Young Chinese in Nursing Homes? Is This a Trend?

Nursing homes. Easily some of the most lonely places in the world. Buildings in remote suburbs that host countless old people who were separated from their family’s daily lives. These people are lonely and helpless. When I first came here, I was looking for a companion to speak with and as it turns out, despite having a lot of children and grandchildren, many of the residents I met still feel incredibly lonely.

Sure, nursing homes offer a lot of recreational activities to keep their residents active and have nurses working around the clock to help take care of them, but none of that helps fill the void that has taken hold of many old people’s lives in such establishments. In other words, “this is a boring atmosphere full of old people."

But despite our own knowledge of the industry, some nursing homes come with unexpected surprises. I recently visited a nursing home called ‘Sunshine’ in the Binjiang district of Hangzhou where I was greeted by a group of high-spirited youngsters. "Good morning!” they shouted, shocking some of the old people nearby.

Wait a minute… Young people living in nursing homes? There are a feeling of unease going around the old residents at the Sunshine Nursing Home. What's more, these young volunteers go out to work by carrying their bags every morning, and spend time with them when they’re back home. "I didn't understand how the machine at the gym worked before, but now I have someone teaching me how to use it with patience,” an 80-year-old woman said.

"I've been meaning to play table tennis for a while, and now I have a young companion to play with,” another 70-year-old man said.

Gradually, their daily life became filled with laughter and a plenitude of cheerful conversations. Though some of these young people will soon leave, there are always newcomers. But the relationship that these individuals of all ages build does not break.

Residents of the Sunshine Nursing Home eventually found out that the young volunteers were all born in the 1990s. Economic capacity is not enough to cover Hangzhou's high housing prices. In response, the Sunshine nursing home recently launched a project named 'Companionship is the longest confession’ to provide rental services for a dozen young people who in return are required to do voluntary work for elderly residents.

Those who are approved to live in the nursing home pay RMB 300 and must complete at least 20 hours of voluntary work every month to rent a room, each of which comes with its own small balcony.

The young who selected by the nursing home, can rent a room with a french window and small balconies. Their tasks are to spend more than 20 hours a month in volunteering service.

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, doesn’t it? You can live in a fairly nice place in a big city, and all you have to do is spend an hour of your day with an old person.

But to be honest, there are moments when you’ll be matched up with someone whose views and thoughts differ entirely from yours, which can make that hour feel like a lot more. How would you cope with that? How patient would you truly be when facing such a companion?

On the first floor of the Sunshine Nursing Home, volunteer Mr. Li is teaching a 70-year-old woman how to use an iPad in the computer room and, more specifically, how to work the video chat function. I often heard him say "No problem, Grandma Wang. Let's do it again." After repeated and patient demonstrations, Grandma Wang finally remembered the steps. "You can now see your son far away in Beijing. We must try it tonight."

On the second floor, Mrs.Fan was teaching elderly residents how to paint in the nursing home’s painting room. They have poor eyesight and their painting pace is very slow, but they stared at the brush in the teacher's hand and studied her movements carefully before lowering their heads and trying it themselves, eventually turning them own paintings into masterpieces. It felt like a journey back to our younger classroom days.

Volunteers will also teach the elderly drawing techniques. Yang, one of the volunteers who is very good at calligraphy, soon earned the nickname 'Master Yang' coined by dozens of elderly residents out of respect for his expertise and patience.

Master Yang starts his class every Saturday at 2:30 p.m and ends it at 4 p.m. During the class, you will see him walk around to teach each student the proper handwriting process and encourage them to write well. "Grandma Zhang is doing really well today!” he announced proudly. Whenever a student is spotted writing with difficulty, Master Yang will gently correct. "Grandma Li, you are on the middle line of the Mickey grid."

After class, Master Yang will arrange homework for them - to write a series of words that they learned from class. Several elderly residents asked. "How many pieces should we draw after class?" They tend to forget easily but are always serious about their homework. "I feel happy to have something to do,” one of the residents said.

Maybe a lot of the young people who rent a room at the Sunshine Nursing Home do it only so they can take advantage of the low rent. But for many volunteers who insist on doing it, the process of getting along impressed them and helps cultivate a warm friendship.

A girl named Wang Jie from Xiaoshan, another district in Hangzhou, often goes to the public activity room and accompanies older residents every day after work. Thanks to her solid skills as a ping pong player, she’s been able to get along well with a lot of the residents. The part-time photographer also captured some good in-action photos for them and helped them send these photos to their children. “They will also affect me if they are happy,” she said. When the new round of volunteer recruitment began, she applied to stay because "we want to continue to accompany the elderly before I get married."

Another girl named Cai Jingru moved from Nanjing to Hangzhou for work reasons and because her grandma had also died at that time, so she felt alone and had to deal with the pain of losing her family. After passing a multi-selection process, she was approved to stay at the Sunshine Nursing Home. She felt that she will continue to have a valuable family relationship with these old people who always treat her like their own granddaughter.

It seems that young people are accompanying the elderly when in reality, the elderly also bring warmth and comfort to those volunteers and teach them a valuable life lesson - everyone gets old, so we should appreciate the time we have with the people we have while we still can.

Back in Seattle in the United States, a similar concept known as the "intergenerational exchange center” has emerged which combines nursing homes with kindergartens. You can expect to see two very different scenes. When an old man dies and a funeral is held in his memory, the children are busy celebrating their graduation ceremony.

Put it differently, when one life ends, other young ones are in the process of flourishing. The purpose of this Intergenerational Activity Center is to allow two generations to interact and create warm, heartwarming relationships.

Children will play and have lunch with the elderly. They become close family members despite not being related in any way other than by the time they spend together.

Once they get along, these children come out of this center with a valuable understanding that is often hard to come across for adults: “Old and lonely residents enjoy the company of these young children who bring joy and fulfillment until their very last breath.” "I know how hard it is to touch my heart, but now I have tears in my eyes,” Grandpa Smith said

We should really pay more attention to their mental health and not let them feel like they have become a marginalized person whose remaining life purpose is to end their days alone in a nursing home.

What's more, in China, with a population of 300 million, the more realistic

With an elderly population of 300 million in China, the more realistic problem is that not everyone has the ability to live in increasingly expensive nursing homes. These empty-nested elderly people, stuck in their homes, read newspapers and listen to radio every day, but may still be looking forward to a phone call from a distant relative.

Interestingly, old residents are very similar to children - the older they get, the more sensitive and vulnerable they become. They’re consumed by loneliness. The Hangzhou Binjiang nursing home serves as a very good example of initiatives we should be launching in more places around the country - and the world - to help older generations cope with the fact that they can no longer enjoy the presence of their relatives as often as they used to which can negatively impact their psychological state.

Low rent may be a strong reason that attracts young people here, but it’s the love and affection felt with genuinely nice and wise people that keeps them coming back. 

I’m willing to bet that anyone reading this article will feel a sense of respect towards those young volunteers - it’d be hard not to. They dedicate time and patience to help these old residents feel loved and cared for again by taking them out for a walk, playing with them or simply listening to their stories.

Put yourself in the shoes of these old residents. Remember that we all grow old and that you, too, will appreciate such genuine company. So why not give them a helping hand before you find yourself on the receiving end? 

Source: Insdaily

Supervisor: Crystal Huang

Editor: SC

Co-Editor: Ed Bellin

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