Can you support your future self now?
When time becomes a convertible currency
How will the community change?
Let's imagine:
60 years old, you retired
Strong and energetic
There just happened to be a project in the community
If you are willing to serve the "senior elderly"
deliver food, chat, talk
Time spent is credited to a "time bank"
when you are older
as long as needed
You can redeem the same amount of time for volunteer service
This "time bank"
How much will you save in it?
like this
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When all groups in society care about and care for the elderly with practical actions, the "time bank" service model of "saving time for the young and enjoying services for the old" is becoming a new trend of mutual assistance for the elderly in the new era, and it is gradually becoming normalized in the community.
This kind of institutional innovation is accompanied by the aging process of our country.
▲ As early as the first half of 2018, the Ministry of Civil Affairs clearly included "time bank" in the pilot scope of the national home community elderly care service reform, and strived to establish an operating model that can be promoted nationwide on the basis of the pilot.
▲In November 2021, the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Strengthening Work on Aging in the New Era" pointed out that the elderly are encouraged to continue to play their roles.
Combining what the elderly can do with the care of the elderly, improve policies and measures such as employment, voluntary services, and community governance, so as to give full play to the role of young and elderly people.
Volunteers deliver loving meals to the elderly.
Photo by Wang Gang
In May 2019, the Hangzhou Civil Affairs Bureau officially issued the "Hangzhou City Elderly Care Service "Time Bank" Pilot Work Plan".
In recent years, Nanxing Sub-district, Shangcheng District has explored the implementation of “time bank” for mutual aid for the elderly, and carried out the first batch of pilot projects in Baitaling Community, which has achieved positive results.
It is reported that, as a typical aging community, the elderly population in Baitaling Community accounts for nearly 30%.
Volunteers are preparing to deliver love meals to the elderly.
Photo by Wang Gang
After years of exploration, Baitaling Community uses the comprehensive service station of the community and the sunshine center for the elderly at home as the platform, and cooperates with Huiquan as the old social work development center to recruit party members, corridor leaders, and young and elderly people who are enthusiastic about public welfare as volunteers. The elderly provide voluntary services, and have formed a professional voluntary service brand of "Yi Qi Zhuan", and established four volunteer service teams of loving meal assistance, door-to-door visits, listening and companionship, and heart-warming hotlines, promoting the formation of "one generation helps one generation, and the younger ones help old age” pension virtuous circle.
"Our purpose is to recruit a group of uncles and aunts who are enthusiastic about public welfare, and hope to use their love to form a harmonious and friendly atmosphere of Yinling pairing and mutual assistance." Li Jun, Secretary of the Party Committee of Baitaling Community, Nanxing Street, said.
"Time Bank" volunteer service video record.
Photo by Zhong Huimin
In the “Time Bank” of Baitaling Community, no money is saved but time is saved. Volunteers can obtain corresponding points by participating in various voluntary services or fulfilling various demands released by neighbors. Redeem for needed services, gifts, etc.
"We have launched our localization zone in the 'Time Bank' application scenario, and volunteers can exchange online and offline through the accumulated Shanshi coins." Yan Wenhua, head of Huiquanwei Lao Social Work Development Center, introduced.
Volunteers exchange items at the "Public Welfare Bazaar".
Photo by Wang Gang
"Points don't matter. Every family has old people, and every old person will grow old." Talking about his views on "Shanshi Coin", 68-year-old volunteer Huang Yuxiang said in an interview.
According to reports, he also signed up to participate in the volunteer work of the 2022 Hangzhou Marathon.
Most of the younger elderly who participate in the "time bank" and provide voluntary services are relatively energetic and have spare energy.
They have the ability to take care of others while taking care of themselves.
However, as they grow older, their physical strength and energy will inevitably decline, and sooner or later they will need the care of others.
At the same time, the elderly are more familiar with each other's physical and psychological changes, and their mutual company is more harmonious.
Exchange current time for future time, and exchange present dedication for future feedback. This kind of concept of helping others and helping ourselves has a strong appeal among the elderly.
Volunteers deliver loving meals to the elderly.
Photo by Wang Gang
"It must be passed on from generation to generation." Yu Xinhua, a 78-year-old community resident, expressed her feelings about participating in the "Time Bank" volunteer service, which can help everyone to be happy, and hopes that more people will join and pass it on from generation to generation.
In the eyes of some elderly people participating in the "time bank", what they pursue is not direct material rewards, but spiritual satisfaction and motivation.
The elderly have retired from their jobs. They have rich social experience and life experience, and they have a good desire to continue to exert their social value.
It can be said that being old is the inner demand of young people, while being old is the ardent expectation of old people. The "time bank" pension service model combines the two to achieve a win-win situation.
"Time Bank" digital application interface.
Photo by Wang Gang
In Baita District, there is a couple in their 80s who lost their only child. For a long time, they were reluctant to leave the house, and they were unable to go out because of their inconvenient legs and feet.
Since the launch of the mutual pension "Time Bank", Lu Chunmei from the same building has become their pairing volunteer.
"As the volunteers took the initiative to come to accompany them, the two elderly people have changed a lot, from asking and answering at the beginning to actively chatting with the volunteers now." Lu Chunmei was deeply impressed.
The essence of "time bank" is to help each other, build and share together, which is also the proper meaning of Zhejiang's high-quality development and construction of a common prosperity demonstration zone.
"Time Bank" volunteer service station.
Photo by Zhong Huimin
How to change local "bonsai" into provincial "landscape"?
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to promote the realization of basic pension services for all elderly people, and the idea of people-centered development has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The "time bank" scene in Baitaling community is just a microcosm of the exploration and development of Zhejiang's community elderly care industry in recent years.
In the process of promoting common prosperity, how can Zhejiang change local "bonsai" into the province's "landscape", so that the elderly can enjoy a better life with more security, quality and vitality?
Focusing on the difficulties existing in the current elderly care services, Zhejiang recently issued the "Promoting High-Quality Development and Construction of "Zheli Health Care" Work Plan (2022-2025)", proposing to achieve "elderly care and medical care" at a high standard to accelerate the improvement of the social security system, pension service system, and health support system, promote the development of the aging industry, build a friendly environment for the elderly, and create a "Zheli Kangyang" Golden Business Card Iconic Achievement.
According to reports, Zhejiang is speeding up the construction of the "Zheli Kangyang" application. By connecting data from departments such as civil affairs, human resources and social security, health care, medical insurance, and education, and linking old-age care market data and social data, it will create smart nursing homes, "time banks" and other " The five old-age "scenes provide elderly people and their families with services such as elderly care maps, visits and care, and cloud-based elderly universities, making all kinds of high-quality elderly care services truly within reach.
Data map: Jiashan County Smart Elderly Service Big Data Center.
Photo by Zhang Yudi
More Possibilities for Pension in the New Era
In the elderly care in the new era, the elderly are not only the objects of service and protection, but also active participants. This is the new atmosphere, new pattern and new image of the "new elderly".
In the current situation that cannot be changed in the short term, in addition to institutional innovations such as "time bank", ordinary people are also actively exploring more possibilities for retirement life.
▲ A model similar to "Time Coin" is called "Multiple generations in the same building" home-style pension.
Young people pay very low rent to live in nursing homes, undertake volunteer services, cook, clean, and chat with the elderly.
This not only solves the living problems of the elderly, but also reduces the cost of living for young people working hard in big cities.
▲ "Group care for the elderly" is also a new type of elderly care model.
Based on the social relationship before retirement, three or five friends live together and take care of each other.
There are more common topics among peers, which can more effectively resolve loneliness.
However, the group pension has higher requirements on the composition of personnel, and not everyone can find a co-living partner with similar living habits and like-mindedness.
Data map: Hu Hui and his friends use mobile phones to "surf".
Photo by Feng Jiafei
▲Elderly people who adapt to living alone may also choose "hotel pension".
Compared with nursing homes, hotels are more free to enter and exit, and there is no need to report when children visit or go out for relaxation.
Special staff to tidy up and provide meals in the hotel can effectively reduce the burden of housework for the elderly and devote more energy to hobbies.
▲A step further is "rural pension" and "living pension".
Living in a farmhouse or a foreign hotel can also enjoy the feeling of being served, and you can also appreciate the scenery of mountains and rivers that you never saw when you were young, and experience the culture of various places.
Data map: Inside a community elderly care institution in Hangzhou.
Photo courtesy of Hangzhou Municipal Health Commission
half warmth, half peace of mind
like "time coins"
future
As avenues for meaning in old age grow
"Be old and do something"
It will also become a beautiful landscape in the new era
bring us a better tomorrow
Author: Zhong Huimin
Drawing: Xu Zhaolin and Zheng Xiaowei