The town of Huanghua, in Changsha county, Hunan province is trying out a new type of care for its senior residents with centers in every village to give the elderly services in their own neighborhood, taking care of their daily lives, health, and recreation.

Huanghua has more than 10,000 people above the age of 60 so it is impossible to find a place for them in homes for the elderly and, in any case, many senior citizens still hold the old view that living in a nursing home is shameful, and refuse to go to a care center even if they feel lonely and have no one to take care of them, according to the director the Elderly Care Center in Huanghua.

The director went on to say that he and his team built the first home-based elderly care center in the village of Gao’an, back in July, and explained, “We were hoping to build a nursing home without walls so the senior residents who don’t want to stay in a nursing home long-term can come and go as they please. It’s more like the day-care center that nursery schools have.”

Resident of a care center in Changsha county, Hunan province [Photo by Kang Zihong/csxnew.com]

The new service center uses an old school and has with card rooms, reading rooms and places to rest and is becoming more popular among the elderly people nearby, with one elderly gentleman from the neighborhood, named Wang noting, “It’s a lively place and I have fun here. I come every day. What a great idea.”

The center also asks volunteers from nearby villages to provide door-to-door services, such as chatting with the elderly and cleaning their houses, with their services recorded in a “Service Bank” so they can get similar treatment in the future.

All the services the senior residents get are free of charge and according to the director, “Services for the elderly should meet their needs both materially and emotionally, so we’re still in the process of exploring and developing.”