Many people aged 50 years old and over make the decision to live on their own instead of living with their family or in special facilities, which leads to risks with health and social isolation. The main reasons for this are that they do not want to be a burden for their relatives and that it is more convinient for them to follow their own routine. The most viable measures to support the elderly people who live independently are to provide financial benefits and to create social welfare programms.
A lot of elderly people do not want to hinder their relatives to live a full life. That is to say that senior citizens need specific care connected with their health problems, such as taking pills on time or visiting hospital often. This requires a lot of time and attention from the members of the family, and because of that they might have issues with their free time. Moreover, if a person lives alone, he will do what he wants at any time, as his daily routine do not depend on other people. For example, elderly people prefer to wake up early, while their relatives may sleep untill afternoon. This creates inconviniences, because they cannot do their tasks, as there is a risk to wake the family .
To support elderly who live alone the government can provide finincial aid to relieve the load. With this help old people will be able to buy all the necessary medicaments and order groceries instead of going to the supermarker, which will make their lives easier. Also, creating social welfare programms is a good opportunity to ensure than they live in good conditions. For instance, in Russia there is a programm, which supports elderly people by often visits from the volunteers. They buy food, help with the household chores and communicate with the participants, which reduces the sense of social isolation.
In conclusion, elderly people chose to live individually because they do not want to be a burden for their relatives and because it is comfortable to not depend on someone else, and finicial benefits and welfare programms can support independent living and ensure their well-being.
