10/15/2019 PHL lacks facilities to support homeless elderly | BusinessMirror

PHL lacks facilities to support homeless elderly

By BusinessMirror - July 19, 2015

SHE walked along the hall, past the rooms and several people, on and about with their own business. The
clanking of her heels on the slippery tile floor echoed as she strutted with her head held high, face caked with
makeup, and her thin gray hair knotted in a bun. The workers greeted her with smiles and praises as she
entered the room, acknowledging her simple effort to look good.

Across the hall sat another woman, hands clutching her steel walker tight. Dressed in a plain shirt and hair
falling limp on her shoulders, she glanced at everyone who comes and goes. She sat still and didn’t utter a
single word. Once, a worker greeted her “good morning” and asked her how she was feeling and she merely
mumbled.

The two seemed like worlds away from each other—they weaved different stories, led different lives and, yet,
their paths led them to the same destination. Both denied of care and of a home despite their old age.

Tucked behind one of largest shopping malls in the country is a humble haven, Golden Reception and Action
Center for the Elderly and Other Special Cases (GRACES), which serves as a temporary home for the
abandoned, neglected, lost and unattached. Here, they find a home among people who have suffered a similar
fate.

But not every senior citizen who find himself or herself without a home is able to seek refuge in institutions
similar to GRACES. There are only a handful of homes for the elderly all over the country, and only four of
them are maintained by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). However, the
increasing number of abandoned elderly has resulted in the overpopulation of some facilities.

“In the Philippines there really are only a few elderly institutions—and there are only a few slots from NGOs
[non-governmental organizations] and private institutions, round 30 to 40 slots.  Unlike in government [elderly
institutions], like GRACES or Golden Acres, which can cater to over 100 people,” said Daisy Caber, a social
worker from GRACES.

The pressing need brought by the rising cases of abandonment and neglect is identified as one of the reasons
for filing House Bill 4946, entitled Homes for Abandoned Seniors Act of 2014, by Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian of
Valenzuela City.

The bill recognizes the various reasons that lead to the neglect of the elderly, such as the economic reality of
spending for the care of an elderly person, family problems, and the incapability to care for the elderly.

The bill, inspired by Valenzuela’s own Bahay Kalinga, intends to establish a nursing home for the elderly in
every city and municipality. The nursing home will be operated by the DSWD, in coordination with the local
government unit (LGU) concerned.

Bahay Kalinga is home to 25 homeless or abandoned senior citizens. It also provides for the clients’ health
care, while the local government assists in their search for their relatives.

The nursing homes, as identified in the bill, will be mandated to provide the following needs to the elderly:
comfortable living quarters; adequate food and clothing; medical consultation or treatment; health care;
occupational opportunities; recreational and social interaction; counseling; case conference; family dialogue;
outreach to existing family for reintegration; literacy education; productivity development; and religious;
cultural and vocational activities.

GRACES supervising social worker Abi Alonto said the creation of “additional residential care facilities to be
accredited and [given license] to operate by the DSWD to cater to the needs of the elderly” is a concern that
needs attention.

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10/15/2019 PHL lacks facilities to support homeless elderly | BusinessMirror
As of this writing, GRACES houses 191 senior citizens, whereas its bed capacity is only for 150 people, Caber
said. In addition, the lack of facilities becomes more problematic, as they consider a client’s health before they
take him in.

“Preferably, we should separate them according to their categories, as there are able, ambulatory, physically
impaired and bedridden clients. But we are having difficulties due to the limited number of cottages,” Caber
said.

The social workers also encounter problems regarding the stay of their clients, she said. GRACES only serves
as a temporary shelter for the abandoned, leaving only a month for the social workers to trace their clients’
families.

“That’s where our difficulties lie, because most of the admitted clients who were lost and brought to us have
Alzheimer’s, or dementia. In that case, they are not able to discuss precise information about their families,”
she said.

There will come a time when a client would have to be transferred to a permanent institution with the
resources to cater to their needs.

“Aside from the clients whose families we cannot locate, we have a hard time looking for institutions where we
can transfer the elderly,” she said.  To be concluded

Faye Carreos & Lea Salvosa / Special to the BusinessMirror

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