Fausto, 80: “Here’s how a home for the elderly can become a salvation”

Fausto is 80 years old: he became a widower a year and a half ago. As happens to many elderly people, the house in which he had lived for a long time with his wife has become a lacerating place of memories: built and furnished to measure, it reminded him every moment how happy he had been, and how much he felt only after the death of his life partner. “Loneliness made me suffer»He explains. “I didn’t eat well anymore.” As a study from the University of Calabria also confirms, the lack of adequate social support feeds the feeling of loneliness in the elderly, increasing the risk of developing a depressive disorder.

This is why Fausto made a very difficult decision: he moved to a structure for the elderly. But she didn’t choose one at random: she looked for one where he could continue to feel active and self-reliant. He went to live in the heart of Bergamo: there is a structure, Domitys Quarto Verde, which is the first in Italy completely designed for the active third age, for those who want to enjoy their retirement years by leading a peaceful and free lifestyle. , in safety and company.

There are apartments with all comforts and common areas for relaxing and socializing, such as lounge bar, restaurant, swimming pool, gym, hairdresser. There is also a calendar of cultural activitiesrecreational and sporting activities to promote “active aging”, and the staff is available every day, at all hours.

«The moments of solitude are still there», explains Fausto, «but it is my choice why the structure offers me the opportunity to be in company. Here are people who have had the same problems as me and who understand me, with them I can talk. I have made some new friends that I have met here, they are very helpful. With one, in particular, I go out for a walk in the morning. I love parlor games and card games ». To the elderly who no longer want to stay at home alone, he would recommend a structure like this, «because here they would find a suitable environment, very helpful and qualified personnel. The service is like that of a hotel and you don’t have to worry about cooking, cleaning, washing ».

Domitys Quarto Verde is a French project for active and self-sufficient seniors, or with a slight loss of autonomy. The structure is not medicalized (therefore it has nothing to do with nursing homes or nursing homes) and is based on the principle that by training body and mind, sociality, activity and safety, they can and should travel on the same track.

«Domitys Quarto Verde is a real home», Explains the director of the structure, Orietta Coppi,« but with all the services and comforts of a hotel. The apartments are equipped with functional kitchens, appropriately designed bathrooms, spacious bedrooms, balcony or terrace, a wide choice of TV channels and free Wi-Fi. Each resident has maximum independence and is free to receive guests, live with animals domestic, but also to personalize the apartment by choosing its own furniture ». But there are also common areas to encourage socialization. «Living in an apartment of this structure therefore meansi live in your own apartment, with your own furniture and your own lifestyle, but with the added possibility of taking advantage, when you want, of the spaces and services made available. Life is the same. Indeed, much better ».

This type of residence is already a consolidated reality abroad, but not in Italy. “The reasons are on the one hand of a cultural nature: we Italians are used to living in the houses where we grew up,” says Coppi. “On the other hand, alternatives are lacking. In Italy at the moment there are no structures like Domitys, dedicated exclusively to the active third age: the current structures are aimed at non self-sufficient users o users with mixed degree of self-sufficiency and only a minimal part to self-sufficient seniors. So the Italian seniors stay in their homes, even if old, without a lift, not suitable for the needs that arise with the passing of the years. Homes where seniors often live alone, away from their relatives. But yet, that of “Senior Serviced Residences” is already a very widespread model in the United States, but in recent years it has also begun to make its way into Europe. In France, the Domitys concept has shown that it is a functional model and best protects the over 80s, while remaining in their own home they are safe, surrounded by an active social life and are never alone ».

The next facility will open in Milan in 2024, but work is underway to bring the concept to the rest of Italy as well.

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