Be the village for seniors: Continuing the legacy

Written by Anne C. Clarke, BSW, MA, Senior Policy Analyst & Judith Ssuubi, LLB, Ottawa based Legal Researcher and Community Engagement Worker

It has been over 18 months since the first Covid 19 case was reported in Canada. Many of us have had to greatly adjust and adapt to this major life change of a global pandemic. We have had to adapt to our new surroundings, the new normal. Homes have primarily become our offices, since the idea of commuting to work, socializing with friends or colleagues have now become a dream.

With physical socializing restricted, new ways have had to be found in order to maintain a personal sense of balance. This has had a great impact on Canadian residents, especially our seniors, particularly those living in Long-Term Care Homes. Increased loneliness and isolation because of the inability to connect, in person, with family members made the experience more difficult.

Seniors Abuse
The discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice associated with senior abuse is still significantly under reported and could be described as the most socially tolerated form of abuse, considering how often and how many decades it has gone unnoticed.
In the second series of webinars produced by Maama Watali, panelists explored what it meant to be living in Canada, as a senior in the age of COVID-19. The panelists agreed with the rest of the world that the pandemic has seen an increase in the number of senior abuse cases with a heightened effect on cognitive impairment, dementia, physical frailty, neglect, financial scams, incidents of family violence, and dependence on others for care among other issues, such as increased food insecurity. Between 2009 and 2012, Black Canadians reported moderate or severe household food insecurity 2.8 times more often than White Canadians.

With such an escalation, the most glaring is the lack of a standardised practice of care toward seniors; the understaffing of long-term care homes that are mainly privately run. Many seniors being left unattended for hours. None of this have been new to advocates who have been calling on governments to improve the lives of seniors in care.

According to Dr. Quoc Dinh Nguyen, a geriatrician and researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Centre, there is not a very high priority for care. There is also, no good granular data about people in long term care. According to Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national seniors’ advocacy organization, amongst other things, there were no supports put in place as the pandemic raged Over the course of the pandemic to date, approximately 8,699 people have died in long term care homes, 3,799 in Ontario and 4,699 in the province of Quebec alone.

Seniors Mental Health in the Era of Covid-19
The mental health of seniors has worsened during the Covid 19 pandemic because of challenges with mobility, low income, ill physical health, hearing and or vision loss, the transition to retirement, the loss of a spouse or family member, dementia to say the least.

While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ideally protects all, seniors are not recognised explicitly under international human rights laws that legally oblige governments to protect the rights of all people. In this regard, the rights of seniors are mostly invisible under international law.

The United Nations Principles for Older Persons adopted by the UN General Assembly (Resolution 46/91) on 16 December 1991, which include dignity, self-worth, care, independence, and full participation are not legally binding. They only impose a moral obligation on governments which explains why many countries have not incorporated these principles.

With Covid-19 it has become clearer an international legally binding structure is needed to protect seniors rights. In Canada, there have been calls for a publicly run senior care system with hopes of better services, more transparency, accountability, and more secure ways to combat senior abuse, ageism to minimise the vulnerability of older people.

Seniors Rights
Even though seniors in Canada do have various types of support, a range of rights and are protected by a vigorous legal structure these structures do not sufficiently protect them from all forms of abuse.

These include, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which prohibits discrimination based on age, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and provincial human rights codes. In Ontario, there are organisations such as Elder Abuse Prevention, civil society (community based) organisations among others. Even with these supportive services, Black and Racialized Seniors are still in great need of assistance. They still have challenges with access to resources, racism in care facilities, loneliness, dealing with the frailties of growing old and abuse. Seniors need the space to be visible and be heard. They need to feel they are still part of vibrant communities and are still in full control of their lives and decisions. It could be as simple as letting them choose what they want to wear or eat.

Maama Watali applauds the Black led and Black serving organizations that are committed to caring for our seniors who are Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts, or Sisters, Cousins. They are actively intervening to reduce the depression and other mental health issues that have come to the forefront as a result of Covid-19.

This is a call to action to check in with a relative or friend who is a senior; remind others to do the same. These actions help increase community awareness, reduce isolation and loneliness and above all, continue the legacy. Seniors deserve better.

Let us be the village for our seniors

Sources

Social Determinants and inequities in Health for Black Canadians: A Snapshot. PUB No:200157. CATALOGUE No.: HP35-139/2020E-PDF. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health/social-determinants-inequities-black-canadians-snapshot/health-inequities-black-canadians.pdf

CBC Radio, The Current, with Matt Galloway, September 9, 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-sept-9-2021-1.6169381