According to Central Statistical Office data, as at the end of 2016, 30% of Łodź residents were sixty or older, of which 40 000 were above eighty. The study (Social situation of people 65+ headed by T. Kostka) emphasizes the problem of serious loneliness of seniors in Łódź. Three out of ten respondents did not have close relationships in any social circles (family, neighbours). These are vulnerable persons due to their state of health, low level of independence, financial standing, and hardship in life, exacerbated by the pandemic (report on loneliness, 2021. First year of the pandemic. produced by Szlachetna Paczka).
The project addresses the problem of vulnerable people aged 60+ (including people 65+ who are not independent, and in particular people 80+) due to age, poor health, and further lowering of spirits due to isolation and loneliness due to the pandemic.
In the project, we will conduct a series of activation workshops for people aged 60+ in three districts of the city (exercising memory and the mind, handicraft, cooking and healthy eating classes, sound therapy, and gymnastics with elements of yoga). In these groups, we will launch the volunteer activation scheme We Have Each Other! We will give training to the most active seniors as part of the Elderly Activation Scheme to conduct activation classes for people aged 65+ (in particular 80+), at their place of residence. With assistance from an activation coach, they will conduct classes for ten people aged 65-80+. We will provide all participants and interested carers of people aged 65-80+ with psychological support.
The project will socially reintegrate and activate a minimum of 42 people aged 60+ (including 65-80+) and build a sense of intrageneration community, and improve their standard of living with respect to community relations and their psychophysical functioning in general.