LETS GIVE THEM THE DIGNITY THEY DESERVE

All the residents of the Josse Van der Rest are elderly people who lived most of their lives on the streets. On the margins, isolated, practically outside of everything. Excluded. Today they are well cared for and well treated by the team of which psychologist Nelson Figueroa is a member. The professional recognizes that it is with those who live or have lived almost on the margins with whom he has learned the most.

"The hard life they've led takes its toll. Ninety percent use medication to boost their mood and some have problems in the cognitive area, memory and even dementia". This is how the professional, who has been working at the residence located next to Hogar de Cristo's headquarters in the Estación Central district since 2021, explains it.

However, they are all aware that there is no better place for them since they have no family or other support networks.

"None of them want to go back to the street," she says, adding, "They know that the street is very bad." On the other hand, at the shelter they always have visits from 

schools and volunteers in addition to the Expreso workshop that allows them to work wood and sell their products.

-How do you see them in terms of mental health?

-Everyone here is empowered to make decisions and if they want to leave they can do so whenever they want. My role as a psychologist is more of a passive listener, but with active communication. I am very close to them, I listen to their problems and try to solve them as much as possible. I've managed to get them to be calmer.

He clarifies that they still do not go out alone or every day, because they themselves request it. They know that the street is very bad. This is their home and it is a very cozy place that covers all the needs they have.

"One challenge we have is to organize the team every time they have to go to collect their pensions, because they don't go alone. They see me as an older son, they invite me to lunch, I can't say no because they get angry. They are old, old-fashioned, they have their codes," he says.

Recently, he went with five senior citizens to watch Parapan American soccer at the Bicentenario stadium in La Florida.

"They were happy. They need to go out, and these outings are very therapeutic, we try to talk a lot. The visit we made to the stadium helped them to see the changes the city has undergone. It had been a long time since they had been to that sector of Santiago," explains Nelson