The Autumn of Life: The Elderly of Singapore
We all have our retirement plans… a comfortable house on the hills, globetrotting, reminiscing with children and grandchildren, financial security for the rest of the days, and good healthcare plans. Do we ever envision being lonesome in our final golden years, desolate and forgotten by the world? This is a bleak reality that an increasing number of elders in Singapore wake up to in the autumn of their lives.
The emerging ‘silver tsunami’ elevates the age-dependency ratio further in Singapore and its repercussions ripple through the elderly in our community as more become socially isolated. Studies have indicated that the proportion of older adults living alone has been increasing since 2000. Between 2000 and 2015, the percentage of Singaporeans 65 years and older living alone grew from 6.6% to 8.9 % with projections forecasting that this number will increase to 9.2% of older adults by 2030[1].
Yet, some of us may be far too removed to comprehend the weight of these statistics, unable to discern the perils of social isolation on our pioneer generation. The definition of social isolation is having a lack of social connections and interactions, and research has emphasised the calamitous effects of elders experiencing chronic social isolation on their mental and physical well-being [2].
Depressive symptoms, Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system… the list of ailments that these socially isolated elders shoulder goes on.
Under the Heartware Support Our Pioneers (HWSOP), a beacon of hope is shone on the isolated elders of our community as youth volunteers are empowered to serve the needs of the seniors through visitations, activities, and outings with visitations being held bi-monthly and quarterly outings at Yishun, Taman Jurong, Tanjong Pagar, Lengkok Bahru and Pasir Ris.
Ananya, a youth volunteer under HWSOP, shared that, “Mdm Christina often feels lonely because she has no one to talk to… her children don’t spend much time with her and friends on online platforms like Facebook may not be genuine to her so she seeks our company [the volunteers]. Due to her health, she’s also not able to actively do grocery shopping and sometimes needs our help to purchase and carry grocery items for her.”
She emphathised with Mdm Christina’s predicament, “I felt quite sad listening to Mdm Christina’s struggle. I’m sure it was hard for her to keep everything to herself.”
Miki, another volunteer under the programme, recalled her experience, “At first sight, Aunty Chye can be seen to be quite bubbly and really looks forward to our visitations every two weeks. However, after a short while, it becomes clear that she may have memory loss or dementia. One key thing we have noted is that she tends to repeat the same 4-5 things or scenarios again and again in our conversations and to our knowledge, she doesn’t even realise it.”
Miki continued, “Sometimes, it can be a bit tiring to listen to the same few anecdotes and questions over and over for an hour so it takes a lot of patience. But in return, she is also appreciative of us and is extremely sweet. We can see she is quite positive and always stays active and cheerful, so we appreciate getting to at least hear some of her fun stories.”
Both volunteers discoursed that providing a listening ear to socially isolated elders can truly make their day. Ananya shared about Mdm Christina, “However, the volunteers try our best to cheer her up and to convince her to look at the more positive side of things. Rather than having to speak a lot, we believe that providing her with an actively listening ear will make her feel more reassured.”
And Miki pointed out, “Usually during visitations, we do not have to say much as Aunty Chye always has new stories to tell us and we just have to sit and listen to her. We have also felt that this is much more effective than us asking her questions or trying to lead conversation topics that she may not be that interested in.”
In managing Mdm Chye’s unconfirmed memory loss or dementia in conversations, she shared, “We also try to make some jokes once in a while just to switch up topics in a more subtle way, helping her to divert from the cycle of topics she gets stuck in sometimes.”
The recounts of volunteers under the HWSOP programme highlight the everyday struggles that socially isolated elders in our community face, from grocery shopping to managing conversations. This is a predicament that should not befall anyone, much less those in their autumn years, where support and companionship are all the more pertinent.
Yet, seeing that it does, the influence of youths’ listening ears in this programme goes a long way to alleviating the isolation of these elders and bridging generational and empathy gaps between members of our society as we become more attuned to one another’s struggles. It is in our power to do something about our socially isolated elders, and that begins with acting, as these volunteers do.
[1]https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/docs/librariesprovider3/research-policy-brief-docs/home-alone-older-adults-in-singapore.pdf?sfvrsn=6735541d_0#:~:text=The%20proportion%20of%20older%20adults,Department%20of%20Statistics%20Singapore%202015)
[2]https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/social-isolation-loneliness-older-people-pose-health-risks