Name: Dora Bremond
Social Justice Group: The Rights of the Elderly
Date of Fieldwork: December 19, 2017
Name of Organization: City Meals on Wheels
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles:
Type of Fieldwork: Direct Action
What I did:
My mother, Liam, Ben and I went to the City Meals on Wheels office for the second time. City Meals on Wheels delivers packages to senior citizens who either can’t get out of their homes or don’t have the money to afford the food. We enjoyed it so much the first time because we felt that we were taking action and helping all the senior citizens in need of food. We started off our journey by taking the subway to the City Meals on Wheels office. Once we entered the building, we went into a conference room. We had met with the woman we knew from the time before, so she told us that we didn’t need an introduction to how delivering the packages works. The organizer gave us a few packages and a list of names, phone numbers, and addresses. We went from address to address delivering Christmas emergency packages which included things such as powdered milk and canned corn. Once we entered their homes, we talked to most of the elders. For example, there was one man who was blind, 101 years old and he had just lost his wife. We talked to him for a couple minutes and he stood there talking about his life and how his wife has recently passed away and how he was miserable alone. It was sad and yet interesting to hear his life story and his thoughts on his life. Most of the elders just took the package and left, and some of them didn’t show up at the door and their caretakers did instead. When we had delivered all packages, we made our way back to school.
What I learned:
One lesson I learned was that company is so important when you are alone and at home all day. Most of these elders only want somebody to love, somebody to be there for them. This is something that the younger part of the community can help out with by just one simple visit. So many of the elders were left all alone, with no one for them to care for. Imagine being all alone for the end of your life. This reminded me of Morrie in Tuesdays With Morrie and how he appreciated every moment he had with a loved one.
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
I learned that one of the most difficult parts of being an elder is isolation. I didn’t realize this until after I met many senior citizens who have been isolated alone in their homes and it made me wonder why this was happening and what our society needed to do to change things. It’s not so easy to be an elder, in fact, it’s really difficult. This trip taught me much more than just delivering packages, it taught me their feelings and that all anyone wants is love or attention.
