The holiday season has always been my favorite time of year. Yes, it really is “the most wonderful time of the year” for me. This time of year gives me such joy because it is during the holiday where I enjoy the lights, the trees, and the anticipation of snow on Christmas. It is also when I pause to consider the plight of others the most. I think about the old woman I pass everyday on the way to work singing for Jesus and shaking her cup in the train station. I don’t think she’s homeless, just down on her luck. I think about “Tiny”, I wonder if he’s okay, I haven’t seen him in awhile—Tiny is homeless. I think about Saul, the neighbor I used to have when I lived alone on 117th Street. I used to buy groceries for him and pick up his dry cleaning on bad weather days. I think about my own elderly mother and how she refuses to acknowledge both her age and mortality. This is a time we most associate with children. Shopping for toys, decorations, and making sure our loved ones are well fed is what dominates our actions. What I hope however is that we are still long enough to consider our elders.
There seems to be this myth that the government and non-profits do enough to help the elderly. Why should we care but so much? They lived their lives, Right? Why should I have to take care of another old ADULT, right? Wrong? This economy is affecting everyone across the board, including them. Furthermore, we should be honoring them on a greater scale than this. The story that triggered this post was the one I read this morning in the New York Times regarding the plight of the two largest operators of housing for the elderly:
“The credit crisis is battering the two largest publicly traded operators of housing for the elderly. One of them, Sunrise Senior Living, is trying to stave off bankruptcy. The other, Brookdale Senior Living, is considered likely to resolve its short-term problems, but it faces a mountain of debt in the next few years….
Nearly three-quarters of Sunrise’s units are dedicated to assisted living, aimed at people who need help with daily activities. A majority of Brookdale’s units are either stand-alone retirement homes — where communal meals are available but the population is less frail — or so-called continuing-care retirement communities, where residents initially live independently but contract in advance for assisted living and nursing care on the premises. “
How many of these people will you see in a cardboard box next to your bus stop? How many of these people will you see sleeping in hospital emergency rooms, trains, and under highways? How many of these people will die completely alone, with the idea that nobody cared enough to be with them? How is this acceptable? Sometimes it seems we care more about dogs than humans. Michael Vick went to jail for dogs, do you think anyone is going to jail at Sunrise or Brookdale if they go under? We’ll see a dog on the streets, clearly in need of food, water, and love and our concern level is on overload. On the same street we’ll see a homeless elderly man and simply think—bum. We MIGHT buy him a cup of coffee if he’s funny.
It is an abomination.
This holiday, be thankful for the shelter that protects you, the food that nourishes you, the family that loves you, and for the elderly that needs you. Visit a senior citizen center, volunteer at a non-profit for the elderly, identify the elders in your building or neighborhood and simply ask…”Hey, you alright, you need something…” In other words REACH OUT TO THEM, I promise you, the reward will be greater than the deed.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
