The Elderly Deserve Better

A photo of an elderly woman.

Ulrich Joho/Flickr

A black cloud of cruelty lingers in the air of Washington, D.C., from individuals who intentionally force the frailest to sleep on the streets. These individuals are absolutely heartless – and unfortunately those of us who live in D.C. are witnesses to one of the cruelest acts against humanity.

I remember when I was a little girl our neighborhood was a middle-class black community and every neighbor watched out for the other, and if a stranger happen to stroll through our neighborhood needing a helping hand, a phone call was made and the community came out and brought what they could to help the stranger get back on their feet. I was taught by my parents that the elderly always get top priority, and it didn’t matter who they were; they were just simply treated with the utmost respect.

We all have three things in common: We are all going to get old, we all need food and water for survival and we are all going to die, whether you’re warm-blooded or cold-blooded; we can all count on these things happening in our lives. It has been well-documented that it’s more costly to neglect and abuse people than to provide the necessary resources for survival.

When this country treats animals better than we treat people, we are definitely going in the wrong direction. To resolve decades of social injustices towards the elderly, disabled and the homeless we need to remember that ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away, but simply creates a space where it can grow.


Issues |Senior Citizens


Region |Washington DC

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