Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Palmerston Councillor Sarah Henderson says many seniors are too scared to go out for walks or shopping, which is leaving them disconnected from society

Transcript

Palmerston Councillor Sarah Henderson says many seniors are too scared to go out for walks or shopping, which is leaving them disconnected from society · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But as we spoke about just a short time ago
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  Speaker 1: with the Chief Minister and also yesterday when we spoke
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  Speaker 1: to the Council of the Aging here in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 1: many seniors are living in fear and they're feeling unsafe
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  Speaker 1: in their own homes and don't want to go out,
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  Speaker 1: is what she told us in Alice Springs. Now it's
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  Speaker 1: not an isolated issue. Palmerston Counselor Sarah Henderson weighing in
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  Speaker 1: on those concerns, and she has heard from residents. Now
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  Speaker 1: she joins me on the line right now, Good morning
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  Speaker 1: to you, Sarah.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Sarah. What are you hearing from elderly residents in Palmerston
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  Speaker 1: right now?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, it's terrible, Katie. So many of our singers have
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  Speaker 2: just worked hard all their lives and paid taxes in
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  Speaker 2: the territory and now they are just terrified to go
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  Speaker 2: out of their house. They they've retired here because the
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  Speaker 2: territory was their home, and a lot of their children
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  Speaker 2: have moved on in the States for careers and things.
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  Speaker 2: So they're by themselves, apart from friends that we've had around,
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  Speaker 2: but they won't go shopping. There's quite a few of
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  Speaker 2: them that I take shopping and if I didn't, they
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  Speaker 2: just wouldn't go because they can't use the internet to
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  Speaker 2: work out how to order it online or or anything
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  Speaker 2: like that. They won't catch public transport because it is
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  Speaker 2: so terrifying some of the horrific things have told me
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  Speaker 2: about public transport and sitting around waiting for the buses.
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  Speaker 2: You just you get attacked, You get nagged for money
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  Speaker 2: and everything, and it's really hard when you're not as
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  Speaker 2: strong as you used to be that you really feel
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  Speaker 2: fearful for yourself. So they won't even go for a
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  Speaker 2: walk anymore. So they're not exercising because they're scared of
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  Speaker 2: being attacked. They just have become prisoners in their own home.
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  Speaker 1: It's actually heartbreaking to hear, you know, and you think
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  Speaker 1: to yourself that you've got seen is that don't feel
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  Speaker 1: safe going out and don't feel as though they're able
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  Speaker 1: to do those activities that they should one hundred percent
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  Speaker 1: be able to do. It makes me feel really sad, Sarah,
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  Speaker 1: what you know, what type of activities are they telling
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  Speaker 1: you that they're steering clear.
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  Speaker 2: Off most things anywhere where there's a lot of people
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  Speaker 2: anywhere where there's not a lot of people. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I can give you an example. I went shopping earlier
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  Speaker 2: this year and I parked underground because it was a
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  Speaker 2: hot day, and I had a fellow to try to
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  Speaker 2: take the handbag off my shoulder. Now, I'm strong enough
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  Speaker 2: that I use my knee in an appropriate place and
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  Speaker 2: I was able to lock the car and go away.
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  Speaker 2: But others aren't able to do that. I mean, even
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  Speaker 2: for me, who I'm stronger than most park outside. Now.
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  Speaker 2: I never use an underground parking area because it's unsafe.
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  Speaker 2: And so that's what a lot of these things are saying.
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  Speaker 2: They don't do that. They even if they're driving, they're
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  Speaker 2: scared about where they're going to park and how they're
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  Speaker 2: going to get back to their car, and sitting around
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  Speaker 2: waiting for a bus at a bus stop is horrific.
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  Speaker 2: Most of them just stay away from them completely because
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  Speaker 2: they're just too dangerous for them. You've got all these
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  Speaker 2: sorts of things happening, and they're just becoming so disconnected.
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  Speaker 1: That's I mean, that's the hardest part, and that's the
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  Speaker 1: saddest partner. As you'd said just a little while ago,
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  Speaker 1: you've got a situation where with some of these sceniors.
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  Speaker 1: Their families have moved into state or their kids are
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  Speaker 1: into state for different job opportunities, and so they don't
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  Speaker 1: even have someone who's able to, you know, to take
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  Speaker 1: them to do that shopping and to do various activities
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  Speaker 1: with them. But Sarah, you had said that you do
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  Speaker 1: take a group of sceeniors, or you certainly take some
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  Speaker 1: sceniors out in the Palmerston area out to do their
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  Speaker 1: shopping and to do some of those activities.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, yeah, I'll take anybody to ask, But there
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  Speaker 2: is a lot of scene about them that are just
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  Speaker 2: sitting at home by themselves. I'm really worried about these people,
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  Speaker 2: and I try and get around to them and sort
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  Speaker 2: of say I'll take you shopping because they won't go,
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  Speaker 2: or you know, or I'll stay here and drop you
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  Speaker 2: at the shops and I'll stay here in mind your
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  Speaker 2: house because they're worried that their house going to get
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  Speaker 2: broken into. And there's a lot more that need this help,
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  Speaker 2: but they won't ask for it because they're too proud.
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  Speaker 1: I look, I know exactly what you mean, you know,
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  Speaker 1: and you would feel too proud to actually ask for
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  Speaker 1: that help. Sarah, how do you think that this is
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  Speaker 1: impacting our seniors that are in the Palmerston area.
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  Speaker 2: I'm really concerned, Katty. There are so many of them.
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  Speaker 2: They have now left the territory because they just can't
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  Speaker 2: live here any longer, which is sad. We're losing all
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  Speaker 2: our scenor territories that have worked so hard for the territory.
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  Speaker 2: It's unfair. They wanted this to be their home, but
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  Speaker 2: they just feel that they're just so unsafe and so depressed.
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  Speaker 2: There's so many of them that are really depressed. You know.
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  Speaker 2: One lady said, if I can't go for a walk
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  Speaker 2: in the afternoon, I don't want to live here anymore.
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  Speaker 1: Well, what a terribly sad situation. I wonder if there's
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  Speaker 1: a way that, you know, we can kind of connect
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  Speaker 1: some of our seniors to you know, to other territorians
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  Speaker 1: who might be able to help them with some of
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  Speaker 1: those jobs, or who might be able to go for
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  Speaker 1: a walk with them occasionally or something.
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  Speaker 2: This is what I'd like to start, is some sort
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  Speaker 2: of I don't know, connective scene that we could start
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  Speaker 2: where they can call and say we need people to
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  Speaker 2: walk with them or take them shopping or something like that.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, we've got right down here, like I'm a
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  Speaker 2: gym at Parmiston next to Youth Center. Now youth which
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  Speaker 2: is wonderful, get lots of money for grants and things,
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  Speaker 2: which is fabulous, that's really good, But the scene is
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  Speaker 2: are getting nothing now. There was a huge group of
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  Speaker 2: seniors that used to exercise down here three days a week,
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  Speaker 2: but of course with the business as the way they
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  Speaker 2: are and across of living, they've had to put their
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  Speaker 2: prices up. This was the only place that sceners could
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  Speaker 2: afford to exercise. Now most of them have had to
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  Speaker 2: drop off because they're charging for an instant company up
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  Speaker 2: a coffee and the prices have gone up so much
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  Speaker 2: that they can't even exercise, so they're not getting the
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  Speaker 2: morning tea afterwards. They're not being connected with other people,
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  Speaker 2: making friends so that they've got a support system, so
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  Speaker 2: that they have other people that could go shopping with
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  Speaker 2: them or go out with them. They're not getting any
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  Speaker 2: of this because of the price. Right. If only, perhaps
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  Speaker 2: there could be also a grant for people to do things,
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  Speaker 2: you know, to have a seenors project, you know, that
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  Speaker 2: would help too, as well as having a program to.
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  Speaker 1: Keep people well. Sarah, I'd be really interested to hear,
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  Speaker 1: you know, if there is a bit of progress on
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  Speaker 1: that or if there's something that we can do, you know,
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  Speaker 1: to try to help you if it is something that's
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  Speaker 1: able to get off the ground, to promote it, to
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  Speaker 1: try and get some people to you know, to connect
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  Speaker 1: up with seeing is to help each other and certainly
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  Speaker 1: help them out, you know, if they're in a situation
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  Speaker 1: where they're not able to do their shopping and that
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  Speaker 1: type of thing. Because I think it is so important
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  Speaker 1: that we not only respect that we but we also
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  Speaker 1: look after our scene is you know, they've worked their
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  Speaker 1: whole lives, they've paid their taxes their whole lives. They
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  Speaker 1: contribute so much to the Northern Territory and in so
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  Speaker 1: many cases for a lot of us, you know, if
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  Speaker 1: we didn't have our parents living here, we wouldn't actually
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  Speaker 1: be able to you know, to raise our children and
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  Speaker 1: still work and that kind of thing.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, there's so many of them. A lot of
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  Speaker 2: the scene is still look after children on school holidays.
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  Speaker 2: But I mean, if it's going to be life this,
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  Speaker 2: they're not going to stay. There's not going to be
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  Speaker 2: that help for the families anymore. And the support that
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  Speaker 2: they also.
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  Speaker 1: Need now Sarah, I know some people will be asking
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  Speaker 1: is there anything that the Palmerston Council could be doing.
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  Speaker 1: I know you are obviously a counselor. Is there anything
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  Speaker 1: that you guys could be doing to sort of assist
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  Speaker 1: in this area.
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  Speaker 2: I'm working on it at the moment. Hope it'll have
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  Speaker 2: to be taken on notice well.
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  Speaker 1: Please do keep us in the loop as any progress
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  Speaker 1: is made, because I reckon that it's a really good
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  Speaker 1: idea what you've seen spoken about there if there is
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  Speaker 1: a way that we can connect our seniors to other
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  Speaker 1: people around the territory to help them out, and it
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  Speaker 1: is atrocious that we're in a situation where seniors aren't
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  Speaker 1: feeling safe to be able to go out and do things.
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  Speaker 1: Something has got to change.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Cozy. I really appreciate your support.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you. Thanks so much for making us aware
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  Speaker 1: of it as well, Sarah, we very much appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you.