Mehrgenerationenhäuser (Multi-generational house) provides
support in daily activities for older people, crucially alongside other age
groups in Germany. This national scheme is popular with families, employers and
local public services as well as older people, because each benefits from the
mutual support they unlock, which is simple in itself, but which cumulatively
creates abundant value (Clare
& Jack, 2014). In order to encourage the use of volunteers and
empower the visitors, all these centres are only allowed to spend half of the
annual budget on salaries, additional funds of centers are commonly raised
through charging a nominal fee for workshops and selling food in the canteen,
as well as through local charities and sponsorship (Deutschland, 2013; Fox, 2014; Hindu, 2014;
Institut, 2015; Mark, 2014; Rebecca, 2010; Simon & Aline, 2007).
“Learning from one another, feeling needed, sharing joy” in public living rooms
have meanwhile come to be regarded as an important example of new concepts in a
modern welfare state, where conventional institutional help is combined with
mobilized civic engagement (Deutschland,
2013).
The next logical step up from multi-generational socializing
is inter-generational living – bringing nursing homes under the same roofs as
nurseries. Student-style housing blocks for pensioners are increasingly popular
in Germany, and some of them, like the Amaryllis Centre in Bonn (Amaryllis Centre
http://www.amaryllis-bonn.de/), actively try to keep a balance of young
families and the elderly. A recent report suggested co-habitation could reduce
the cost of care for the over-50s by 30-50% per head in Germany. Yet until now
such projects have been largely run as cooperatives, with no serious support
from the state.
Mission statement of multi-generational house is "we
live life". Their mission statement is the roof, which holds people
together as part of a great movement and under which each center, whether small
or large house can be found. There are some principles for workers and visitors
e.g. doors and rooms are open for everyone; learning occurs through observing,
participate and own acting; people are practice experts through their own
learning experiences; practice experts and professionals are equivalent and
meet at eye level; quality is measured in results, not in certificates or
formalities; formal hierarchies are largely avoided; everyone should get
involved; each visitor can bring something and we appreciate it; achievements
and contributions of others are recognized in many ways; and the exchange of
giving and receiving is possible at their own pace etc. All principles show
that they see the worth of everyone, respect different kinds of competence,
contribution, and encourage sharing, integration and communication. In view of
the reform of Hong Kong’s long term care system is an enormous and endless
discussion, discussing the possibility to adopt a kind of community-based
social service model, multi-generational house from Germany with the concepts
of “sharing economy” and “sustainable development” is never too late and essential. Attached a
video clip about multi-generational house from you-tube with Chinese subtitles for
your quick and easy reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoYgTTDjKgo
Reference
Amaryllis Centre http://www.amaryllis-bonn.de/
Clare, M., & Jack, H. (2014). The generation strain collective solutions to care in an aging society.
The condition of Britain. Britain: Institute for Public Policy Research.
Deutschland. (2013). Multi-generation
houses bring young and old together.
February 21, 2013. from
https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/life/society-integration/multi-generation-houses-bring-young-and-old-together
Fox, A. (2014). We
need to learn from Germany's experiments in shared care. The Guardian.
Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/03/learn-germany-experiments-shared-care
Hindu, T. (2014). Multigeneration
houses key to Germany’s ageing population plan. Retrieved from
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/multigeneration-houses-key-to-germanys-ageing-population-plan/article5975925.ece
Institut, G. (2015). Multigenerational
houses under one roof. Retrieved from
https://www.goethe.de/en/kul/mol/20537209.html
Mark, K. S. (2014). Mehrgenerationenhäuser
– multi-generational meeting houses – animation, care and pedagogy. Retrieved
from http://infed.org/mobi/mehrgenerationenhausen-multigenerational-meeting-houses-animation-care-pedagogy/
Rebecca, I. (2010). The
Multigenerational House Hell-Ga and its benefit for elderly people and
minorities. Retrieved from http://www.enargywebzine.eu/spip.php?article261
Simon, H., & Aline, L. (2007). Multigenerational house. Germany: European Appraoches to
Inter-Generational Lifelong Learning (EAGLE).
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