Workshop on the safety of the elderly

THE City of Joburg’s Social Development Targeted Beneficiaries Unit hosted a workshop at the Joburg Theatre to educate the elderly on safety on October 23.

The workshop, held to celebrate October, which is older people awareness month, was attended by elderly residents from Region B and F. The month is marked by celebrations, events and programmes aimed at educating communities about the challenges senior citizens face and opportunities that come with ageing.

Senior citizens are vulnerable, mainly due to illness, abuse that takes the form of emotional, economic and sexual abuse. Many of these social ills happen in their homes and communities they live in. The City’s social development departments get weekly reports of the elderly being abused. It is against this background that the City of Joburg has workshops to educate the elderly on safety and health-related issues.

The workshop educated the elderly on how to proactively prevent emergencies at home and what steps they should take if there is a medical of fire-related emergency. Some of the concerns the elderly have about medical and fire-related emergencies are that most old age homes don’t have fire detectors or extinguishers and most elderly people don’t know the City’s emergency contact numbers.

The workshop also educated the elderly on the types of abuse they are most vulnerable to. The discussions around abuse were very robust and it was evident that the elderly have a lot of concerns around abuse and the negative impact abuse has on their daily lives.

Carina van Zyl, who is the deputy director in the City’s social development department, told the elderly: “The City cares and is committed to constant engagement with you and ensure that your health and safety concerns are prioritised.”

She urged the elderly to report all forms of abuse to social workers and to work closely with the City’s regional offices.

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