Senior citizens are among those most likely to suffer acute hardship in cold spell
THE PROLONGED cold spell has caused problems for thousands of senior citizens across the State, with many said to have been trapped alone in their homes for weeks without visitors or supplies.
Some 120,000 older people live on their own here and Age Action has called on the public to look out for those who may be socially isolated or without family members nearby while the freezing conditions continue.
“We have a real crisis on our hands. A national crisis,” Eamon Timmins of Age Action said.
“Nobody seems responsible for those people who are not ill but housebound because of their age or those unable to travel to get medicines, food or supplies in the freezing weather. We can’t get the Army, their local authority or the HSE to resolve it. We need good neighbours to address this crisis.”
Age Action member Tess Kane, from Lucan in Dublin, said despite only leaving her home sparingly in the last fortnight she was “managing fine” thanks to the generosity of neighbours and friends. “People are enormously good and everybody seems to be making an extra effort to be nice,” she said. “When I did go out I had young people coming to ask if I needed a hand crossing the road, which was really nice.”
Ms Kane said through talking on the phone, reading and playing bridge on the internet she has managed to fend off the onset of cabin fever, but that others might not be coping so well. “I’m in my 70s but I still try to get out every day to do something,” she said.
“But I am terrified about going out and falling. If I had to go to AE it’d be the last straw.
“One woman I know broke her wrist when she fell at the church. A taxi driver told her he couldn’t bring her to Tallaght hospital so he dropped her home and called an ambulance.
“When the ambulance came it couldn’t get to her door so they had to carry her out.”
In an attempt to help isolated people, Age Action has teamed up with the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) to help broaden the scope of its services across the country. “We are very conscious that there are people who would hesitate to call on us for assistance as they see us as only being there to help the poor,” Vincent de Paul president Mairead Bushnell said.
“But we will ensure that no one suffers and is left without assistance in current circumstances.”
The SVP said it had received reports of hardship due to the non-delivery of pension cheques and social welfare payments. As a result, it has called on fuel and service providers to be humane towards those who are struggling during the prolonged cold spell.
Members of the Civil Defence and Irish Red Cross have also offered to assist in the delivery of meals on wheels to older people living alone and in remote areas while the cold weather continues.
Meanwhile, homeless charity Focus Ireland has extended the opening hours at its outreach centre in Temple Bar to offer clients in the area somewhere to go to avoid the harsh conditions. It said the numbers calling to the centre had increased in the cold spell to about 150 or 200 daily.
“Our main aim is to try and accommodate as many people as possible and to try and refer anyone who is sleeping on the street to a hostel,” Focus Ireland project worker Alice Lucey said.
“The main thing at the moment is trying to ensure that everyone has somewhere to sleep. We’re also trying to give people somewhere warm and safe to hang out during the day.”
Ms Lucey said that on Thursday she dealt with about 10 people who had slept on the streets in sub-zero temperatures the previous night. It is estimated that more than 60 people sleep rough in Dublin every night, half of whom are foreign nationals who may not know of services on offer.
She said that because of the freezing weather some hostels were not charging people to stay.
“As a result of that a lot of people who were sleeping rough are now going into the hostels. The word is getting out.”
