The social local policy for the elderly people in the south-eastern region of Poland

Abstract

In Poland, programs, which aim to implement all the assumptions of the senior policy, both in terms of satisfying basic and educational needs, but also through social activation or in relation to interests, are implemented. Similarly, at the level of local governments, documents (strategies) and activities are being implemented that are part of the objectives of the senior policy. This is also the case in the Nowy Targ and Myślenice poviats in the Małopolskie voivodship. The aim of the presented study is to present how the local social policy is implemented in relation to older people (60 years and more) in the region of south-eastern Poland. The basis for this is the results of a survey conducted in 2016 on a sample of 150 people, during which seniors assessed to what extent the local environment meets their needs and meets expectations, as well as what kind of activities they offer. In addition, they assessed the social assistance system operating in the local environment, in which seniors either currently used various elements of the offer or were interested in it in the future. The results of the research show unequivocally that retirees see deficiencies in the offer directed to them from the social environment, especially in the field of classes in the local environment, as well as care services. In addition, when assessing the social policy system, they were eager to point to changes that should be introduced in it, both in the case of local institutions and in relation to the broadly defined national senior policy.