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UK:
Elderly in deprived areas 'at risk'
By Dr Thomas Scharf BBC News, July 16, 2003
Seven
out of 10 older people in deprived areas are victims of social
exclusion, a new study claims. The research,
published on Wednesday, was carried out for the Economic and Social
Research Council and looked at some of the most deprived areas of
Liverpool, Manchester and Newham, east London. It also found that 45%
of the elderly in the areas were living in poverty. And just 7% felt safe
leaving their homes at night. The report defines
social exclusion as the elderly missing out on material needs, social
relations, civic activities or basic services. It found that just three out of ten people in deprived areas
did not suffer from any form of social exclusion. A further 30% are vulnerable to exclusion, with the remaining
40% being victims of "multiple exclusions". For people in the latter category, this might mean going
without basic necessities of life such as heating, new clothing, food
and holidays, and being less involved in community life. People are vulnerable to exclusion regardless of age or sex,
but it is more of a problem for some ethnic minority groups -
particularly Somali and Pakistani older people, the report says. Ethnic minorities The study drew on the results of a national survey which
highlighted a range of items and activities regarded by 50% or more of
people as necessities of daily living. People lacking two or more items because they could not afford
them were judged to be in poverty. On that basis, 45% of those surveyed for were in that
category. Some older people lacked and could not afford a substantial
number of necessities. Around 75% of
Somali pensioners and two-thirds of older Pakistani people were in
poverty. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
Many
elderly people live in fear.