38 Simon Communities of Ireland Where interviewees were abled bodied and living in the hostels they often undertook simple jobs, they were also more able to become involved in activities organised within and from the hostel. Many of them enjoyed walking and ‘where they had a travel pass’ they used it. Some of the hostels organised a number of activities including art classes, walks and occasional trips. Several interviewees were very interested in music; a number played the guitar and used their music as an escape from day to day realities. Pool was a popular pastime for some interviewees. Interviewees who lived more independently were generally able bodied and active although even they were ‘not as busy as I would like’. Day to day living and pets (two of the four interviewees who lived alone had dogs and another dog sat for a neighbour) required them to get out and about. Two of the hostels also provided its residents with access to pets (a cat in one location and dogs in the other) and the interviewees living in these locations enjoyed the company of the cat and being able to walk the dogs respectively. Two of these interviewees attended day centres at least a couple of days a week, where they were able to get a hot meal in company. One of the interviewees who had been in prison preferred to eat with other people and rarely ate alone. Few of the interviewees were interested in bingo and said in many of the centres they attended that was the only activity on offer. More interviewees and particularly those from more rural background were interested in cards but found the opportunities to play cards were very limited. Many of the interviewees living in more communal accommodation spoke about how they would like to have the opportunity to cook a meal for themselves occasionally. They missed being in control of what they ate and frequently remembered enjoying cooking at an earlier stage in their life. Security was an issue for interviewees living in hostels that catered for all ages. Interviewees were fearful about leaving money, cigarettes or indeed anything valuable in their rooms for fear of it being stolen. This did not appear to be an issue for interviewees living in longer accommodation that catered more specifically for older age groups. Where the interviewees had family that they were in contact with, they enjoyed spending time with them and feeling part of a family. Money management was an issue for a number of the interviewees and some had developed complex systems (using regular weekly deposits and daily withdrawals from the post office) to help them manage their money. The absence of public transport options was an issue for several of the interviewees living in more rural locations. They generally walked (often significant distances; Leo ‘for example’ regularly walks the 1.5 miles to get to the main road, where he hitches a lift into town) to access public transport or got a lift from neighbours. Quite a number of the interviewees had been involved in Community Employment Schemes. All who had been involved in these schemes enjoyed them and were very sorry when their time on the scheme came to an end. Few if any of the interviewees ventured out after dark as they were nervous that they might be attacked. The issue of meaningful activity was identified as a cross cutting issue in the three year UK Homeless Link Project on Addressing the Needs of the Older population and a report91 identifying the learning from four projects funded by Help the Aged was produced. This report provides some useful ideas on the types of activities that can be used with older people who are homeless. Other cross cutting issues identified as part of that project included personalisation, institutionalisation, service user involvement, engagement and empowerment and community integration. The majority of these issues were not explicitly explored as part of this study, although it was a number of the interviewees living in the more hostel type accommodation that made indirect reference to their institutionalisation as a result of having lived in their current accommodation over an extended period. 91 Homeless Link (2009) Meaningful Activity and Older Homeless People – A Report on the Learning from Four Projects Funded by Help the Aged. The report can be accessed on line at http://homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/FINAL%20Meaningful%20Activity%20report%20.pdf
Homelessness, Ageing and Dying
To see the actual publication please follow the link above