Aging and living as an older person

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HealthWiki > Promoting Community Mental Health > Chapter 7: Mental health during different times of life > Aging and living as an older person

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

• Chapter 7: Mental health during different times of life
• Pregnancy and parenting newborns
• Babies and young children
• Adolescence
• Building connections as an adult
• Aging and living as an older person
• Death and dying

As people get older, many of their avenues of social interaction narrow or disappear, leading to more loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Depression and anxiety are made worse by weak goverment support for people who are aging. Social Security income, when people qualify for it, rarely provides enough to live on, and the increasing privatization and costs of Medicare make health care more complicated and harder to get. Many communities lack services for people as they get older.

It isn’t right that life is so hard for older people. There should be more help available and it should be easier to get. To find public and non-profit programs and other resources that may be near you (grouped as Area Agencies on Aging), look at: eldercare.acl.gov. These federal, state, and local programs might offer daytime care, caregiver training, respite care, and help for people applying to programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

The close relationship between physical and mental health makes combining many activities in places like senior centers a great way to strengthen elders individually and as a community. By providing nutritious lunches, dance classes and chair yoga, card games, and book and movie discussions, older people take advantage of opportunities to socialize and fight isolation while their families and caregivers get a break.

Multi-generational solutions. Matching older people seeking companionship and household help with younger people who need housing and enjoy helping creates a win-win situation. In fact, any kind of connecting across generations often improves everyone’s mental health while addressing basic needs.

The Southeast Arizona Health Education Center (SEAHEC) works to improve health and well-being in US rural border and migrant communities. SEAHEC’s Entre Nosotros curriculum trains community health workers to support elders to look out for each other’s mental health and recognize warning signs, learn overdose prevention, and learn techniques that help people feel calm. SEAHEC’s Future/Youth Health Leaders Club prompted high school students to interview people in group care homes about their interests and needs. They designed and hung posters in Spanish and English to brighten rooms and moods, organized intergenerational Bingo and Lotería games, distributed holiday gift baskets, and made lasting friendships.

Peer helpers. The Village to Village Network helps groups set up support networks among elders to meet different needs (like transportation, technology assistance, home repair, and errands). They also sponsor activities and outings. They help keep people healthy, connected, and more independent.

Transportation. Many seniors can no longer drive or walk distances, and need support getting to and from the grocery store, doctor’s appointments, the library, and other places. City-sponsored on-call senior shuttles or free ride vouchers can provide needed and dependable transportation.

Listening ears. A volunteer at a suicide prevention hotline in San Francisco, California, noticed that many older callers were not talking about suicide, but were lonely and looking for somebody to talk with. He started a Friendship Line (now in English and Spanish) to provide a “listening ear” for callers. It also offers telephone medication reminders, well-being checks, and even in-person visits. If there is not a local call-in line near you, try the national Friendly Voice line and speak to an AARP-trained volunteer. See a list of call-in lines and hotline numbers.

Document community history. Organize, train, and support young people to interview long-time neighborhood residents and record their memories of the community and what has changed. Compiling and sharing oral histories builds community pride, honors the life experiences of elders, and validates the creative work of young documentarians.

Protect against elder abuse and scams. Promote conversations among family members to help people plan for a time when they will not be able to look after their own finances. Getting the word out about how to recognize and deal with common scams helps protect seniors and begins to address the shame and grief resulting when someone is tricked into giving away money. The AARP Fraud Watch Network and Volunteers of America created the VOA | ReST program (Resilience, Strength, and Time) to help people through the emotional impact of these experiences, offering facilitated peer discussion groups.

I knew my mom would be upset if I said, “I need access to your finances in case your memory loss gets worse.” Instead, I asked her to tell me more about my aunt who spent all her money buying items online she already had. Then I said, “I want to make sure that never happens to you.” That opened the door for us to make a plan.

Alliances to change the care economy and the nature of care work. Eldercare Dialogues grew out of activism by the National Domestic Workers’ Alliance and brought together elders, direct care workers, and family members in conversations. With a focus on transforming care jobs into “good jobs,” with adequate pay and decent conditions, they developed policy recommendations, standards for being a good employer, and a training guide for anyone to start similar conversations. Caring Across Generations is a national organization also focused on the dignity deserved by both caregivers and those needing care. They record stories and create public awareness campaigns to transform attitudes and narratives about aging, disability, and care. They also lobby for policy changes at every level.

This page was updated:18 Apr 2025