Recently, there was another heartbreaking accident in Taipei City: a 39-year-old assistant professor at Ching-Yi University suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in a bathroom on the top floor of his residence, suspected to have been improperly installed as a result of a water heater. This incident has once again sounded the alarm and reminded us of the importance of home safety, especially for those who live alone.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, in 2023, Taiwan's elderly population over the age of 65 will exceed 4.18 million, with as many as 970,000 of them living alone. Among these elderly living alone, more than 40% of the homes have varying degrees of home safety risks, including old equipment, building structural problems, and facilities that do not meet the needs of the elderly.
The story of Uncle Wang, 72, epitomizes what happens to many elderly people who live alone. A carpenter before retiring, he now lives alone in a 40-year-old apartment building. "I can see all the problems in the house, but I'm not flexible enough to fix them," he says, pointing to a leaky roof. I can see all the problems in the house, but I can't fix them with my hands," he says, pointing to the water seepage on the roof. Wall cancer in the ceiling was getting worse, and the humidity was causing his asthma to flare up, but his limited pension prevented him from hiring a professional to do the repairs.
"If only I could have found out earlier..." Grandma Zhang, who lives in Taipei City, mumbles to herself as she stares at the hospital ceiling. Last month, she fell because of a loose tile in her bathroom, fracturing her hip. The accident not only brought about physical pain, but also brought to light the home safety concerns faced by elderly people living alone in Taiwan.
These seemingly minor problems at home can turn into major safety crises. According to the statistics of the Fire Services Department (FSD), in 2023, over 60% of the injuries and deaths of elderly people aged 65 or above caused by accidents at home are related to unsafe home environment, with falls, burns and carbon monoxide poisoning being the most common. Behind these figures, each case is a life story that needs our attention.
Taiwan has established a diversified social welfare support system to address the issue of home safety for the elderly living alone:
l Home Environment Improvement
l Life care services
l Health promotion activities
l Community Building Program
l Taipei City's "Supporting the Elderly in Taipei: A Hard and Soft Approach" Project
l New Taipei City's "Happy Age Housing Subsidy Program".
l Subsidies for home accessibility improvement by local governments
Problems such as cumbersome application procedures, limited amount of subsidy, long waiting time and insufficient manpower resources have rendered many elderly people who are genuinely in need of assistance unable to receive timely assistance.
Against this backdrop, Sunyu Charitable Foundation and Time Bank of Taiwan have joined hands to offer an innovative solution to the issue of elderly home safety with the "Love Maintenance Program".
This program, which began in 2017, pays special attention to vulnerable seniors in the Shuangbei and Yunga areas, providing immediate and professional home repair services. The program features:
l Safety inspection and replacement of water heaters and gas stoves
l Gas Line Inspection
l Anti-skid installation
l Infrastructure Maintenance
l Volunteers can accumulate hours of service.
l Hours can be used for future needs of self or family members
l Expanding community mutual help networks
Promoting intergenerational connectivity and understanding
Elderly persons aged 65 or above, low-income households, low- and middle-income households, disadvantaged and marginalized households, and so on.
Establishing a safe living environment for singleton elders
In the face of these potential home crises, the Love Maintenance Program is quietly guarding the safety of seniors in the community. Last winter, Grandma Lin, who lives in Sanchong, New Taipei City, discovered during a home visit that her water heater had safety concerns. "I live alone and I didn't even know that this water heater could be so dangerous," said her grandma. said Grandma Lin.
Volunteers from the Love to Repair program were called in and immediately went to check out the situation. "The water heater was installed in a poorly ventilated room and has been in use for more than 15 years, which is very dangerous," explained the volunteer. The volunteer explained. With Grandma Lin's permission, RepairAid helped her apply for a grant to not only replace the water heater, but also install it in a proper outdoor location to ensure good ventilation.
"Now I can take a bath without smelling anything strange," said Grandma Lin. Grandma Lin said happily. This case is a perfect example of how the Love Maintenance Program can prevent tragedies from happening in a timely manner through professional maintenance services. The program not only provides practical maintenance assistance, but more importantly, passes on the knowledge of home safety so that the elderly can live in a familiar environment with peace of mind.
These efforts may not be able to completely eliminate the occurrence of accidents, but through the caring network of the community and timely home safety maintenance, we are able to establish a safer living environment for the elderly living alone. Every repair service is a safeguard for life; every preventive inspection is a safeguard for peace of mind.
This program is not just a simple maintenance service, but also a preventive safety maintenance, a community care practice, a bridge for intergenerational mutual assistance, and a demonstration of social warmth.
Through the Love Maintenance Program, we can see how community power can make up for the inadequacy of government resources, and how professional maintenance services can be transformed into concrete caring actions. This is a concrete realization of the spirit of "helping others to help themselves" emphasized in social work.
We hope that through more of these innovative service programs, we will be able to weave a tighter social safety net, so that every elderly person can enjoy their twilight years in a safe and comfortable environment. If you or the elderly around you have any related needs, please feel free to contact Sunyu Academy, so that we can take action together to protect the safety of the elderly at home.
