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athena
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Post: #1  Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:13 pm Post subject: My Dream |
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This is a message I am sending to people in my community. What do you think of the idea?
I don't know if I am addressing the correct person, but if not, may be you can advise me on who I should contact? I am working on what some may think is an impossible idea, but our history is one of people coming together to do the impossible.
You are probably aware of the Extreme Making Over TV show where they blow up houses and build much better ones. I wouldn't want the apartment complex where I live blown up, but insulated windows, sound proofing, and some changes for people with handicaps, and the extension of community rooms, into a ground floor room, large enough for a nutrition site, a second floor exercise room, and third floor patio with pots for flowers and tomato plants would be a huge improvement. Only if I can get the whole city to pull together for this project do we have a chance of the Extreme Make Over show accepting this project, and all that requires is people agreeing to be supportive of the idea.
The biggest stumbling block I can imagine is getting a freeze on the property taxes for 10 to 20 years, so the property owner is agreeable to the idea, and the present renters, who will be dead in 10 to 20, aren't forced out of their homes because of increased rents. Who makes this kind of property tax decision? I know businesses have gotten such tax breaks, and considering the population of seniors is about to explode and low income housing for them is not rapidly increasing, and the monetary and social cost of ignoring the special housing needs of older people is a train wreck about to happen. It is that much bigger picture, that makes this whole idea one that could get the Extreme Make Over show attention.
Over 5 people in the apartment complex are over 90. Younger ones are going blind and loosing their hearing. Yet by us helping each other, we avoid more expensive facilities, and maintain the important relationships we have with each other. Minor building improvements, a nutrition and activity room, exercise room and patio for our plants and socializing, would our tiny piece of Eugene, heaven. We are by the
Amazon creek, next to the fair grounds, in walking distance to Albertson, doctors, dentist, bus stops. It is what the whole area offers, within walking distance, and our relationships, that increases our changes of remaining independent. Right now, all I want is for people to support the idea. When enough people support the idea, it will become an idea with enough enough energy behind it, to make it a reality.
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Last edited by athena on Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Nothingman
Joined: 03 Sep 2009
Posts: 104
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| Post: #2 Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:49 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Athena.
I don't know if the producers(or whoever pays for the construction)will go for that. If they do one entire complex, other people are going to want the same thing.
That means more cost for them on a show that is already successful. Of course, maybe they aren't as cold as that(hopefully).
Or wait, maybe they can make it a once a year special or something like that!
Regardless, it is a great dream. I solute you.
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Fatalist. I hope fate last forever. Love you God. |
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athena
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| Post: #3 Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Nothingman wrote: |
Hey Athena.
I don't know if the producers(or whoever pays for the construction)will go for that. If they do one entire complex, other people are going to want the same thing.
That means more cost for them on a show that is already successful. Of course, maybe they aren't as cold as that(hopefully).
Or wait, maybe they can make it a once a year special or something like that!
Regardless, it is a great dream. I solute you. |
I love your idea of it being a once a year thing. In one community they did housing for homeless people and a recreation room, so my idea that they do something that benefits more than one family, has already been done. To make this community service work a yearly thing sounds good to me.
Besides, my dream is so tied into Obama's efforts to cut health cost. Just recently I woman ended up in the hospital, for extremely expensive medical care, for a problem that was completely avoidable! In an apartment, where people check on each other, this is easy to avoid. We save millions of dollars when we keep people safe and independent in their homes. Which reminds me, I need to make the effort to contact Obama, because his support of the idea would certainly help in getting the Extreme Make Over approval.
We are headed for a major, major crisis and low income housing for seniors with special needs is just as important to managing the crisis as is shoring up Medicare. Among other things, demographics means there will not be enough young people, nor money, to meet the needs of older people, so we need to bring them together, so they can better help each other.
Nutrition sites for Seniors exist, not only to provide them food, but to get them to socialize and develop natural support groups. Living together in one building, with a room suitable for a nutrition site and recreation, is an excellent way to develop a supportive social environment.
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wanabe
Joined: 24 Nov 2008
Posts: 2014
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| Post: #4 Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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I think the better solution would be to allow America to care about their grand parents more.
For the same reason that wonderful idea of yours will not happen (but I endorse, let me know what I can do) mine will not happen; generally Americans see no value in "the walking dead".
A tv show, and grandma may get a phone call. Americans won't appreciate their grand parents until they are our Soylent Green, a consumer item.
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Anything is possible; nothing is as it seems.Transcend feeble language by communicating through Direct Perception.I am attempting to transcend 'right and wrong', please help me."What you don't understand you can make mean anything."-Chuck Palahniuk |
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athena
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| Post: #5 Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:05 am Post subject: |
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| wanabe wrote: |
I think the better solution would be to allow America to care about their grand parents more.
For the same reason that wonderful idea of yours will not happen (but I endorse, let me know what I can do) mine will not happen; generally Americans see no value in "the walking dead".
A tv show, and grandma may get a phone call. Americans won't appreciate their grand parents until they are our Soylent Green, a consumer item. |
Whoo dude, that is sounds a little down. But thank you a million for your post, because you really stimulated my thinking, and this always my makes my heart warm and puts a smile on my face. Thank you for this good feeling.
 We fondly remember when we yelled, "Don't trust anyone over 30". It is really okay that the young don't value us, because we remember being young.
Your reply is far more valuable to me than you can realize. When I studied gerontology, the biggest concern was, how do we get old people to interact with each other, so they are not so dependent on young people to take care of them and provide them moments of happiness. You helped me give the answer words.
You put the older people together in an apartment building with a recreation room that can be used as a nutrition and let nature take over. Given the right conditions we make friends and help each other. We continue to create for ourselves meaningful lives, that separate from our children and their children.
Remember, inside our heads, we are 30 year old's only our lives are full, instead of empty, and we have a developed sense of meaning. Our energy decreases, and pain, weakness, poor vision and hearing, etc. can become issues in our lives, and it is really great living with people who understand the physical reality because they experience it to, and not so great to be around young people who have no meaningful understanding of what is like to be old. Within an apartment building with a store, doctor, dentist, and bus stop within walking distance, we continue to have full, meaningful, and independent lives, just at a different pace from the pace of younger people.
We are not sitting around unhappy because our off-spring and their off-spring have lives separate from our own, and we most certainly do not want to be dependent and burdens on them. We don't want to steal from them their chance to be young, their valuable time, energy and money. We honestly want is best for them, because we love them. We love them and we remember when we yelled, "Don't trust anyone over 30".
Please, give me some feed back, have I conveyed a more positive experience of being in an old body?
The Older Americans Act enacted in the late 60's is about keeping us social engaged and contributing citizens. Our biggest problem can be our low incomes added to our physical problems, and the right housing is the solution to most of those problems.  We can walk a short distance to an grade school and volunteer with the children, or ride the bus to a whole lot of volunteer jobs. Taking care of our housing is an important step to fulfilling the dream of the Older Americans Act. Thanks for helping me put my thoughts together.
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wanabe
Joined: 24 Nov 2008
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| Post: #6 Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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Your closed circuit solution for senors independence; is the blind leading the blind, maybe even literally.
We must include the elders in our lives if we are to gain from them. No this gain will not be in material, it will be in wisdom, knowledge, morality. More valuable to our future than material, those things cannot be taken away or taxed.
There is a generations worth of knowledge that we have reduced down to pages in textbooks that do not do justice to the actual knowledge. This may be one of the many reasons things have gone SO FAR SOUTH. Never before have we tried so diligently to separate wisdom (or at the least experiences from which to learn from) from the population, and the population be so willing to oblige.
Old people are slow, irritating, and resistant to change sure, but they are the reason I exist, they were once like me, and I will one day be like them. I must never feel inconvenienced when they ask for help; because they were once inconvenienced by me, but helped still; because it was the right thing to do, and yes they learned something from it.
The above the attitude in italics is what we need. Not leisure world combined with the mall, this will only make matters worse(more isolation and segregation) because it only solves it short term. Every person wants to have an impact on the world, and the older you are the greater the desire. This will not be fulfilled by fancy "castles" that only the rich can afford anyway (that allow a life free of challenges, so that one may truly be dying, soul first), and would be of grater value to the impoverished(world wide).
But all that good stuff won't happen so still let me know.
"And the public don't dwell on my transmission
Cause it wasn't televised"-The killers, space man.
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Anything is possible; nothing is as it seems.Transcend feeble language by communicating through Direct Perception.I am attempting to transcend 'right and wrong', please help me."What you don't understand you can make mean anything."-Chuck Palahniuk |
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athena
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| Post: #7 Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:12 am Post subject: |
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| wanabe wrote: |
Your closed circuit solution for senors independence; is the blind leading the blind, maybe even literally.
We must include the elders in our lives if we are to gain from them. No this gain will not be in material, it will be in wisdom, knowledge, morality. More valuable to our future than material, those things cannot be taken away or taxed.
There is a generations worth of knowledge that we have reduced down to pages in textbooks that do not do justice to the actual knowledge. This may be one of the many reasons things have gone SO FAR SOUTH. Never before have we tried so diligently to separate wisdom (or at the least experiences from which to learn from) from the population, and the population be so willing to oblige.
Old people are slow, irritating, and resistant to change sure, but they are the reason I exist, they were once like me, and I will one day be like them. I must never feel inconvenienced when they ask for help; because they were once inconvenienced by me, but helped still; because it was the right thing to do, and yes they learned something from it.
The above the attitude in italics is what we need. Not leisure world combined with the mall, this will only make matters worse(more isolation and segregation) because it only solves it short term. Every person wants to have an impact on the world, and the older you are the greater the desire. This will not be fulfilled by fancy "castles" that only the rich can afford anyway (that allow a life free of challenges, so that one may truly be dying, soul first), and would be of grater value to the impoverished(world wide).
But all that good stuff won't happen so still let me know.
"And the public don't dwell on my transmission
Cause it wasn't televised"-The killers, space man. |
Excuse me. I live in apartments for people over 55 and at least 5 are over 90. What is it you think I don't see? It is by having good housing that we can be engaged in life outside our apartments. I thought this was included in my explanation of the benefits.
The nutrition site we need on the first floor, would mean keeping the residents here, healthy and keeping them here longer, because they wouldn't have to move away when shopping and cooking has become too difficult.
More important we need that room so people can gather and build relationships. Right now we are planning a pot luck, for no other reason than new people are feeling isolated because they have not met and made friends with the other people in the building. The room we can use isn't much bigger than a living room, and there will be a problem if too many people come. This is a serious problem in planning these events that are so important to meeting each other and building the relationships that mean having the help we need, without depending the government or being institutionalized.
The exercise room, I want above the recreation/dining room, is very much about keeping us healthy and active. Working with the elderly in the community, it became obvious, those stuck in chairs in their living rooms, are the ones who haven't exercised for so long, they are too weak to even do their own shopping. My 94 year old neighbor, could walk faster and farther than I could. Thanks to her and my dog, I am doing almost as well as she, but it took a long time to get myself in this condition.
Oh, we are going to pool our money to get a secure place for bicycles if the management will allow us to have such built. To succeed in things in like, we need that recreation/dining room so enough of us can meet in a room, to have enough support for getting things done.
 I don't know how you came to the idea that an apartment building, that better meets our needs, isolates us from the rest of the world? Those of us ignitiating these things are in our sixties. Roberta, remembers when she was 60 and did so much with her 60 year old neighbors, in this building. She is now 96, and she participates but she no longer takes on the responsibility of pot luck dinners. We can see our future, and know if we don't get the ball rolling now, we won't have the energy to get things done in the future. In away, the older folks depend on the energy of the younger ones, and my plan takes advantage of this.
Sarah gave up riding the bus to a distant nutrition site, because it was too hard for her to do that and keep up with her house keeping. She is 93, and is loosing her hearing and vision, so it really isn't fun for her be in a noisy room with strangers. If you personally knew her, you might rethink the value of having a nutrition site in the building, and the value of knowing a younger neighbor who will tell you who is in the room and want everyone is talking about. When we age, our batteries run down, giving 90 years a better social life within the building, is not want prevents them from going to the nutrition site down town.
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Itmattersnot
Joined: 01 Nov 2009
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| Post: #8 Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."
I can really dislike myself for reading your post and notice how I have stopped caring for a lot of things.
The road to independence ends once we get to the point where we no longer can live our lives without the aid of others.
That aid should be accepted by those who need it and given by those who can go without.
I wish I had more faith in humanity as a whole to be able to support your motives.
It will take a lot of suffering, poverty and inhumanity before people step away from the materialism and start looking over the hedge.
Athena I sincerely hope you can make a difference for your complex and I wish you well on your personal quest. |
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Belinda
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| Post: #9 Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:45 am Post subject: |
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Athena, you are on to a great idea!What impresses me is that from what you say it seems that there is already a community spirit in your block of flats.
Although I cannot advise about financing the project through a tax break, I am sure that there are people who can and would willingly advise, especially in such a worthy cause. There is a charity in this country called 'Age Concern' which gives advice about elderly care issues and I am sure there will be similar where you live.Google. You are right about the concern that local authorities and central governments have for the continuing and increasing support needed for growing numbers of elderly, and disabled elderly. Authorities are aware too that keeping elderly people in their own homes is more effective for all concerned than putting them into residential care paid for out of the communal purse.
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athena
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| Post: #10 Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:32 am Post subject: |
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Itmattersnot and Belinda, thank you. Belinda I like the words you use, such as community spirit. The name of our organization for older people is Area of Aging and it is within the county council of government. St. Vincent de Paul has done one housing project and I need to check it out.
It is not unusual for our local retirement communities to have a resident run, activity planning group. My idea is not new, but is an evolving one. The apartments were one of the first built for people over 55, and no one expected people to live past 90! There are socializing rooms on every floor, but none big enough for us all to meet. The newer retirement communities have the big meeting room and exercise room, but the idea is still evolving. This housing doesn't have the most up to date things for people with physical impairments, and exercise rooms are often an after thought and thrown into a closet size room, with a shelve for books and they call this an exercise room and library in their advertisement.
Itmattersnot, don't get down yourself. I have to run, or I would open a thread about apathy and enthusiasm. It is all about our associations! Alone we are like free radicals looking for a purpose. Together we get excited about what we can do. If you want to feel enthusiastic about something, find someone who is enthusiastic about what interest you.
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Itmattersnot
Joined: 01 Nov 2009
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| Post: #11 Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:54 am Post subject: |
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| athena wrote: |
| Itmattersnot, don't get down yourself. I have to run, or I would open a thread about apathy and enthusiasm. It is all about our associations! Alone we are like free radicals looking for a purpose. Together we get excited about what we can do. If you want to feel enthusiastic about something, find someone who is enthusiastic about what interest you. |
And of course you are right. |
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wanabe
Joined: 24 Nov 2008
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| Post: #12 Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:34 am Post subject: |
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Athena you want a retirement village that has some architectural logic behind it, I respect that.
I'm saying, what you are not seeing, is that we wouldn't need places like this if people took care of their family members in this country.(now re-read my previous post in this light)
If were going to build places like this for people that are to die sooner... Don't you think that money would be better spent on orphanages(or the poor), on people who have the rest of their lives ahead of them(there are a lot of needy people).
| athena wrote: |
The nutrition site we need on the first floor, would mean keeping the residents here, healthy and keeping them here longer, because they wouldn't have to move away when shopping and cooking has become too difficult. |
The safety and isolation of the "castle".
Independence is an illusion.
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Anything is possible; nothing is as it seems.Transcend feeble language by communicating through Direct Perception.I am attempting to transcend 'right and wrong', please help me."What you don't understand you can make mean anything."-Chuck Palahniuk |
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athena
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| Post: #13 Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:03 am Post subject: |
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| wanabe wrote: |
Athena you want a retirement village that has some architectural logic behind it, I respect that.
I'm saying, what you are not seeing, is that we wouldn't need places like this if people took care of their family members in this country.(now re-read my previous post in this light)
If were going to build places like this for people that are to die sooner... Don't you think that money would be better spent on orphanages(or the poor), on people who have the rest of their lives ahead of them(there are a lot of needy people).
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wanabe, I love you. Yes, yes,
| Quote: |
| a retirement village that has some architectural logic behind it, |
The problem is, people are not dying soon, they are living to be over 100 years old. The apartment I am in and all of the early retirement communities, were planned and built for people who are going to die soon, and THEY DIDN'T DIE.
At what year do you think you will die? Do you think the housing and programs we create for the elderly, will never benefit you?
We don't plan on getting old, but it is happening to a lot of us. What we plan and build for those old dying folks, is what we plan and build for ourselves, only for some amazing reason, the young are having a problem grasping this concept.
The Older Americans Act, is about keeping older Americans engaged and taking advantage of their years of experience and their time to volunteer.
Oh my Gaud! you have made me think of the old conservatives I used to socialize with. How about a video for the Internet, that is a group of old conservatives talking about shooting the young breeding population, to protect the commons for themselves. Cut out welfare and subsidies to the poor, because this just causes them to breed and increases every problem we have. Who is more deserving our national wealth than the old goats who made our nation great and defended it from the enemy?
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wanabe
Joined: 24 Nov 2008
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| Post: #14 Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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Being on life support(I extent this to mean taking 7 different medications daily to make your body function as it should) isn't being alive.
Now this is an honest question. when does one go from being deserving of wealth society, to having wealth of society wasted on them? *
* When there is no longer a symbiotic relations ship with society. What is it that the elderly do for society in a retirement home that is so indispensable. That would not be better done with their families taking care of them.
a cornucopia of ripe fruit is worthless if no one is around to share it.
If people are living so long, gathering all this "wisdom". To say that they should kill future generations, and eradicate infrastructure to protect them selves. Maybe they are alive TOO long. We are the past we made everything the way it is, kill the future it's making our last years inconvenient. Sounds like whiny old people who are not thankful for what they have, and WHO keeps it going to me.
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Anything is possible; nothing is as it seems.Transcend feeble language by communicating through Direct Perception.I am attempting to transcend 'right and wrong', please help me."What you don't understand you can make mean anything."-Chuck Palahniuk |
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