The needs assessment phase of the national pilot program is completed, currently the assessment and aggregation of nearly 25 000 questionnaires is in progress. ’More and more local governments are ready to connect to the pilot program to assist the elderly’ said Dr. Jeneiné Rubovszky Csilla, the ministerial commissioner for elderly affairs on the press conference held in the Senior living club of Király Club, on Friday.

Visits by the Ministry of Interior have shown that the national pilot has a significant impact on the national crime prevention, as in Jászberény the pilot have already saved lives – stressed the ministerial commissioner on the press conference. The survey reveals that elderly people request help mostly in alleviating loneliness as 68% of the questionnaire respondents need common conversations, 51% require reading-out and 34% accompaniment service to the doctor.

Dr. Jeneiné Rubovszky Csilla, the ministerial commissioner for elderly affairs said that according to the primary review of the questionnaires compared to prior expectations the need for supplementary services is one and a half times bigger. The ’Helping Hands’ programme is dedicated to problems due to age and health status of people above 80, especially to alleviate loneliness. The aim is to maintain independent living of elderly people in their homes as long as possible. The pilot project was launched in four cities, it became very popular, nowadays 125 local governments started to implement the programme.

The Helping Hands programme is an integral part of Erzsébet Plan Development Project ’Renewing types of social care’ pillar, the essential part of which is to broaden forms of social service, launching and operating alternative types of social services. Task of caring governments is to give adequate answers to this social challenge. Rate of people above age 80 has doubled in the past decade and according to demographic projections a similar trend is expected in the forthcoming 5 years. Public workers, voluntary workers and public service workers are involved in the pilot project.

(Ministry of Human Resources)