In the socio-demographic structure of modern society, among the social strata and groups that can and should be considered as objects of social support and assistance, one of the first places is occupied by such a category as the elderly. Like any large social community, it has its own internal structure that includes various socio-demographic layers. The main stratification feature that allows you to distinguish these layers is the age of the person. The relevance of the study of working with older people in the social sphere is due to the following circumstances: first, the increasing role of social service institutions in organizing social support for older people in modern conditions; second, a social worker is a person who directly contacts the client, he knows his problems and tries to help him; third, the need to identify older people, identify their problems and take the most effective ways to eliminate them.
In accordance with the classification adopted by who and the gerontological Association, the elderly include people aged 60–74 years, the elderly 75–90 years, and long-lived people older than 90 years. Social work with this category of population should be based on its inherent characteristics and the social problems that they face in the process of their social and personal functioning. The main problems of the elderly include the following: Restriction of life activity of the elderly. This is one of the most acute and painful problems faced by many members of society who have reached old age and are forced, due to age characteristics, to abandon many of the usual social roles and statuses. Turning an elderly person off from active life and changing the nature of their relationships with other people. A sharp decline in the social status of an elderly person in society. Availability of a large amount of free time and the quality of filling. One of the most important effective mechanisms for solving and mitigating the social problems of elderly citizens in the context of modernizing Russian society is the organization of their social services. Social services are the activities of social services that provide social support, social and medical services, psychological and educational services, social and legal services, and material assistance, as well as social adaptation and rehabilitation of citizens in difficult situations. Stationary and non-stationary social service institutions help mitigate the difficult socio-economic situation. They actively contribute to improving the quality of life of older people, create conditions for optimizing their way of life and solving various problems related to psychological assistance and health maintenance. The practice of social services helps to mitigate the problems of the low-mobility population, contributes to improving the quality of life, and helps to optimize the lifestyle of older people. The most common form of social service for older people is territorial social service centers. The mandatory minimum in the work of such centers is the presence of three departments:
1) social assistance at home,
2) temporary day stay,
3) urgent social assistance.
The main tasks and functions of the centers are: identification of elderly people in need of social support; identification of specific types and forms of assistance to persons in need of social support; involvement of state and public organizations for joint work; providing various social services of a one-time or permanent nature to persons in need of such assistance; providing permanent and comprehensive social services for disabled elderly people; providing free cultural, legal and medical services, catering for persons who are served by the center; providing free assistance at home to disabled pensioners and disabled people, organizing the provision of food and household items, medicines, health care, public services, household services, etc.; organizing natural, humanitarian and urgent social assistance; providing additional services that are not included in the scope of official duties of the center's employees. New technologies for social work with the elderly are being developed and applied in the social service center. For example, day-care units are specially created to adapt older people to new conditions among their own kind through communication; self-help and mutual assistance groups are organized. Visiting the day care unit gives older people the opportunity not only to get free food and medical care, but also to strengthen their self-confidence and their importance to society. Providing assistance at home in addition to financial and in-kind support makes it possible to provide clients with legal, psychological and pre-medical services and consultations. Any person who is in an extreme situation can contact the emergency or emergency social assistance Department. Financial, in-kind and legal assistance can be provided. There are social hairdressers, laundries, workshops for repairing household appliances, rental shops, workshops for sewing and repairing clothes and shoes that provide services at affordable prices for low-income citizens.a New form of social service is a nursing home, or hospice — a specialized institution that helps terminally ill people receive timely assistance that will ease their moral and physical suffering. Nursing homes (hospices) are usually set up in hospitals and are intended for supporting treatment of seriously ill patients, mainly the elderly and senile. The main areas of work of this institution are: qualified medical care; social services; timely execution of medical appointments and procedures; medical rehabilitation of patients and the elderly; dynamic monitoring of the condition of patients and the elderly; — timely diagnosis of complications or exacerbations of chronic diseases. Thus, we can conclude that the essence of social work with older people is, first of all, to create a network of social service institutions that contribute to the formation of favorable situations, useful contacts, meeting the needs of older people as a special social group of the population, creating a good atmosphere for worthy support of their opportunities. Social work also helps to identify the positive potential of «third-age» citizens who are becoming a visible social force, helps to assess the accumulated practical experience, and brings national policies and social programs closer to the needs of the aging population.
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