Families and communities must embrace a shift in mindset, prioritising the care and responsibility for their elderly, as adult children are knowingly abandoning their elderly parents, leaving them not only outside hospitals but also on the streets, in offices, and even outside elderly homes, a practice that urgently needs to stop.
Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran highlighted this in response to the concerns raised by business owners in Suva about an increase in the number of people, including the elderly frequently loitering or begging right outside their shops on Mark Street and Cumming Street in Suva.
Business owners say they have noticed that each month, a new elderly face is seen sitting in various corridors in Suva.
Kiran says the Ministry is working in collaboration with CSO partners, NGOs, faith-based organisations and business houses to address these issues.
She says that strategic consultations with relevant service providers have been conducted during various intervention phases, but the greatest challenge comes from families.
She stressed that for any rehabilitation work to begin, the child, youth, or elderly individual must be permanently removed from the streets and sheltered primarily with their families.
The Minister further says that facilities such as the Golden Age Homes, Street Dwellers Home (St. Vincent Home), and Kauwai Homes are at full capacity.
She says the Ministry recognizes that this is an issue that cannot be resolved by one Government Agency alone but needs to be addressed through a collaborative effort between Government Ministries, our faith-based organizations, and the Vanua or communities.
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