LYDENBURG – Giving a helping hand to senior citizens is a delightful duty for the staff of the local service centre for the elderly, since most of them are struggling to make ends meet.
The Lydenburg Dienssentrum is a centre for senior citizens and offers several services which enable them to be independent and has a total of 284 members.
An assessment was done in 1984 due the increase of elderly residents and it was established that there was a need to cater for those seniors who were living at home and those who were on a waiting list for the local old-aged home.
According to Hantie Bezuidenhout, the manager at the centre, the aim is to make sure senior citizens are kept active as long as possible and remain integrated within the society so as to combat loneliness.
“Most elderly people live alone in their own homes or rental places and due to monthly bills such as water and other services they struggle to provide for other basic needs because their monthly grant is not enough.
“As a service centre we have several facilities to help those in need and every service we provide is at a low cost. We charge a small amount for these because we know the elderly cannot afford expensive things. We only charge them because we need money to keep the place running,” she explained.
There are many senior citizens who struggle to eat at least two meals a day and some don’t even have enough for a meal. “We have a meal on wheels project that delivers food in the comfort of their homes at a very affordable price. Domestic help and gardening are also available. We have a clinic and a qualified nurse is available on Tuesday and Thursday and home nursing is arranged at the request of a doctor or social worker. There is a social worker and physiotherapy and Pilates and spinning classes are offered.”
The elderly can participate in various activities that include playing cards, weekly handwork activities, choir and religious/cultural activities.
A hairdresser is available once a week, holiday trips are arranged annually, house visits for those who are housebound or very lonely can be arranged and transport is available every second Thursday to town and a library is
open daily.
With all these services available, the centre faces several financial challenges. “We get a subsidy from the government, but it does not cover all the needs. The subsidy was approved for only 100 of the 284 members, thus 184 members are not covered,” she explained.
“To address the challenge we do as much fund-raising as possible. The little we get for the low-cost services we provide, is still not enough.
“We sell vetkoek, meals, second-hand clothing and we have many other fund-raising activities.
“Due to lack of funds the organisation is unable to employ more staff members and therefore cannot expand the home help service. There are only five permanent employees, one temporary and 46 volunteers, 32 are members and 13 are from the community.”
