Aging: memories of old age, through the lands of forever

Although the aging population in Portugal is a phenomenon that is still a few decades old, it already has an intense and full history. The author follows the trail of this secular chronicle in which the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa played and plays a fundamental role, from the creation of the hospices of the past to the construction of always innovative answers in the eyes of the times traveled to the present. Knowing this history is walking the paths of medieval asylums. Return to the more recent past of gatherings and day centers. Travel to the creation of the home support service. Watching the insistent improvement that homes have been targeting. Know the new answers that include assisted or temporary residences. Because tomorrow is built on yesterday and today, the history of care designed for the elderly is still written through the routines of the present. The Centro Polivalente das Furnas and the Lar Nossa Senhora do Carmo were the stages chosen by Ana Gomes to report her daily experiences in the facilities for the elderly at Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Lisbon. This is the fifth issue of the “Cadernos Solidários SCML” collection, an editorial series that showcases the work developed by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa in its different areas of intervention.

Author: Ana Gomes
Collection: Solidarity Notebooks

Year of publication: 2010
Editor: SCML
ISBN: 9789728761448