specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

CHAPTER II
will into donation and afterwards they sell or mortgage the house thus
reducing their parents to destitution.
In order to avoid such situations it is time for community social workers
to monitor such deals and “transfer of goods” and the social services
provided to the elderly should include legal advice. The other
way is to oblige Territorial Cadastral Offices to contact territorial social
assistance departments when issuing certificates of ownership
transfer to the elderly. If the elderly risk to be deprived of their house,
the transaction or the contract should be cancelled.
Increasing labour migration outflow over the last years lead to the increase
in number of elderly left behind by family members. This situation
determined the increase of requests of the elderly for social assistance
thus this system is not capable anymore to cope with this
situation, being over solicited.
The research revealed an increase in the number of helpless elderly people
as a socially vulnerable group left behind by migrant family members
thus arousing the necessity to implement additional legal support
that will ensure the necessary and appropriate social protection
through a number of specialized social services for this category of
vulnerable group. In this case, their problems will not refer to income
insufficiency as they receive remittances from their children (although
there are cases when the elderly are left without care and means of
living) but to the necessity of an adequate legal guardian, of some
home-care social services, psychological services or services intended
to find a solution to their insufficient communication, otherwise
so important for them. “They probably have money, but they do not have
anyone to take care of them, to offer moral support” (III_EE_10).
The issue of providing social services to this category of people is determined
also by lack of necessary institutional, financial and human
resources within community social assistance that would meet the demand.
Such social services for the moment are provided only in state
institutions (social community assistants) and by a few representatives
of civil society.
In these circumstances, the opening of similar private organizations
that will render social services against payment to the elderly would be
welcomed thus providing for the possibility to request for private social
services. This practice already exists in developed countries. “In our
country people also employ certain persons to take care of the elderly, for
example a neighbour or someone else. They are paid to look after them
but not everyone in our country accepts to take care of someone else”
(III_EE_10).
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