Community
New Zealand’s elderly are among some of the country’s most vulnerable, with alarming reports of social isolation and loneliness, mental wellbeing and access to health care services being just a handful of the issues facing our elderly people.
But, one Invercargill rest home is doing its part to make sure the elderly are fed, have the chance to socialise with others and are taken care of, whether a resident of rest home or not.
Invercargill-based Waikiwi Gardens Rest Home is about to launch its Invercargill Social Seniors Programme, where elderly members of the community can be picked up and dropped off at the rest home for the day, participate in a series of activities and have hearty home-cooked meals, all while being with like-minded people.
Waikiwi Gardens Rest Home owners Denzil and Kate Travers said it was a concept that had worked well in other places in New Zealand, and they recognised a need in their community to provide these services after hearing about too many instances where the elderly are “being left behind”.
“Waikiwi Garden’s motto has always been that we’re a rest home with a heart, and putting our Invercargill Social Seniors Programme into motion puts an action behind that motto,” Kate said.
Launching on February 13, the programme will run on a Tuesday and Thursday every week, with activities on a four-week rotation.
The Travers had applied for DHB funding for the programme, but despite being turned down, they have decided to press on anyway.
“We’ve reached the point where the genuine need for these services outweighs how much it costs. It breaks my heart hearing about people who have fallen in their homes or had some sort of medical event but haven’t been discovered for days because they have no one to look out for them,” Kate said.
“Regardless of funding, we know this programme will be vital for so many people,” Denzil said.
Being part of a community comes with many social and mental wellbeing benefits, and it’s something Waikiwi Gardens has always had a heart for.
The rest home regularly hosts its Tea and Tots mornings with Plunket, where mothers and their babies come to the rest home.
The residents love interacting with the babies and their parents, and it gives parents of young children a chance to have a sit down and a cup of tea, knowing there is a fond set of eyes and hands engaging with their child.
“The residents light up when they see the children come into the room – seeing the joy in their faces is just so rewarding,” Kate said.
“There’s just this lovely sense of trust and it’s nice to give both the parents and our residents a change of pace,” Denzil said.
With the ill effects of loneliness being likened to that of smoking and obesity, Kate and Denzil said
they wanted to create a space for Invercargill’s treasured elderly to find community and connect with people on a genuine level.
“We don’t want to see anyone in the elderly community suffer ill health because they have no one to talk to or have a cup of tea with. This is an opportunity to make a difference,” Denzil said.