Everyone has various emotional needs, and this includes elders. Many are the same, some are unique to older people.
In addition to issues of lonliness and isolation, one can expect health related concerns, including fears of dementia. caring for a spouse or oneself. Also there may be difficulty getting out and meeting or making friends, so the following are some suggestions that can be used in Tokyo and surroundings if you or a loved one is in need of some tender loving care.
You can also use the info here for help outside of this geographical area.
Basically, the services at The services
available at local comprehensive care support centers overlap.
In Japanese:
Chiiki Houkatsu Shien Center
地域包括支援センター
But the best place to start MAY be the services for seniors that they offer.
As an example, the website of the Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health has a confusing array of pages listed under KOUREI
(seniors),SHOGAI(handicapped), etc. Wading through them even in
Japanese is a chore. But for Tokyo, for example, one of the easiest
to navigate, even for a person with limited Japanese ability, is the
seniors page:
http://www.fukushihoken.metro.tokyo.jp/kourei/sodan/z_shien/index.html
There is a list of centers organized by KU (ward) and city (outside of
the 23 Tokyo wards. If you click on ward (the top link), and then
Nerima-ku, for example, you will more than a dozen senior centers
listed by address with zip code to make it easier for those with
limited Japanese. If you not have much Japanese ability, someone who does can help
n help by locating the nearest one. All have phone numbers.
If you click on SHI (the bottom link), you get the list of cities.
Again, clicking on the cities gets you a similar list of locations for
senior centers.
Once a person has made contact with a nearby center,it is probably
easier for them to inquire about other social services, such as home
helper, visiting nurses,etc. In other word, rather than navigate to
the other parts of the website it seems that, at least for seniors,
the senior center list is the best means of entry (MADOGUCHI) for
other social services that may be needed.
Similar pages exist for other nearby prefectures, such as these:
KANAGAWA
http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/osirase/kourei/chiikihoukatsu/index.html
CHIBA
http://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/syozoku/c_hoken/kaigo/info/settijoukyou.html
SAITAMA
http://www.city.saitama.jp/www/contents/1188957983558/index.html
Indeed, inputting 地域包括支援センター preceeded by the
town,city or prefecture name will net you other centers.
So for
example entering 大阪 地域包括支援センター will find you
similar services in Osaka. Most often the very first entry in Google
will be the most useful
