It is apparent that lots of "old people"dare not move out of the house when night falls,why aren't we all doing something to address this sad situation that society has created?

What are these people afraid of? Is someone mugging old farts?
Or are they just superstitious about hooligan whipper-snappers?

Maybe that’s regional. I know old people who are afraid of change but no one who sits in fear in their house night after night.

@goober: Tell us what’s happening in your area. An example or two to help flesh out the question.

I don’t see that where I am. The old folks are pretty spry and active all times of day.

I think that there could be dangerous areas in nearly every town, county, township, whathaveyou everywhere in the US (maybe the entire world). I live 30 or so miles North of Seattle in a rural area about 5 miles from a max security prison. In the history of this immediate area there have been several vicious killings in the last 20 years. I am sure because of these 2 factors there are some older folks who are very cautious.

I think its natural to think the night-time is more dangerous, be it right or be it wrong.

I take my 2 labs for a 1.5 mile walk everynight, well after dark. This includes a country road, of swampy on either side. That would make it difficult to sneak up on anyone on the road but at the same time it is very eerie.

Due to something that happened years ago I ALWAYS carry a handgun while walking at night. SO if an escaped prisoner was to confront me it would be through a stream of 9mm rounds. Call it cautious or call it paranoid. Thats the way it is.

What do you consider “old folks”? I’m too tired to go out after working all day and coming home at 8:30, but I have been known to sit out on the front porch until midnight…rocking… and I’m too cheap to pay to go out to drink…

I live in Lynn near Boston,and belive me,old folks do NOT venture out in the dark.
I would say that it must be the case in every city centre,maybe not so much out in the countryside.

I work with the elderly and what I hear most is that as they age they feel more vulnerable. They aren’t as strong should they have to defend tgemsslf. Their reaction time is slower, their eyesight is worse. And, if you were a criminal, an older person would be a much better target than a young person.

“What are these people afraid of? Is someone mugging old farts?
Or are they just superstitious about hooligan whipper-snappers?”

Those are truly gratuitously nasty remarks about the elderly, Joeydesigns: I hope that you have found the fountain of youth.

Not only are there the frailties mentioned by basp but also hearing loss, more difficulty with directions, osteoporosis, balance problems and a very good chance of breaking a wrist, ankle or hip if the person falls.

Where I live, there are very few street lights, many spots with no cell phone connections, and long stretches w. no houses, many deer who smack into cars, and drunken teen-agers who speed w/o seat-belts on Sat. night in their pick-ups.

I don’t blame them on staying inside at night, quite frankly. I do the same myself!

I know many are worried about driving at night (teenagers, deer, poor visibility). Many think it’s dangerous because, well, they are older and more vulnerable, and night can intensify this.

I don’t really know how to address this situation though. Are elderly people complaining that they must stay in? Perhaps they prefer to. I mean, not many stores are open late at night…I think encouraging them to go out at night would make them good targets for criminals. Not a good idea.

$500 bounty on all opposums.

@goober: Ah, well:

Lynn, Lynn, City of Sin
You Never Come Out the Way You Went In

NOW, I understand what you’re saying – and I can completely understand why the elderly would feel that way.

Really not sure what to do about it though. Perhaps, organized events at churches or community centers where they feel safe.

My elderly in-laws live in South Medford (near Boston), which is becoming much like Lynn (drugs, teen punks, etc.). They NEVER leave the house unless we come and get them (they don’t drive, bad hips, arthritis, etc.).

We’ve been trying to convince them to move in with us (25 miles north of Boston) for 3 years now. They are not budging. “I a bought thisa house with a lotta hard work, afta comin’ froma Italia. I no go anywhere!” – Whataya gonna do!

This question could be transposed onto virtually any vulnerable social group- women, racial/ethnic/religious/sexual orientation/gender identity minorities, the elderly, the disabled.

“How can we let this happen” is a question that is not really answerable by an individual. After all- I support the police, I pay local taxes, I don’t commit crimes. I, personally, am not “letting it happen.”

“What can be done?” is a different question altogether, and is infinitely complex. It comes down to, what causes crime? Criminologists still can’t quite agree, and there are dozens of theories. We just have to keep taking stabs at what might be the cause, and what might be the deterrent.

In your specific case, based on cprevite’s added info, I’d guess that local law enforcement really needs to increase staff and get more officers on the street.

Organized events with transportation to and from could get them out at night…but to what end? Wouldn’t it just be easier/more cost efficient to hold such events in the daytime?

you should take the elderly to the local bar on Friday/Saturday night (tell them it’s a new kind of bingo) (and they need their teeth) Enjoy

Just out of curiosity, goober, what would you like to see older people go out and do?

Where I live, probably about 35–40% of the population is over 50, and its a nice town with very little crime. Even in the worst neighborhoods I still see seniors walking around in the dark, usually alone, nothing ever happens.

I think the paranoia is mainly in cities where you have lots of crime.

I was a salesgirl in a small bakery. Old, old people who had immigrated to this neighborhood decades before would carefully make their way along the sidewalks to buy, for example, one roll, taking their tiny bits of money out of little wrapped-up pouches secreted with many safety pins under many layers of clothing. They were terrified of schoolchildren. Sometimes schoolchildren would knock them over and look through their pockets. Hence the tiny bundles inside the underwear. No one wants to look inside an old person’s underwear.

So my answer to goober’s question is this:
Keep your money in your underwear when you get old.
And,
I think we DO “do something about it” on both a personal/family/neighborhood and on an institutional level. The awkward thing is that we do get old and feeble. We can’t make this go away. And not wanting to walk around in the dark is a good choice for us when we’re half blind, have brittle bones, and get cold easily. Hell with it. Watch some CSI Miami. Pretty fun.

I’m with susanc here. I don’t think there is anything you can really do. It’s common sense to stay inside at night when you’re older and more vulnerable. Heck, I’ll do the same when I’m older because (hopefully!!) I would know my limits and I wouldn’t want to risk my safety.

What in god’s name is there to do in Lynn Mass after dark? Buy crack? Sell some? Hookers? Call girls?

For Pete’s sake, I would not go out in the evening time in Lynne either…..so the answer is>>>.

Old folks stay indoors in Lynn Mass in the evening time because they are smart, and there is nothing to do in Lynn except drink and they can do that at home….

and I’ll be drinking at home too….

Maybe it’s because communities need better planning and more third place space?

I have a suggestion Goober: since you are a concerned citizen aware of the situation of your elderly neighbors, why not start up a neighborhood committee to address the situation? People could come together and form “neighborhood watch” groups and walk (in pairs!) along certain streets to help make everyone feel safer in the community. You could help plan evening events in parks to bring all residents closer together and participate. It’s just one way to take back the streets and change the whole landscape of your community.

Perhaps check out website forums which allow you to start up “meetups” for your community and get people to communicate online and share ideas. Just my suggestion. I don’t think people have to live in fear if they get organized and work with law enforcement and other officials. Everyone wants a clean neighborhood. Baby steps?

Oh gawd, somebody’s been watching Fox News again. Street crime has actually been on a steady decline since the 1960s, yet people’s fears, based on perceptions of danger are much higher now than back in the day when actual risks were higher.

There has been a fair deal of academic study as to why. And, the overwhelming consensus is that it is the way the American News Media hype violence on the evening news. “A sexual predator could be living in your neighborhood. . .story at eleven.” And, the broadcast journalist rule of thumb, “If it bleeds, it leads.”

Another contributing factor are the ubiquitous television murder mystery shows which portray more murders in a week than actually occur in a year. According to these media studies, people who watch a lot of CSI, Bones, Cold Case, etc. tend to form the perception that the world is a nasty, brutal place where crime is rampant when, in fact, it has actually never been safer. One entertaining treatment of this research is Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine, or if you prefer something a little more academic, try Chapters 2–5 of Joel Dyer’s The Perpetual Prisoner Machine.

If one has the resources, there are dozens of retirement communities and staged care living facilities with security, transportation, nurses available, built-in entertainment, dinner in a communal dining room, gardening, art, reading groups, and socializing. We call it Camp Grandma.

Many seniors, still with all their marbles, zoom around in motorized carts to the movies, meals, concerts, trips to Tanglewood, etc. One does have to plan ahead, however.

My mother (at 94) is in one, still in the independent living unit, and had lots of safe fun until recently when she developed senile dementia. There are lots of safety nets in place, altho my sis and I take her to MD appts. If necessary, she could move to the Assisted Living unit, and finally to the Alzheimer’s facility.

I’m just pleased that they aren’t out drivingat night…whew!

Those here who have terrible accidents (and cause deaths, particularly in the bad weather, are not the elderly but the teen-agers. They drink, speed, and don’t wear seat belts. Every New Year’s Eve, we have several young people die.

The seniors have the sense to 1) stay in or, 2) drive at the speed limit, 3) use seat belts. When I’m on a dark road at night, and some kid is driving up my tailpipe, I pull over and let him pass.

Just joking… having a laugh on a beautiful Christmas Eve with the family gailcalled.

no response, but lmao @Joey

I’m reading The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg. Oddly enough, the first 13 pages of the first chapter pretty much answer this question, which has to do with the death of ownership of place in America following WWII and the advent of what he calls automobile suburbs. People live in one place, work in another place, shop in another place, socialize in yet another. As a result, there is no ownership of any of them. Add to that the inherent isolation that goes along with the lack of connectivity, and the end result is people who are afraid to go out of the houses at night.