INDIA: Elderline, therapists lend senior citizens a helping hand

MUMBAI, Maharashtra (The Times of India), August 20, 2008: By Nitasha Natu, Times News Network Nityanand Singh has an eye ailment but is unable to go to the opthalmologist by himself. The 70-year old Andheri resident needs help even to step out of his building. For the past month, Help Age India has been working with the Mumbai Police to make a difference to the lives of elderly citizens like Singh. A representative from the NGO has been fielding phone calls at the police's Elderline cell. He then makes arrangements for his teammates to personally visit a senior citizen in distress and take him to the doctor, if necessary. The police have also arranged for a clinical psychologist to counsel senior citizens on the phone once a week. "Elderline (1090) has been functioning for over two years now. Senior citizens, who live alone, face a number of issues. While we can work for their security, the police force is not equipped to deal with psychological problems suffered by them,'' said DCP Sanjay Mohite. "The Help Age India project commenced on July 14. We decided to rope in a clinical psychologist once every week, so that she could counsel senior citizens.'' For Arun Sonawane, the NGO's representative, a typical day starts with phone calls from senior citizens suffering from medical problems like joint-pain or blood pressure. "We co-ordinate with our office and a team member is sent to the caller's house. An appointment is made with his doctor and he is escorted to the clinic and back,'' Sonawane said. "Our teammates have also accompanied elderly citizens for an evening walk.'' Some of the callers phone back twice or thrice and know the policemen and NGO representatives by name. "There's a 60-year-old lady from Goregaon (E), who has been complaining about eve-teasing in her neighbourhood. Then there's a Santa Cruz resident who has requested for an increase in patrolling in his area, as society residents harass him often,'' a police officer said. Most of the callers are lonely and want someone to talk to and listen to their problems . The psychologist at Elderline has also been helping out senior citizens with contact numbers of lawyers and insurance advisors. "We want the maximum number of senior citizens to benefit from the project. They can also register with us online or fill up a form that is available with the local police station,'' Mohite added. Since its inception, the Elderline has received 53,523 phone calls. As many as 3,873 senior citizens are registered with them. Copyright © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.