When you’re used to seeing the same thing repeatedly, you can’t tell that something is absent unless someone else points it out. I used to buy so many magazines in my early teens and twenties and never actually realised that there was no more mature female representation in the advertisements until I read an article about the subject I’ve never forgotten.
The article’s author was a middle-aged woman, and I remember her speaking about how older people become “invisible” in society. She spoke a lot about fertility and desirability, but it was her line about how the elderly are considered to be burdensome by the Western world because they can no longer “contribute to the economy” that stuck with me.
When I read this some two decades ago, our elders were still respected and cared for in Maltese society, so I didn’t think this applied in a local context. However, the latest YMCA statistics have me thinking that even this is changing.
According to reports, a record number of elderly people are ending up homeless. In fact, the number of Maltese citizens aged over 60 seeking help has doubled in two years. The CEO of YMCA, Anthony Camilleri, stated that one reason for the growing number is that “pensions are not enough versus the cost of living.” However, he also cited the now limited spaces in care homes as another cause for the steep rise in individuals who have no roof over their heads.
The reality is that the elder members of our society have never been as vulnerable as they are now. With shrinking families and more and more men and women working longer hours, fewer are available to check in with their older relatives consistently and regularly. Some of the older generation have even reported going days and sometimes weeks without speaking to anyone. Loneliness has sadly become synonymous with age for many.
As usual, our authorities are ignoring the writing on the wall and not planning ahead or coming up with a national strategy to help address homelessness or cater to an ageing population in a country that has changed a lot in the last twenty years. This means we must keep bringing up these issues and putting pressure on those in power to make the “invisible” in our society more visible.
Ageing should bring with it new opportunities and strengths. It’s up to us to ensure that no one is left behind.
