Understanding different aspects of the elderly journey has been very eye-opening to me personally because I don’t have much experience knowing older folks. Having the opportunity to attend events like serving seniors a meal or learning about housing and homelessness has inspired me to see the world through different lenses. Having conversations to bring more awareness to what is occurring in the elderly community can bring in more solutions. On Wednesday we got to visit the wellness center downtown to learn about the meals they provide, health services, and activities they plan out to have the seniors interact with each other. One thing I learned was the dental service provided in the wellness center is the only one in San Diego and probably in the world because it's rare. I found it interesting how the dental office was integrated into the center because of one of the seniors who came to speak with a social worker and was covering their mouth. They saw how embarrassed the senior was and the staff knew they had to do something about it. Little things like this are important to note because we realize that as we age, there are changes to our bodies and sometimes it can make individuals insecure about themselves.
Many of the seniors we saw this weekend have been through challenges that have provoked them to end up homeless. Connecting this to “Happiness is a Choice you Make” points out the troubles the elderly people face on a daily and comparing it to elderly homelessness makes it even harder. The Serving seniors have found ways to make the services they provide more access to the seniors, for example having the building close to public transportation, being able to deliver their meals to their door, but also working with people to have the option of having caretakers help them out with whatever they can’t do. Like Leland mentioned most of the upcoming seniors are independent but they have found ways to live on their own. Going to the centers this Wednesday and Saturday gave me an insight into how the elderly are living due to homelessness because of an event in their present that might have occurred most of them have pets to help them feel comfortable but others might be facing loneliness according to one of the seniors we met this weekend.
A main concept that stood out to me this weekend was the topic of housing and how difficult it can be for seniors who are homeless. I learned that the waitlist for the housing programs can be up to a year ir two, as for the LGBT+ housing for senior there are 300 people waiting since 2018 when it was first integrated to the community. Oftentimes what occurs is that senior hear about more housing being established and there is already people waiting for those units. One of the residents from the LGBT+ facility was telling us that the seniors living in the units get their rent subsidized by 10% of their income, which means that it can fluctuate between seniors depending on their income. It was nice to share a meal with seniors at the LGBT+ senior housing and have a conversation about their life or what the do on their daily day. My favorite facility was the housing space in city heights area because it looked very modern but it was very limited, it made be feel discouraged about the senior living in downtown versus the seniors who had this luxury place because I feel like each individual deserves something nice but it sometimes isn't possible due to not getting enough funding for programs like this. I really liked the art worker that was put up by a resident living there and I liked how they offered teaching art to have a relationship with other residents and build relationships. Overall getting informed about certain situations seniors face made me realize that the all have their own stories and those events might determine where they end up in the future.