J4: Elderly

Issue Navigation:

Age old attitudes

In times gone by, old people were looked up to. When they stopped working, they still went on playing a real and important part in the life of the community. But in Britain today, as in most western countries, once you are over 60 or 65, people tend to label you as "past it" Overnight you become an "old age pensioner" and are expected to live up to the image that goes with that name. Why is this? There are many reasons:

YOUTH WORSHIP In our society, everything to do with being young is made to seem glamorous. Adverts everywhere encourage us to spend time and money to "look younger and feel lovelier." The majority of images we see on TV glorify youth culture and fashion. Young pretty models and handsome actors populate many popular programmes

SPENDING POWER Money and image are central to our society. Powerful cars, beautiful homes and fashionable clothes are all status symbols - signs that you've got wealth and the power that goes with it. Most old people are not earning wages and have limited income. They are the poorest sector of our society.

JOB POWER Most older people have left work. But the job you do is one of the main ways people "label" you and give you respect. "What do you do?" people ask when they first meet you and want to know you. Jobs, even if they are boring, make us feel useful so that when people retire they often feel useless. They have lost the label their job once gave them. Yesterday they felt like somebody whereas today they feel like nobody.

CHANGING TIMES The 20th century is a time of tremendous change. Swift technological advances make "newness" all important. People constantly want to "update" what they have, "keep up with the times" and own the "latest equipment". How often have you heard someone call an older person "behind the times"? This "label" is another convenient way of setting the elderly aside as a group useless to society. It stops us seeing that someone who has lived through a lifetime of experiences can be wise in a way no younger person can be.

FEAR Many of us are really afraid of growing old so we avoid dealing with it. We tend to ignore or shy away from the elderly because they remind us of the fears we have about our own future.

Caring for Jews

"Jewish Care" is Anglo-Jewry's largest social services organisation catering for the need of the community living in London and Southeast England. It provides a wide and comprehensive range of services for elderly, blind and visually impaired people, people with mental health problems and physical disabilities, and their families. It also helps unemployed people, works with Holocaust survivors and runs a range of community Centres. Jewish Care and other Jewish welfare agencies around the country need many volunteers as well as its professional staff in order to care for the Jewish community. Volunteers take on a huge range of different jobs in day centres, residential and nursing homes, and with social work teams.

For further information, educational work or speakers contact:

London and Environs	Jewish Care	0181 458 3282
Scotland	Jewish Care	0141 620 1800
Manchester	Jewish Social Services	0161 795 0024
Leeds	Jewish Welfare Board	0113 268 4211
Bimingham	Jewish Welfare Board	0121 643 2835

Other Services

In the UK, there are two main organisations for the elderly. Contact either to get more information or to come and speak in your school. You could ask to make either one your School Charity, or you could collect for Jewish Care in your Jewish Society.

Age Concern: 1268 London Rd, London SW16 4ER

Help the Aged, St James's Walk, Clerkenwell Green London EC1R 0BE, 0171 253 0253

Next Page