Changing Senior Trust
By Mary O’Keefe, Guest Columnist

Growing up in the 1970s, I knew trust was something shared between neighbors—and strangers. My neighbor, Flora, was a grandmotherly woman who welcomed the neighborhood children, many of whom she didn’t know well, into her home without concern for her safety. She would poke her head out of her back door and invite me in for a visit. Lemonade, cookies, and amusing stories always welcomed me.

Flora’s trust was welcomed years ago, but today it would be a major concern. Although it’s nice to reminisce about Flora and her kindness to all people, I shudder at the thought of my own mother—now seventy-five years old—inviting strangers into her home.

The change in our customs concerning strangers has happened gradually over the last 30 years. If this adjustment is hard on those of my generation, consider the magnitude of difficulty it must present for our seniors. Theirs is a generation raised on trust.

I remember the blizzard of ’78, when my mother invited a stranger into our home. His car was stuck in the snow and he was stranded miles from his home. My mother trusted that no harm would come from this stranger. He was just someone who needed help. But, things aren’t quite as simple these days. Perhaps it’s because people aren’t raised as strictly as they once were or maybe that the sheer number of people in today’s society has grown steadily…there are as many potential reasons as there are arguments about the morality of our culture. The reality is that we need to be more suspicious of strangers today than we were several decades ago. And seniors, who remember more trusting days, need to be particularly aware of potential dangers.

With summer surrendering to fall, there’s no better time to reinforce the necessary precautions needed to keep our seniors safe at home. Shorter days mean longer nights and the loss of comforting daylight. Colder weather means more time spent inside during which seniors may be tempted to open their doors to strangers. It’s a time when the endearing trust of yesteryear can suddenly be a dangerous liability for seniors.

To limit the possible dangers posed by strangers, seniors should consider the following tips:

• With Halloween approaching, seniors should not feel pressured to participate in the holiday’s festivities. It’s not always safe to answer the door, especially at night. If seniors choose to stay home and hand out goodies, they should enlist the help of a young adult (a grandchild perhaps) who will open the door with the elder.

• Make sure that the entrance area of the home is well lit. This will allow for a clear view of visitors at night.

• Keep doors locked at all times.

• If a senior is expecting a repairman—or anyone that they do not know—they should invite someone to stay with them while this person is in the home.

• Seniors, or their adult children, should ask a trusted neighbor to look out for the senior. The trusted neighbors should be told of the senior’s comings and goings, as well as any visitors the senior is expecting.

• Anyone that comes to a senior’s door should be asked for identification. All city employees have photo ID badges (as do MVES employees). If the visitor claims not to have an ID, the senior should keep the door closed and call the organization from which the visitor was dispatched to verify that the employee has a reason to be at the senior’s home.

• Peepholes and deadbolts are two additional safety precautions that all seniors should have installed for added security.

My childhood neighbor Flora would have a tough time adapting to today’s need for heightened vigilance and more carefully placed trust. However, I know that by taking a few precautions she would be safe and happy in her home. Flora, like seniors today, was generous and wise.