Community action for elderly in Greece

We are attempting to grow a community group that raises awareness and changes the lives of elderly people in Greece for the better;

The desperate situation of many elderly people in Greece - due to the crisis and concomitant roll-backs in pensions and government-funded community action - call for our reaction. We wish to catalyse our activity with your help; we are located in the city of Thessaloniki. This year we observed a rise in cases of poor living conditions, malnutrition, neglect, homelessness and isolation. The group delivers services such as routine check-up visits, food deliveries, social events, medical and administrative assistance, etc. We are trying to build a neighbourhood watch system, which is non-existent to-date; efforts are not being made by the government or by standing community groups. Government benefits are insubstantial to meet the living requirements of the unemployed. Medical care is inadequate and targets the wealthy. We wish to make a difference, not only by immediate action, but also by way of raising awareness to a younger generation, so that they too can begin caring for their elders. We have been acting in the area for 2 years, but a lack of funds is holding us back from:

Registering as a charity; to date, we are unable to meet the cost of registering as official charity, so we can't receive direct donations --- we have received only material donations (clothes and food) or specialist services --- so this is the first aim

Provide more developed and higher quality services free of charge and open to individual appeals

Orderly campaigning and advertising --- participating in public events, enrolling other volunteers, stimulating funding

Starting up groups in other cities, under a tried-and-tested model