Help The Aged?

Our photography project concentrates on beauty in older women. You could argue that this is a little ‘shallow’ and doesn’t take into account more serious social issues relation to older and elderly people in society.  We touched on some of these topics in our recent  blogpost at the Feminist and Women’s Studies Association blog.

One social problem that affects older people has been in the news this week: the cost of heating our homes. Earlier in the week, the ‘big six’ energy companies were questioned by MPs about their price increases for gas and electricity in the UK. Many elderly people die during the winter of the cold, and as heating prices rise, so could the number of deaths. Rather than increase allowances for older people to cover energy costs (or force energy companies to offer discounts), the Government have given advice such as ‘wear a jumper’, or ‘only heat your living room and bedroom to save money and keep warm at the same time’. And, as is often the case when public services fall short, charities have also stepped in to the breach.

The Big Knit is a fundraising campaign launched by Age UK and Innocent Smoothies. Members of the public are asked to knit small hats to put on the smoothie bottles to raise money (by making those bottles more expensive than the regular ones) to provide services which help older people keep warm in winter.

Contact The Elderly is a charity which combats social isolation for older and elderly people. They organise coffee mornings in hosts homes and other places. This widens the concept of ‘keeping warm’ and includes the need for company, friends and (hopefully well heated!) places to go.

Whether or not you think charities should be doing what industry and government ought to, in keeping everyone alive and well, it is good to see there are schemes out there supporting older people over the winter. And if you don’t want to get involved with charities, you can always keep a friendly eye out for your older neighbours in the winter months!