Weekly Reflection Ch. 10

Chapter ten discussed the problems, concerns, and resolutions that elderly can face in their living environments as they age. Many individuals do not take these situations into consideration and make plans for our future as elders or adults with health issues when we are young or healthy. Chapter ten discusses options and choices that can be made when facing these issues and many factors can determine the types of environment we may choose as we age or run into health problems. Economic status, urban or rural living, weather, and health status can all affect our ability to stay in our present home or choose to move to an active community, assisted living facility, residential care facility, nursing home, or shared housing complex.  
       Although personal comfort and a degree of leisure would be our first choice to age at home, many times individuals are unable to stay in their current homes without assistance and are forced to uproot and relocate. This can take a toll on a person's emotional status and adjusting to a new place takes time.As a future social worker it is vital that we remember to take time and consider what a person might be feeling and how they can be affected by making difficult life decisions and try to accommodate to those needs.
  Assisting families by educating them, making phone calls, providing them with assurance, information, and referrals when making decisions as well as, offering support and services before, during, and after their transitions would be ideal for social workers in this field. It was interesting to see that although we all have an idea of how we would like to age often times it does not occur how we imagined. As a future social worker, it is important to take all of a clients factors into consideration including their feelings and perceptions and make them feel comfortable with the decisions they will need to make and as a youth, considering these situations and options now may alleviate future stress and complications later in life. Advocating for individuals rights, dignity, and respect are also important for social workers to imply throughout the duration of our careers because we will be working with this population and the services offered to them in our future, whether directly or indirectly.

Reference:
Hillier, S.M. and Barrow, G.M. (2007). Aging, the individual and society. Belmont, CA:
   Thomson/Wadsworth.