10/28/88

In the old days when an Armenian elderly was placed into a “dzairunotes” (old 
age home), it was looked upon with shame and sorrow, especially if the older 
person had a surviving family.  Past generation Armenians respected their elderly 
as patriarchs and matriarchs, and it was considered “ummote” (shameful) if a 
family didn’t take care of their own.  Even if there was no surviving family 
left to take care of an older person, a relative or friend would willingly take 
them in.  This was the way it was and even though attitudes and Social Security 
benefits have changed, there’s still a little stigma left.

Today, though some of our senior citizens are placed in retirement homes by their 
kind, many of them go there on their own, and for good reason.  In today’s 
high-tech world, the most common complaint of a surviving elderly spouse is that 
they are bored and lonely.  Where are the kids?  Well, if they’re married, 
they’re probably working to keep up with their mortgages, car payments, higher 
costs of living and possible their children’s college tuitions.  If they are 
unmarried, they’re generally involved in more education, career goals or social 
stability.  In other words, everyone today seems to be on the fast-track and up 
to their ears in day-to-day activities.  No one seems to have much time left for 
leisure much less for spending quality time with an aging parent or grandparent.

When anyone reaches a point in life where they feel they are of no further use to 
the people they love or the world they live in, they die.  And it’s no different 
for our Armenian elderly.  They wind up sitting by their phones for a hurry up 
courtesy call from one of the kids, or they are invited to celebrate a family 
birthday together – - or a holiday.  And though they cherish such moments, it 
still leaves them to themselves for the most part of their aging life.  It is 
not suchfor today’s elderly to look forward to, especially when they’re outliving 
the past generation by at least ten years.   But, beyond that, the worst rub of 
all is the fact that body and mind aren’t aging together anymore and, as a 
result, today’s elderly still think young.  They refuse to spend the little time 
they have left sitting by a window and looking out.

The Armenian Home for the Aged in Flushing, New York, is gearing up for a major 
fund drive in 1989.  Besides the increasing costs of operation and ongoing 
facility improvements, the home needs extra revenue to keep its rates from 
escalating.  The present rates that the Flushing Home charges its elderly guests 
are less than half of what many other facilities charge for the same service.

The Flushing Home is clean, it is well maintained, it has an abundant list of 
planned activities and an exceptional cuisince that often times includes many 
of the favorite recipes of its gourmet guests.   Beyond that, the Flushing Home 
has an all-important ingredient that’s very hard to find in other retirement 
facilities: a genuine Armenian family atmosphere that is generated by a caring 
staff who are always willing to do the little extra time-consuming things that 
mean so much.  It goes on without saying that nothing can take the place of a 
loving and caring family for our Armenian elderly, but when circumstances do 
not permit it, the Armenian Home for the Aged in Flushing, NY is an excellent 
alternative and we could help keep it that way if we put them on our annual 
giving list.

Joseph Vosbikian