Üsküdar Üniversitesi and Üsküdar District Governorship will implement the “Araman Yeter” project, aiming to build a bridge between individuals over 65 and university students. The project aims to provide psychosocial support to 500 elderly people living alone in Üsküdar by 25 young volunteers. The protocol signing ceremony for the project was held online. Stating that they have implemented a project that is like medicine during the Covid period, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, said that there would be no discrimination based on gender, race, or age. Emphasizing that the experiences of elderly individuals are very beneficial for the younger generation, Tarhan said, “Due to the nuclear family system, we were deprived of these relationships, and elderly people became lonely. The transfer of experience and culture to children was also negatively affected.”
The “Araman Yeter” project will be implemented in cooperation with Üsküdar Üniversitesi and Üsküdar District Governorship. The protocol signing ceremony for the project, which aims for 25 young volunteers to provide psychosocial support to 500 elderly individuals, was held online within the scope of pandemic measures.
Dr. Nebiye Yaşar: “In our country, one elderly person lives in one out of every 4 households”
Dr. Nebiye Yaşar, Director of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Young Brains Academy Application and Research Center, stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) defines individuals over 65 as elderly, and according to TUIK data and data on the website of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, the proportion of the population aged over 65 in Turkey has been increasing year by year. Dr. Nebiye Yaşar said, “Currently, we see that the elderly population has increased by 21.9% in the last 5 years. According to the latest data, the global elderly population has doubled. 62.8% of our elderly population is in the 65-74 age group. While the proportion of the elderly population is increasing in our country, the share of the child and youth population is decreasing. This situation has caused a change in the age structure of Turkey’s population. Approximately one elderly person lives in one out of every 4 households in our country. Approximately one out of every 5 elderly people lives alone.”
Dr. Nebiye Yaşar: “We must bring young people and the elderly together”
Stating that there were 1 million 79 thousand 96 elderly people in Istanbul according to 2019 TUIK data, and nearly 56 thousand in Üsküdar according to district governorship data, Dr. Nebiye Yaşar said that one of the target groups in the “Araman Yeter” Project is elderly people over 65, and the second target group is young people studying in the Social Services Department. Dr. Nebiye Yaşar pointed out the importance of interaction between generations in the socialization process and said, “The elderly are our values, and our values are our cultural assets. We must bring young people together with the elderly and establish effective relationships. We aim for this with this project.”
Dr. Ayhan Özşahin: “Psychosocial support will be provided to the elderly in Üsküdar”
Dr. Ayhan Özşahin, Faculty Member of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine and Coordinator of the Araman Yeter Project, stated in his presentation on the project that perhaps the foremost of the disadvantages brought by modern society is the danger of loneliness, especially for the elderly; “The elderly are the source of society’s wisdom. They are the carriers of experiences accumulated by humanity throughout history. Our youth, on the other hand, are growing up with the dynamics of a consumer society and socializing among themselves with digital technology. In our project, in cooperation with Üsküdar District Governorship and Üsküdar Üniversitesi, it is aimed to provide psychosocial support to individuals over 65 living alone in the Üsküdar district by young volunteers.”
Dr. Ayhan Özşahin: “25 young people will support 500 elderly individuals”
Stating that the project aims to provide remote psychosocial support to 500 individuals over 65 living alone in Üsküdar, Dr. Ayhan Özşahin said, “It is aimed to give 25 young people the experience of participating in social life by volunteering and to bring a new social service model to social work.” Özşahin noted that the students to take part in the project would be identified and given orientation training, and individuals over 65 would be determined by analyzing the records of the Vefa Social Support Services provided in the Üsküdar district.
Dr. Ayhan Özşahin: “Psychosocial support experiences will be published as an innovative service model”
Ayhan Özşahin provided the following information regarding the project details: “Selected individuals over 65 will be called once a week by the same student for a period of 8 weeks. During phone calls, short conversations will be held with elderly individuals, and their needs, if any, will be recorded and forwarded to the relevant units. After the calls are completed, young people and elderly individuals will be introduced in accordance with suitable conditions, and both groups' ideas and suggestions about the application will be taken. The results will be reported. The compiled data will be evaluated as a scientific publication. The experiences of the Vefa Social Support Service provided in the Üsküdar district during the pandemic will be analyzed and published as a service model that can be used in other disasters. Experiences gained during psychosocial support will be published as an innovative service model to be used in non-disaster periods as well.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış: “Araman Yeter Project is a good step”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış, Head of Social Work Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Üsküdar Üniversitesi, stated that the service currently being provided to senior citizens in Turkey within the scope of Vefa Support Services, by including the university with “Araman Yeter,” is a very good step taken to move it to a better point. Stating that the elderly are facing the problem of loneliness today, Barış said, “At the point of realizing this, our psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other relevant academics and the state should work hand in hand. In this sense, the Araman Yeter Project will truly emerge as a very remarkable project. Essentially, this project appears to be a two-way communication and support project when viewed in terms of the enthusiasm and dynamism of youth and the experiences of our senior citizens. Our young people will combine their enthusiasm and dynamism with the experiences of our elderly. Through this project, our young people will emphasize the participation of society and the need for voluntary support. They will achieve this. They will bring together societal resources and societal needs.”
Üsküdar District Governor Murat Sefa Demiryürek: “Social deprivation is much more painful”
Üsküdar District Governor Murat Sefa Demiryürek evaluated the Araman Yeter Project as a model project. Demiryürek noted that there are approximately 56 thousand elderly people in Üsküdar and emphasized that one of the biggest problems faced by the elderly is loneliness, stating, “Last year, our President, as a gesture, sent cologne, masks, and a letter to all citizens over 65 in Turkey. On that occasion, we knocked on all their doors and said hello, but in fact, it was a group we were very close to within the scope of the Vefa Social Support Group’s activities. We realize that you can find solutions for material deprivation; foundations, various organizations working for this purpose, can intervene in material deprivation within the framework of the resources available to the state. But social deprivation appears as a much more distressing, heartbreaking issue. When you look at an individual, they may have material income, a house, a residence, and may not have any needs. However, they may not have anyone to care for them, to empathize with their troubles, to listen to their current health problems during dinner, or to hear about how long their back has been hurting, or how much this weather benefits or harms them. I think it is possible to see that loneliness, which appears as a very serious problem here, hurts and upsets people more in old age.”
Murat Sefa Demiryürek stated that he believes the work of the Vefa Social Support Group is not just about material aspects, and that giving a voice to people at their door, greeting them, is also a kind of help. He added, “The fact that we will be able to do this with Üsküdar Üniversitesi and our young friends from now on excites us even more. I believe it will be a project with high morale and spiritual value.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Our Üsküdar District Governorship has been able to keep emotional distance close”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that it is very valuable for the Üsküdar District Governorship, which is in a sense the hand of the state, to reach out to elderly individuals. He said, “Physical distance was applied, but we had said that emotional distance should not be kept far. Our Üsküdar District Governorship has been able to win the hearts of elderly individuals, keep emotional distance close, and touch their hearts by calling them. This was an issue we always recommended during the pandemic period to prevent post-pandemic psychiatric illnesses.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “There is no discrimination based on gender, race, or age”
Tarhan stated that the decision to isolate individuals over 65 at the beginning of the pandemic measures worried him greatly, saying, “Because people of that age are not a group that sits aside and watches what is happening from outside, in need of protection. They are people who should benefit from priorities, whose opinions should be consulted and asked. When told not to leave home, to be sick, and treated like children, people of that age get tremendously distressed. They become very uncomfortable, and discrimination occurs.” Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that Prof. Dr. Norman Moore, who continues his work in the USA, has a chair at East Tennessee State University despite his advanced age, works actively, and has done very beneficial work, saying, “He said there was no discrimination in three areas in universities in his country. The first was gender discrimination. He stated that if a person can work and produce, there is no discrimination based on being a woman or a man. The second was race discrimination. The third was age discrimination. He said that if a person works and produces, they can work regardless of age. Later, I researched types of discrimination. There is a sub-heading called age discrimination.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “We had patients who used antidepressants for the first time at age 70”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that Üsküdar District Governorship had taken very good steps regarding overcoming the issue of elderly individuals staying at home for 24 hours during the first isolation period, saying, “One of our specialists at our hospital mentioned a patient who used antidepressants for the first time at age 70. This situation occurred because they could not leave home. Rheumatism pains started due to inability to move in old age, and individuals whose Alzheimer's worsened were encountered. Their Alzheimer's condition, already present, got worse when they couldn't leave home. That's why the second restriction period was not done like the first; they were allowed out during the day. As a result, people of this age are happy if they are in social life. Leaving them somewhere like an ornament definitely causes harm. Having children and grandchildren around them, running around, is like medicine for them. Having their doors knocked on and their well-being inquired about is more valuable to them than bread and cheese.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “The nuclear family system caused loneliness”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that the most important pillar of science is observation, saying, “There is an example of a wolf pack created from an observation. At the very front of the pack are three old and experienced wolves. The old wolves sense where danger might come from with their experience. They can find the safe area better. The young wolves follow behind them. Every wolf pack has a leader wolf. He walks at the very back. He controls the entire pack and gathers any who fall behind. There is such a culture. Here, the needs of elderly individuals are to have their opinions asked. For example, children also need people to ask questions to learn and develop. That's why grandparents and grandchildren get along very well. Due to the nuclear family system, we were deprived of these relationships, and elderly people became lonely. The transfer of experience and culture to children was also negatively affected. Cultures are not transmitted through books, but through experiences and stories. If a child has lived beautiful stories with their father, family, and grandfather, cultural transmission occurs through these stories. In families where there are no stories, no narratives, no shared common experiences, there is no cultural transmission. The relationships formed for cultural transmission are very important at every age layer.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Our family insurance protected the elderly”
“We are an interesting society, we feel like a nuclear family,” said Tarhan. “A sociologist, while examining an apartment building, saw that all families were nuclear families, but all were also relatives. They gather on weekends or evenings. He told them they were a confederation of nuclear families. We are neither extended nor nuclear families, in fact. We had a family insurance that protected elderly people very well. They felt that they existed in social life. It is very important to strive not to disrupt this within social service activities. This happens with awareness. Young people are not very aware of this.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “A ‘medicine-like’ project during the Covid period”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that bringing young people and the elderly together is a very good idea. “The Araman Yeter Project has actually become like an internship for our students. They will earn a credit. A win-win relationship for elderly individuals and our students seems consistent with the project's logic. It is also truly a 'medicine-like' project for the Covid period. Finally, there will be a report. Findings will be obtained regarding how elderly individuals will be affected by this project and what benefits will be gained. We will also see what young people have learned as life experience,” he said.
Following the opening speeches, the Üsküdar District Governorship and Üsküdar Üniversitesi Signing Ceremony was held.