{"id":2195,"date":"2010-01-27T11:47:07","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T15:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/2010\/01\/27\/an-interview-with-terenia-morrison-project-coordinator-with-age-concern-norfolk\/"},"modified":"2010-01-27T12:11:43","modified_gmt":"2010-01-27T16:11:43","slug":"an-interview-with-terenia-morrison-project-coordinator-with-age-concern-norfolk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/2010\/01\/an-interview-with-terenia-morrison-project-coordinator-with-age-concern-norfolk\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview with Terenia Morrison, Project Coordinator with Age Concern Norfolk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Over a cup of hot chocolate and a fruit scone, Terenia Morrison and I discussed the inner workings of Age Concern<\/a>, a charitable organization which provides services to the elderly of the whole of the United Kingdom. In speaking with her, I became immediately aware that Terenia, a project coordinator with Age Concern\u2019s Norfolk branch<\/a>, is passionate about her career, and well-aware of the challenges that elderly of the UK face on a day-to-day basis. She has noticed the elderly \u201care not treated well in this country\u201d and that \u201cour community spirit is not particularly good here,\u201d but believes that Age Concern is doing their part to improve the quality of life for elderly peoples throughout the UK.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Age Concern provides many different products, programs and services to the aged of the UK, including:\u00a0help with money matters<\/a>; insurance information<\/a>; assistance in obtaining energy subsidies<\/a>; bereavement services<\/a>; community development<\/a>; out-reach posts<\/a>; access to a care home database<\/a>; and much more. Terenia mentioned two additional programs which I found especially touching. These were the Pabulum and call centre programs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At call centres across the UK, like the one in Buckinghamshire<\/a> which opened in 2007,\u00a0volunteers ring participants once a week to chat and offer a fun quiz which keep the mind active and alert. Terenia stated, \u201cexperience tells us that old people want warmth, friendship, and nourishment,\u201d and that the loneliness the elderly so often feel \u201cis palpable.\u201d The call centre provides the friendship that so many aged people long for, and assuages the loneliness they might have felt otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pabulum<\/a> is a program designed specifically for those elderly who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Pabulum frequently hosts \u201ccaf\u00e9s,\u201d themed, 2- or 3-hour sessions run entirely by volunteers consisting of music, lunch, and \u201creminiscence based activities,\u201d according to the website. The closest Pabulum caf\u00e9 venue can be found in nearby Costessey.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Three of my own grandparents have passed away: I was witness to my own grandfather\u2019s gradual deterioration as a result of Alzheimer\u2019s, until he finally passed away in 2007; I watched my other grandfather pass away, also in 2007; I was lying on the bed next to my grandmother, holding her hand, as I watched her take her last breath, in 2005.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Talking with Terenia was a very emotional experience, but one that was also refreshing. It is comforting to know that there are good people and charitable organizations that provide services that are so close to my own heart and my own experiences. Terenia Morrison and her fellow volunteers working with Age Concern are truly special people. Dedicating their time and energy to \u201cimproving the lives and providing\u2026 dignity to the people of Norfolk,\u201d is a loving sacrifice which the most special people, and kindest hearts, are willing to make.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Over a cup of hot chocolate and a fruit scone, Terenia Morrison and I discussed the inner workings of Age Concern, a charitable organization which provides services to the elderly of the whole of the United Kingdom. In speaking with her, I became immediately aware that Terenia, a project coordinator with Age Concern\u2019s Norfolk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[736],"tags":[2035,2034,2036,2021],"class_list":["post-2195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anya","tag-age-concern","tag-elderly","tag-interview","tag-volunteering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}