Senior safety and security outside the house

This guide to making the outside of the home safe takes into consideration not only the things that need to be done to prevent slips and falls outdoors, but also the things that should be done so that an older adult feels less vulnerable when entering and leaving the house. 

 

For some, safety for elderly people entails overcoming feeling physically at-risk. For instance, the fear of falling and breaking a hip plagues many older people. And no wonder: more than 300,000 people break their hip each year. Icy sidewalks and steps can pose a very significant threat.  

 

Older people are also easy targets for burglars and other criminals. Often, they respond to these potential threats by barricading themselves behind closed doors and refusing to leave the house. This can lead to isolation, loneliness and depression. Luckily, help for seniors to keep their home safe is readily available.

Before you begin, do some basic research into how your parents are feeling about the outside of their home. For example, if your mom seems afraid to go out, start by asking what makes her feel this way. Perhaps there's poor lighting along the path to the house, it takes her too long to unlock the door, or overgrown bushes make the entrance too dark. It's a good idea to accompany her home from an outing so that you can better identify what's causing the anxiety.

 

Once you've surveyed the environment outside the house and have a better sense of what makes your parent feel insecure, here are some things you might want to consider:
 

 

And don't forget the simple things: installing an intercom or a peephole in the front and side doors, and placing decals on the windows to make it appear that your parents have an alarm system - even if they don't. You can even get a timer system that turns on a radio a few minutes before your parents enter the house so that the noise will alert a burglar to leave.