Ask Volunteers to Cut Hair for the Elderly

The First Citizen Station of Jiangwan Town Sub-district Offers Service at the Doorstep

By Qian Jing

Senior citizens can have hair cut service at home. The First Citizen Station of Jiangwan Town Sub-district explores extension service and sends convenience to senior citizens in the community.

Grandma Wei and Grandpa Luo, all in their eighties, live in the Caihongwan community. Today, they not only had their hair cut, but also had much annoyance being removed. Caihongwan is the largest affordable housing base in the downtown area of Shanghai. Residents are satisfied with the living environment here, as supporting facilities have become more completed than before. But to some senior citizens, who can’t move easily around, having a convenient, quickly haircut at the doorstep became a headache for them. 83-year-old Grandma Wei and 89-year-old Grandpa Luo have bad eyesight. To go outside more conveniently, they particularly chose to live in an apartment on the first floor. But they still found embarrassing to go to a barber’s shop. There is a barber’s shop near their apartment, but the style of haircutting offered by that shop is too fashionable and can’t satisfy the needs of the elderly. Going to a barber’s shop far from the community consumes too much energy and makes them tired. The only choice for the old couple is to wait for their children to come and cut hair for them if they have time.

Many senior citizens in the community face the same problem. Within the jurisdiction of the First Citizen Station of Jiangwan Town Sub-district, 31% of registered populations are senior citizens. Some of them are bedridden due to illness or unable to move freely. To help these elderly people have haircut, the Citizen Station purchased barber’s tools and asked nursing staffs in the day caring center to visit the elderly people’s home and cut hair for them. Because these people are in advanced age or unable to move freely, while cutting hair for them, the nursing staffs took gentle and careful movements and made the elderly people look refreshed after having haircut. Senior citizens are satisfied with the service offered by nursing staffs.

The Citizen Station is an important part of the 15 minute’s life circle that Hongkou District created for residents. The First Citizen Station of Jiangwan Town Sub-district mainly serves four residential communities: Hongfang, Hongwan, Changzhong and Anfen, and offers day caring service, healthcare service, cultural and leisure, parent-child activities and meal delivery service to residents. The Citizen Station hope to offer more services of this kind to senior citizens who need help and ensure senior citizens to enjoy high quality home-based service on long-term and more accurate basis.