@chai2,
Quote:If there's something you can do directly, why get some nameless bureaucracy involved?
Because both might be helpful to the neighbor. And the more sources of support, including social services support, he has available to him, the better.
The "nameless bureaucracy" is not all that impersonal--there are a great many services and benefits available to seniors that the neighbor might not even know about. Some are financial, but others address other needs or issues. That's the reason that social workers are connected to the senior centers--they help people find these services that might help to make their lives easier or better. Aging and living alone can be difficult, services for seniors offer various supports, both financial and social, that can be helpful for the neighbor both now and in the future.
I was struck by the fact that having the electricity turned off is a rather drastic, and really dangerous, unsafe situation for a 72 year old who lives alone. All sorts of things can happen in a dark house--falls, fires if candles are used for light, illness if food can't be properly refrigerated or refrigerated at all, cooking may be impossible, some types of phones may not work, etc.--beside the interminable boredom of just sitting in the dark without much you can do without electricity. And, should this happen again, in the heat of a Florida summer, so he'd be without air-conditioning, it could be life-threatening for an elderly person.
I think it was aidan who pointed out that electricity is the one bill, above all, that's got to be paid, and I agree with that. But this man couldn't/didn't do that, nor did he apparently reach out for help from some source so the electricity wouldn't be turned off. That tells me this man needs more than a helpful and supportive neighbor, he needs a social service safety net underneath him too--some social service that will prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. And he may also need some sort of assistance with other matters that jcboy knows nothing about.
No one should be embarrassed about being in financial difficulty, particularly in the current economic climate, and particularly a senior on a fixed income. It's not an embarrassing situation, it's a stressful one. And this man has to be able to ask for and get some help with whatever it is he needs--he can't go without electricity, or food, or medication, if he needs it. Addressing the situation more directly with him would seem rather vital, and, as aidan also pointed out, it's treating him with more respect. He might not know that assistance and benefits and discounts are available to seniors, or where to look for them, or how to go about getting them. Giving him odd jobs to do, so he can earn some money, is a great idea, but it might not fully address what this man needs. Maybe he needs a reverse mortgage, or a border living in the house to help him cover expenses (jcboy said he has a large house), maybe he needs a social worker to help him obtain benefits and services, and who can make sure that things like electricity aren't turned off, and that he has enough to eat, and that he has needed medications.
But someone has to talk with him somewhat directly to get some idea of his overall situation and what he does need, and this man may be perfectly willing to do that. Just because he's never mentioned such things when he's spoken to jcboy doesn't mean he wouldn't want to talk about them, particularly with someone who wants to help him. Maybe he doesn't like to complain or burden others with his problems, but he also might welcome the opportunity to do that if someone shows interest. Maybe he's just felt that others weren't interested in his difficulties and that they were solely his problem. We don't know what's doing with him.
So, I can think of good reasons to connect him, at least to a social worker at a senior citizens center or a community agency that assists the elderly, and to try to discuss his problems with him in a direct manner.
