|
UU Faith Works Summer/Fall 2003 Administration
|
How Elder-Friendly Is Your Congregation?
Rev. Devorah Greenstein
Accessibility Program Associate, UUA
Boston, MA
Twelve percent of our members are 65 years old and older; more than half of these elders are at least 75 years old. Our eldest elders may need assistance to participate fully in UU activities. We UUs like to help others yet often find it hard to ask for help ourselves. UU societies have to be proactive in thinking of ways to help our eldest elders continue to be deeply incorporated in congregational life. Often, small changes make a big difference.
Over the next several months I will be sending out simple hints about ways to accommodate our eldest elders' needs. If you have one, please give me your email address, or give this page to a lay leader who has an interest in elder issues. Together, we can make a difference.
In general:
Do you ask elders how you can better accommodate their needs?
Do you offer your elders the gift of your patience?
Do you include elders on your boards and committees and make sure that they can get to meetings, hear what is being said, read notes and minutes, and sit comfortably, without having to ask for what they need?
For people with physical limitations:
Is your building accessible? Is your chancel accessible?
Are there some chairs with arms among the more usual folding or straight chairs?
Are existing doorways a bit too narrow for wheelchairs? (Have you heard of offset hinges?)
Is there seating available at coffee hour (not only at the far edges of the room)?
For people with vision loss:
Are there large print orders of service? Hymns? (Do you know how to create them?)
Would it help anyone in your congregation if the newsletter were audio taped?
Have you asked if large print copies of lyrics would help your choir members?
Are large print copies of minutes and agendas available for committee members?
For people with hearing loss:
Are there assistive listening devices available?
Are sermon copies available (for hard-of-hearing people) before the sermon is delivered?
Are there good acoustical environments for meetings and group events?
Are small quiet conversation areas available?
Do you know helpful strategies to communicate comfortably with a hard-of-hearing person?
For people with memory loss:
Do you encourage everyone to wear a name-tag (written clearly in large letters)?
In your social events, are you patient with a person who has cognitive problems?
Do you know how to communicate more effectively with a person who has a cognitive problem?
UU Faith Works Home | Summer/Autumn 2003
© Copyright 2003 Unitarian Universalist Association
[an error occurred while processing this directive] accesses to this page since December 18, 2003