Community Project Reflection

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Niepage, S. EL2014-0012 Community Project: Personal reflection COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY (SSCM411) - ASSIGNMENT 1 Lecturer: Veronica Fray Campus: East London Due Date: 10 March 2017 This reflection will discuss the community that my community group and I have chosen to work with this year - that being the elderly. This reflection will also look at my thoughts and feelings going into this community project and the challenges that I worry may appear. The very first day I went to Samaritan House was probably the first time I had ever been to Buffalo Flats. The state of the neighbourhood from what I could see was a community that has struggled, and from what I could see I saw some potential problems. However, it was only when we sat…show more content…
The first and only organisation we properly met with that Thursday was the organisation for the elderly. Mr Laban showed such interest but also such a need for the help for the elderly. This talk really stood out to me as he tried to visualise how isolated, ill and used the elderly were in the community. He spoke of how some of the elderly were isolated and financially abused (their families would only see them when they came to collect money); some are ill or frail; others were illiterate and could not sign their name, read documents or work with money. He spoke of some of the activities at the Samaritan House that they started for the elderly, such as knitting, exercise classes, literacy classes, and finally a soup kitchen on Wednesdays. He expressed how important it was for them to provide that nutritious meal to the members, but even monetary support is not enough of a resource to supply a healthy meal that suits the needs of the elderly, and even more so this does not help their expanding numbers in…show more content…
When the other community group chose the youth, I saw the opportunity for our group to help meet the needs of the elderly through our community project – and my other group members agreed. I feel like my/our group is really enthusiastic. Before going into the needs analysis we thought of ideas for workshops, but we also looked at recreating the garden or greenhouse. Danny and other members have shown such an interest and it could really be something sustainable that could benefit the elderly – it means being active, having new skills to take home, and healthy, nutritious produce for the soup
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