78 Seniors: friendship, support and loving thy neighbour

“Loneliness is the biggest disease on the pensioner.”

Erika Lodge was frowning as she took a swig of coffee at the picnic tables outside the high-rise housing at 94 Ormond St, Kensington.

She’s the president of the 78 Seniors Club, a social group catering for the over-55s and seniors living in public housing in the area, a demographic which can be severely affected by loneliness and isolation.

“Most of their [senior residents’] friends have passed away. Some of them have lost families. Some of them are not talking to their family … and they find it hard to talk to other people,” she said.

The 78 Seniors Club seeks to combat isolation and loneliness by providing friendship, support, and a sense of community regardless of its members’ history, background and culture.

“The idea of the 78 Seniors Club is to embrace everybody and their problems. We’ve all got problems, and we’re all trying to get together,” Ms Lodge said.

She said that one’s problems should not stop you from circulating and getting to know your neighbours.

Formed in 2008 by residents of the then-new high-rise housing at 78 Clifford Terrace, within a few years the club had expanded to include the nearby 56 Derby St, 94 Ormond St, and other local addresses.

For $12 a year, the club gives its members the chance to make friends and mix with other residents through activities, outings and events, including Christmas lunch, day trips, shopping trips and free lunches.

Ms Lodge laughed when she talked about how she became involved.

“They approached me! I thought that was quite funny … they knew I was a chef by trade, and they had their chef sick. So, I took over more or less from then on,” she said.

While she has been the president for five years now, and is a trusted, listening ear for other residents, she recalled her own sense of fear and isolation when she first moved into public housing.

“I was scared, and I didn’t want to know anybody. And it was the first time I went on Centrelink, and because I lived on the streets for two years, I was lucky I got this accommodation,” she said.

Her experiences have made it easier for other residents to open up to her, with fear of being judged a big part of why they might otherwise stay silent.

“Some [residents] have gone through a really hard life, a really tragic life, and they’re scared of being judged,” she said.

“They don’t like publicising the difficulties they go through. So, you’ve got to be on the same wavelength as them.”

Loneliness for older Australians is a well-documented issue, as is the issue of loneliness in public housing.

According to the most recent Census, a quarter of older people live on their own, with one in three older women, and nearly one in five older men, living alone.

A 2011 essay by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute which looked into housing, loneliness and health showed that 47 per cent of public housing tenants viewed loneliness as a serious problem.

It also showed that more people who lived in public housing experienced loneliness on a regular basis, compared with other types of housing.

Isolation, a demon which comes hand-in-hand with loneliness, can take many forms, whether it be having no-one to talk to on a regular basis or a lack of support during times of need.

Ms Lodge recalled one of the most devastating examples of isolation; one of her neighbours had recently passed away alone.

According to Ms Lodge, her neighbour’s body was not discovered for three days.

“What happened to knocking on the door and finding out if she’s all right? No one should have to die alone. You know, that’s horrible,” she said.

She thinks the culture shift thanks to the proliferation of mobile phones and online communication has impacted on our ability to relate to each other on a human level.

“We’ve lost the art of being neighbourly … and the most important thing, we have lost the art of loving thy neighbour. How many people look after their neighbours? Very few,” she said.

That love-thy-neighbour principle became especially important last year during COVID-19 and lockdown.

Although the pandemic saw the 78 Seniors Club’s social events curtailed for much of last year, the Healthy Living and Learning take away program was still running, in partnership with Kensington Neighbourhood House, Cohealth, Unison Housing and Hotham Mission.

The program offers weekly free lunches, as well as exercise and other activities.

As well as leading the program, Ms Lodge was also busy sourcing surplus food from shops and charities and cooking large batches of soup for residents, as well as delivering food hampers.

Her efforts saw her become a Community Champion finalist at the 2020 Melbourne Awards.

But Ms Lodge said she did not live for the accolades, but rather what she could do to help the people around her.

And with lockdown restrictions easing at the end of last year, the 78 Seniors Club was able to get into the Christmas spirit.

Because of gathering restrictions and social distancing, the usual sit-down affair for their annual Christmas lunch was not possible, so the club hosted a take-away version of the event instead.

Roast meat with gravy, vegetables, Christmas mince pies and donated lollies were on the menu, packaged up in four containers per person.

Although numbers were down from the 150 people who would usually attend, Ms Lodge was still pleased with the turnout.

“No-one went hungry over that period of time, which as good … people weren’t sure we were doing anything, because of the lockdown,” she said.

Ms Lodge said the special events were important for the club’s members, especially for those who had lost or were estranged from their families.

“Bringing them into this atmosphere is like generating a second family. We accept you for who you are,” she said.

“You may be an alcoholic all your life, you may be a gambler all your life. It’s who you are in the here and now. Treat you with respect, courtesy, and we expect the same back.”