Number of elderly seeking help triples
DEMAND FOR O.A.P. SERVICES SEES SPIKE
THE number of elderly people seeking help has soared, campaigners at ALONE have revealed.
Those seeking and who received support increased from 5,410 in 2019 to around 15,000 in the year 2020.
Alone operated all services 365 days of the year in 2020 and are now concentrating on growth to ensure sustainability of service.
Alone worked across three Government Departments and with countless other agencies “in the true spirit of cooperation”.
It has emerged that Alone took almost 42,000 calls in 2020; receiving 1,100 calls in one day at its peak.
Nearly 139,000 calls were placed to older people from Alone staff and volunteers.
Alone entered the COVID-19 pandemic with 2,000 volunteers increasing this figure to 3,000 by the end of 2020.
Vital
The organisation saw a 700 per cent increase to Telephone Support & Befriending services.
Almost 800 new people were linked into Alone’s Support and Befriending service.
These vital calls not only alleviated loneliness and isolation in an older person’s life, it also provided them with health information, appointment and medication reminders and gave them information, support and encouragement to g et through COVID-19.
Alone’s innov at i o n in technology enabled them to support thousands of older people to live independently at home.
Assistive technology provides older people with security and support to self-manage and share information on health and well- being with family and health professionals.
Older people were supported with smartphones, tablets, pendant alarms and smart home sensors throughout Ireland.
Alone CEO Sean Moynihan has said: “Alone decided to stand up and be counted, the strength and courage to do this comes from our culture.
“Our culture and history, informs our movements and keeps us grounded to our purpose.
“Our reason to exist as an NGO is to be there when you are needed most. 2020 was the year our sector and the community showed our value.
Focus
“Our focus remains with older people and we always ensure to respond in line with our vision, mission, values and our strategy.
“We will now turn our focus to growth and quality of service so we can continue to support and empower as many older people as possible across Ireland.”
Joe Sheehy, Chairperson of Alone’s Board of Trustees, said, “Alone has grown significantly in 2020 and is likely to continue to do so in 2021, benefiting greater numbers of older people throughout Ireland.
“We have achieved great things as an organisation during the past year and most importantly we have reached more older people than ever before in 2020.
Home
“We remain committed to investment in technology for older people to assist in aging at home and also in driving Housing with Supports as a key pillar for delivery.”
Alone dedicated pages in their Annual Report to remembering all of those lost and thanked everyone who has supported them.
They stated: “We now need to take the learning and ensure protection and security for this cohort now and into the future.”
THE global median age has increased from 21.5 years in 1970 to over 30 years in 2019.
The global population breakdown by age shows that a quarter (26 per cent) are younger than 14 years, 8 per cent are older than 65, while half of the world population is the working age bracket between 25 and 65.
Indicator
Median age provides an important indicator of the age distribution.
It provides the age ‘midpoint’ of a population; there are the same number of people who are older than the median age as there are younger.
In the map (below) the median age in all countries in the world in 2015 — was 29.6 years. Higher-income countries tend to have a higher median age.