I was completely wrong when I stepped into Gary and Mary West Wellness center yesterday, February 2, 2022. Coming into the wellness center I immediately was received with welcome hands and directed to this amazing and beautiful conference room. Where I came to find out was a room used very often for exercising and dancing. I was blown away by how clean and colorful the environment was because I was expecting it to have boring colors and be ugly in all honestly. The tour began with the CEO of the establishment explaining to us what it means to have affordable housing and what the benefits and outcomes are to have it in various communities. I was impressed, yet shocked, by the fact that there is so little affordable housing and that there are so many older individuals that would rather take their chances on the street than stay at a shelter that is not age friendly. I was upset hearing this because knowing that there are simple but yet impactful things, we can do to make these shelters more age friendly. Which will contribute to having a more sustainable and friendly community for the elderly. After hearing the CEO out, we then were given the opportunity to tour the facility and again I was completely shocked by how colorful and amazing the place was. Seeing that they had a diverse staff from a social worker on hand to a dentist on hand was incredible. Understanding that there are so many things we young folks can push for to help the elderly will bring us to success and a better outlook in life in overall health for everyone.
It has been three weeks since joining the LCS program, and I love every second of it so far. In the first week of the class, I realized that there are many opportunities that we, young students, have in helping our older generations and being able to understand our elders with compassion and reason. What I mean by understanding our elders is that we can have the chance to learn from our elders and utilize the information they provide us with to benefit our own lives or even today’s society as a whole. Week one brought so much excitement and joy to me because I was able to take a different approach to the topic of aging that we young folks neglect or even undermine at times. We see aging as this awful thing and think about the discriminations and lies we associate old age with but, we must look at the bigger picture here. And that is the lives of the elders and how they might influence society as a whole. Taking age and turning it into a beautiful thing will empower our economy and improve the quality of many older individuals. Coming in week two of classes is where my frustration and anger came out when reading week two reading assignments. The number of discriminations and stereotypes society holds against the elderly today shocked me. I have always known it was alive among society, but I never thought of it as a growing issue in multiple communities. In that aspect, I would call myself a naive individual. I felt guilt when I realized I was adding such stereotypes into the growing issue of ageism unconsciously. At that moment, it motivated me to want change for our elders and encourage a much more open mindset throughout my experience in the LCS program. Currently, entering week three, I am impressed to hear from an elder who lives in an affordable and supportive housing complex in San Diego. With gratitude, Bruce Carron attended our zoom lecture for this week and provided my peers and me with a fascinating life story. From the time he became homeless to now, enjoying his time at his current living space with friends. His story was just remarkable because he became vulnerable with a new group of individuals he just met. This takes so much experience and courage to do because I feel that my generation today would not be able to do such a thing. Especially, when we young students pride ourselves on being as private as possible.
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Gema LopezGema Lopez is a Human Development major with a specialization in Healthy Aging. She is from Archives
March 2022
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