Learning Activity

Recognizing Ageism and Implementing Social Justice at the Mesolevel

Many older people are stereotyped as frail, weak, or useless and are often avoided by younger people, including students in the helping professions (Stone and McMinn, 2012). This can leave elderly people feeling invisible. Many elderly people may not have family living close, and may have already lost their spouse and many of their friends, increasing their sense of abandonment and loneliness.

Core Competency 15 of the CIC model describes social justice at the mesolevel. It includes working as an advocate with, or on behalf of, your client, promoting community engagement, family counselling, and organizational policy change. In line with this competency, there are some studies which discuss the benefits of intergenerational living, or programing that show positive benefits for everyone involved. Advocating on elderly clients' behalf so that they have access to intergenerational opportunities can increase their quality of life and help elderly people feel a part of the community.

Watch the short video about the benefits of having a preschool or daycare centre within a nursing home environment.

© PBS Newshour (May 10, 2016)

After you have watched the video, reflect on the following prompts:

1. What are the benefits to both the elderly adults in the home and the children?
2. If you had an elderly client who has been feeling lonely, for which types of social justice could you advocate?
3. How could intergenerational living or opportunities affect society in the long term? This type of situation reminds me of the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It sparks my interest as to how creating more intergenerational environments can benefit all members of society. By increasing exposure to people of different ages, we may be able to decrease biases held by the young and the old.

For further reading if you’re interested, I encourage you to review the following study, as well as a lecture on social justice for older adults:

Alcock, C. L., Camic, P. M., Barker, C., Haridi, C., & Raven, R. (2011). Intergenerational practice in the community: A focused ethnographic evaluation. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 21, 419-432. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/casp.1084 [1]

Video lecture:

© Boston College School of Social Work (October 3, 2013)

Stone, T., & McMinn, B. (2012). What's in a word? Ageism: "The bias against older people by the (temporarily) young?". Nursing & Health Sciences, 14, 433-434. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12019 [2]