By Sue Newman  July 21, 2011

Age might be something we prefer not to think about, but barring an early death, it’s something we’ll all have to deal with, says Age Concern national president Liz Baxendine.

She was in Ashburton this week, meeting with members of the Ashburton council and getting a handle on the issues of concern for the district’s elderly.
“It’s important for me to hear at grass roots what these are because of our consultative role with the Government. We’re a large force of people and we’re able to be the voice of older people to Government ears, but we’re not a lobby group like Grey Power. We’re a-political and we’re the providers of a lot of services,” Mrs Baxendine said.
“It’s important people understand that Age Concern is not a club. Membership is just a bit of money coming in, but no older person will ever be turned away.
There were four major issues  that united older people across the country – income, health, isolation and attitude. The two big ones were trying to live on superannuation of around $17,000 a year, and increasing health needs.
Social isolation was also a big issue, often an unrecognised one, but it was an issue that could also lead to the major health problem of depression, Mrs Baxendine said.
“We try to ameliorate this by having a team of home visitor volunteers who can visit or make a phone call once a week. We know how vulnerable the older person living at home alone can be.”
Part of her job was ensuring people understood that older people also had rights. Having rights, however, meant having responsibilities, she said.
“Older people have to take responsibility for themselves. For example don’t just sit at home and do nothing, do something for yourself, even if that is just going out for a walk.”
Elder abuse was a growing problem, particularly financial abuse, and that occurred most often by family members. Age Concern had trained counsellors who could deal with what was always a very difficult personal situation, she said.
One of the difficult things when working with older people was to ensure they felt useful. Just because someone was old, it didn’t mean they lost the desire to feel needed and valued, Mrs Baxendine said.
“There’s always something they can do, even if it’s taking responsibility for themselves, looking after themselves so family don’t have to do as much for them.”
Mrs Baxendine said Ashburton’s volunteer network that brought older people together at the Seniors Centre three times a week for lunch and social interaction was an excellent example of a community helping itself.

RIGHT: Finding out the grass roots needs of Ashburton’s elderly, Age Concern national president Liz Baxendine (centre) with (from left) Dulcie Lyttle, James Greenaway, Bob Edgar and Margaret Veenings.