They want to reduce the cost of living and, above all, they don't want to be lonely. Senior women from Rybnik in Silesia moved in together as part of an innovative local government program. Until now, they had lived separately – they were doomed to live alone, they didn't even want to leave home. This has changed.
Mrs. Halina has the shortest internship – only a month. In the house she left to her grandchildren, she had emptiness as a companion. – How many tears have I shed here – she admits. – She was alone all the time and is a loner. (…) It's hard to adapt. She's also crawling, says Mrs. Maria.
Mrs. Maria and Mrs. Felicja made sure that the 82-year-old woman found her place in a new place. – “Hurry up” to the bathroom, it's worst when we wake up in the morning – says Mrs. Halina.
– Loneliness was probably the main reason why they were here. They call themselves sisters, that they are family – comments Katarzyna TorfiÅ„ska, social worker and project coordinator.
The first such experiment
The authorities of Rybnik decided to undertake an experiment that was innovative on a national scale. – They say that you should not replant old trees, and secondly, you should live properly with a stranger – comments Agnieszka SkupieÅ„, head of the Department of Culture and Promotion of the City Hall in Rybnik.
The 88-year-old, former teacher, cannot imagine life other than with a group of friends. – My neighbors took an interest in me because I was alone even when I was sick, and they helped me. I like company, I like to joke, because we still have so much left – says Mrs. Felicja.
The city provides an apartment. Tenants contribute to the rent, PLN 250 per month. – They have completely changed. I have a comparison of how they started functioning here, how they lived. They even changed physically. They take care of themselves, they take care of their appearance, they take care of each other – notes Katarzyna TorfiÅ„ska.
Every third person over 75 lives alone
– You know how unpleasant it is to be alone in a room. This is where, let's be honest, I found myself. Where else can I live a little differently – says Mrs. Maria.
In Poland, every third person over 75 years of age lives alone.
– We think that we have more important matters, but when an old mother, an old father, an old uncle dies, then we start to wonder how little we spent with these people – says Sister MaÅ‚gorzata Chmielewska from the “Houses of the Bread of Life Community Homes” Foundation. .
In Rybnik, more seniors will have a similar opportunity. – We are planning two more apartments. One is to be intended for men and the other for women, says Agnieszka SkupieÅ„. – It's much better than, for example, an old people's home – says Mrs. Maria.
Main photo source: TVN24