(Hinesville, GA) Herman Oglesbee is 65, has had several strokes and needs to use a wheelchair. When we meet, he's in bed in a motel room where he's been for the past week. He's being cared for by a family friend. I can't understand everything he says but I understand one this he says clearly. "I want to go home," he says.
Longtime family friend Wendy Swencicki says Oglesbee's trailer was condemned in October and he was in a rehab and nursing home type facility for a few months, but didn't like it there. So he left recently and the two have been in the motel ever since. "He wants to go back home, that's where he wants to be, I want him where he'll be happy," she says.
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Swencicki contacted us because she said they needed help to continue paying for the motel. She also said that she and Oglesbee's nephew have been trying to fix up his home. She was hopeful that the older man could be back home in a matter of days or weeks.
But Long County Code Enforcement Officer Steve Atkins doesn't see it. He says there are a list of safety issues, from electrical plumbing to rotting wood. He says when he was called to the trailer last year by a police officer, he found trash outside and inside. " The trash has been removed, but other than that, no repairs have been done.,"
While Swencicki has promised to care for Oglesbee around the clock if he returns home, Atkins is doubtful any repairs can bring the place up to code. "My feeling is I don't want him to come to a place that is totally unsafe," he said.
Patty Lyons from Senior Citizens, Inc. says her group sees a lot of similar problems. So the key is finding someplace they can be happy in but also safe," she said
She says transitions are difficult for not only seniors and their families. She says going home can be ideal if a senior has care. But if the home is unsafe, then sometimes going home is not the best solution. That's why it's easier to have somebody who does it professionally talk to the senior and counsel them," she says.
Lyons says for all families whatever their income, having a conversation about whether an older person should leave their home is hard. "That's why resources and services can help in that transition.
In Oglesbee's case, Lyons sent a caseworker to meet with him. The hope is to get him some kind of temporary housing until a better solution is found.
With the aging population, Lyons says this is a problem that many families may face one day. She encourages people to call Senior Citizens, Inc. At 912- 236-0363
