No place to go for senior citizens

The need for assisted living facilities on the North Coast is becoming desperate.
With only two such accredited facilities in the area many elderly, retired residents are forced to move away from their families to find suitable accommodation.
Westbrook Retirement Village and the RA Moodley Home for the Aged in Stanger are presently full, with waiting lists several years long, while the Forest Village at Brettenwood Coastal Estate may prove too costly for some.
Westbrook developer David Perkins, who was involved in the construction of a facility in Umgeni Heights in Durban, believes there is a glaring need for one in Ballito.
“I have learnt a great deal from the folk in Umgeni Heights. Many feel as though their families write them off once they are older and it is wonderful for them to find friends to laugh with. If there is no facility near their homes then they must move far from their support structure and re-adjust to a new area.”
Although Ballito is getting younger, the possibility that the amount of older, retired residents will increase as time progresses is very real.
“Then we may not have enough young people to support our economy. We must cater for our older folk right here, where they are comfortable. For them, it is about self-respect in their twilight years, having something to do every day.”
Perkins is in discussions with local municipalities but admitted the journey has not been without challenges.
Westbrook Retirement Village chairwoman Anne Watson said their facility has a three-year waiting list.
“The situation is terrible because elderly people have nowhere to go. We have 77 residents currently and if we put up another five units they would be snapped up in minutes. Every day, we get phone calls with families looking for a place they can afford – we need another village up in Ballito urgently.”
A resident at the RA Moodley Home for the Aged who did not want to be named said she feels sorry for retired residents who are on the waiting list.
“Here, we have the problem of some residents allowing their children to live with them and then when they pass on, the children will not move out. There is just no space here anymore.”