Poverty is one of the most influential public health issues in our country, and one of the hardest things to address on a widespread scale. There are a lot of different factors that cause poverty, and even people that never experienced this issue can find themselves struggling with a lack of adequate financial resources as they age.
For seniors, poverty presents a truly unique issue because seniors are often at the mercy of other people when it comes to the help and care that they receive.
For example, homelessness isn’t just a physical issue. It takes a toll on health and emotional wellness, too. People that have been homeless for an extended period of time tend to have a lot of health issues that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Sometimes health issues that were already present can be exacerbated because of going untreated for prolonged periods of time in a stressful situation. But homelessness doesn’t just cause poor health, poor health–and especially mental health–can also cause homelessness. This is a tough issue to fully comprehend, but the bottom line is, when poverty is involved, there are often a lot of other risk factors at play that make health a hard topic to address. In the senior population, poverty can have an even bigger impact on health because of weakened immune systems, the prolonged amount of time that issues have persisted, and other factors. Unfortunately, it’s seniors that often feel these issues the most.
This is one of the reasons why senior care is far more complex than we sometimes like to think. We all face our own struggles and we each face tough, unique circumstances at various times in our lives.
Creating places where impoverished seniors can get the care and attention that they need without worrying about cost is important. We’re not quite here as a society yet, and it’s unclear how we will get there. But regardless of political belief or affiliation, everyone agrees that those who need access to care should have it. Luckily, this issue has received a lot more attention lately and is being talked about at many different levels. Hopefully, awareness will help make it a reality.
You have resources that can help. One of the problems that perpetuates poverty is that many people don’t know how to live any other way. Whatever issues you might be facing, there’s help out there. It might not be an easy road, and you might never see things be perfect for your loved ones. But you can help start the change with little things. Reach out to your county’s Social Services, a local charity, or religious institution. These organizations all have connections to help you or someone you know get back on your feet. They can connect you to the right resources to help the people you care about get the help that’s needed.
This goes for senior care, too. The help is there, you just have to take those first steps to start receiving the help that’s needed to break the cycle of poverty.
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