#elder security

Think of an older person in your life that you respect or has influenced you as a person. It could be a grandparent, an elderly neighbor, a mentor from your childhood that has grown old, anybody.   Now, when you conjure up that image, what do you think of that person? If you’re anything like me, you feel a sense of gratitude. You know that you owe them for everything that they’ve given you, whether it’s something small like a piece of sage-like advice or something huge like financial help in a time of crisis. The simple reality is that humanity has only advanced by building on top of what the previous generation has provided. All of the knowledge, skills and tools we have to succeed we only have because the people who came before us passed that knowledge, skill or tool onto us. It’s why we say, “Respect your elders.” We owe our elders everything.   That’s why, if you’re like me, reading this article will make you pretty angry.   What the article essentially highlights is the fact that as many as one in ten people over the age of 60 suffer from some sort of abuse. This abuse could be anything from neglect, mistreatment, or exploitation of a physical, psychological or sexual nature. That’s as many as 4 million seniors being abused across the country. How could we let this happen?   It’s not just our responsibility to respect our elders, but also to protect our elders. They certainly deserve better than to be physically abused or taken advantage of. It makes me sick that this stuff is going on and so little is being done about it.   Back in 2010 we did pass the Elder Justice Act, but with statistics like that it seems that 2 years later the policy has done little to change a situation that is only going to get worse if unchecked.   Census projection data shows us that by 2020 there will be an estimated 74 million people living in the US over 60 years old. That’s nearly twice as many as in 2010. With the baby boomers reaching retirement age there is going to be a lot of pressure on the younger generations to step up and take care of the growing older generation. With so many more elderly to take care of it is going to be more likely that their care is entrusted to someone who is going to abuse them. We need to take steps to ensure that that does not happen.   I honestly believe that the best way to make sure that our elders stay protected is to give them the power to get help quickly and efficiently. The best way to do this is to arm our seniors with Medical Alerts. There is no better way to make sure that someone can get help when they need it then to put an device in their hands that means one button gets them the help they need.   Just look at this news story of a woman who’s medical alert button saved her from an attack by her daughter. Seeing is believing.

I read an article in Philly Mag the other day that says that Young Men, ages 18-34, just aren’t behaving like adults in the way that society says they should. The Author, Sandy Hingston, cites numerous statistics that all show how young men are staying home, not getting jobs and definitely not getting married, or at least not doing those things before age 30. The big statistic that she quoted that hit home with me was this:   “Sociologists cite five “markers” or “milestones” that have traditionally defined our notion of adulthood: finishing school, moving away from the parental home, becoming financially independent, getting married, and having a child. In 1960, 65 percent of men had ticked off all five by age 30; by 2000, only a third had.”   Now, I am a 24, I’ve lived away from my parent’s house since I was 19, I’ve graduated from college, I have a job, I pay my own bills, I even have a girlfriend who I’ve been dating for 4 years, and I’ve got 6 whole years before I’m 30 to get married and start having kids. With all that, it would be pretty easy for me to dismiss this whole article as the grumbling of an older generation against the younger one. I want to say: “I’m doing just fine, mom and dad, even if I didn’t walk to school uphill both ways in the snow.”   But, even with all that I have to admit that she has a point. Things are changing quite a bit in young men my age, and I’m not entirely convinced that it is for the better.   Before I go any further, I want to point out that this article is extraordinarily biased and does not take many factors into consideration in a lot of it’s points, but I don’t really want to delve too deeply into that rabbit hole. I still recommend reading it; just remember to take some of the points with a grain of salt.   The thing that made me take the article seriously wasn’t all of the statics on how young people are living with their parents longer. There are plenty of explanations for that. More and more people are staying in college longer, getting masters degrees. The economy is really tough right now and families often have to band together to make it through. I’m sure some of us are even living at home for medical reasons, taking care of our parents because we’re afraid to leave them home alone (if you’re one of these people I recommend getting your parents a Medical Alert they make the best medical alarms for seniors). All of those are totally understandable reasons for living with your parents in your 30’s. The thing that got me was that in the interviews the author conducted with people my age there was an all too familiar theme of apathy ringing in their words. It wasn’t just that they had to move home for financial reasons; it was that they didn’t care.   It’s one thing to have a hard time finding a job after college, or to fall on some hard times and have to move back home, it’s another thing to settle into the comfort of home with seemingly no desire to leave. The scary thing to me was that the apathy I saw in Hingston’s interviews wasn’t very different from the apathy I’ve seen in a lot of young men I have met.   So what do you think? Is the younger generation really just lazy? Or am I just turning into the kind of guy that tells kids to get off his lawn a little early?