In all the coverage of the refugee crisis, something has been missing. There have been few older faces in the pictures that have beamed round the world.
While the reality is that older refugees don’t make the headlines, they are at the heart of the crisis. According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 10% of the people who have fled Syria in recent years are over 65-years old (pdf). Their plight is desperate with many of them having been separated from their families in the chaos of flight or bereaved along the way.
Watching the horror unfold, like many others, I was deeply touched. But what really translated that into action was the people who live, work and volunteer for us in our charitable housing organisation, The Abbeyfield Society. Many of them really felt for the older refugees and started to ask how they could help. There is no doubt that our staff, volunteers and residents can be a quite a force. Many of them lived through the second world war or are baby boomers used to taking action.
Things moved pretty fast and the prime minister’s announcement that the UK would welcome up to 20,000 refugees by 2020 gave us a focus. No one seemed to know how many of these refugees would be older people, but whatever the final number turns out to be, we felt sure that if we offered to take as many as we could, other providers would follow our lead.
The Abbeyfield Society made its formal offer to the prime minister within 48 hours of his statement in the House of Commons. With nearly 60 years’ experience of providing sheltered housing and specialist homes for older people, we knew we had something worthwhile to give. We have told the government that as long as it covers the cost, we will do the rest and offer homes to as many older refugees as we can for up to six months.
Translating that into action is another challenge entirely. The logistics are massive. If nothing else, it is well nigh impossible to predict in advance where we may have spaces and what the range of individual needs of the Syrians will be. How will these older people fit into our homes, many of which are small with a family like atmosphere? Will the Syrians be able to cope in a strange place and possibly without being able to speak the language?
At the moment, there may be more questions than answers, but we remain undaunted. I believe that through our close contacts with social services, health commissioners and other care providers we will find suitable places for older refugees.
I also know that our fantastic volunteers will help see us through. I know it’s a cliche, but they are absolutely Abbeyfield’s lifeblood, all 4,500 of them.
When I approached our chairman, a volunteer himself, with the idea of taking our share of older Syrians, I couldn’t be sure how he would react. I needn’t have given that a thought. Without a moment’s hesitation he was on board and reassured me that it was the right thing to do.
With this support, I think we will be able to offer older refugees what they are likely to need most, and that is time. Sometimes a cup of tea and a chat are worth 10 times more than specialist professional input.
We still have so much to do to prepare for the refugees, but at the end of it all, the kettle will go on and the Abbeyfield family will open its doors.
