The City of Athens is reinforcing its facilities for senior citizens, with programmes that provide support and care and services promoting self-confidence, independence and self-sufficiency and allowing seniors to be active members of their society.
These are the citizens to whom the City of Athens programme is addressed, and their well-being is the reason why we have reinforced and will continue to reinforce both our Friendship Clubs, which act as an antidote to loneliness, and our “Help at Home” programmes, which assist elderly and disabled people who are alone, without support and are faced with serious health issues.
The City’s consistent goal is for the Friendship Clubs to remain open and with a lively agenda, providing the elderly with opportunities for an active social life that will keep them cheerful and strong.
“Help at Home”
The “Help at Home” programme is one of our most important social programmes; it was inaugurated on a pilot basis in March 1998 in two neighbourhoods (Gyzi and Sepolia). It was an immediate success with the local community, and has now become an “institution”, providing ongoing primary healthcare to the citizens of Athens.
After the success of the Pilot Programme, “Help at Home” was extended to all 7 Municipal Districts of the City of Athens.
The Programme operates a total of 9 Task Teams.
The “Help at Home” programme is addressed to the elderly who are not fully independent, and to persons with mobility limitations and other disabilities, with priority given to persons living alone or who cannot receive help from their family, or whose income does not allow them to procure the services that would improve their quality of life.
The aim of the programme is to improve the quality of life of the elderly and persons with mobility limitations or other disabilities, to assist dignified independent living, to support the families of beneficiaries, and to ensure the employment of capable and specialized staff.
The programme provides counselling and psychological support, nursing care, family assistance and company.
The smooth operation of the programme is ensured by a specialized and well-organized task team in every district, consisting of a social worker, a nurse and a family aide.
The programme’s social workers oversee the assistance received by beneficiaries, evaluate cases and provide social support by contacting jointly competent entities and referring cases that cannot be served by the programme.
Beneficiaries receive primary healthcare services from the programme’s nursing staff, which include home visits to measure and record vitals and prescribe medications, and accompanying beneficiaries to hospital for scheduled consultations and examinations.
At the same time, the programme’s home aide helps beneficiaries with external chores, procures basic supplies for the elderly, and helps with domestic cleaning. One additional duty of the programme’s aides, and perhaps the most important one for these people, is to keep them company, in keeping with the programme’s social nature and mission.
PROGRAMME: Help at Home plus
| 1st Municipal District:
Agios Pavlos Friendship Club, 22, Mamouri & Dymis streets, |
| 2nd Municipal District:
Neos Kosmos Friendship Club, 5, Sostratou street, |
| 3rd Municipal District:
Votanikos Friendship Club, 4, Kozanis street, |
| 4th Municipal District:
Sepolia Friendship Club, 4, Galaxidiou street, +30 2105152061, 2105150939 |
| 5th Municipal District:
Agios Eleftherios Friendship Club, 372, Acharnon street, +30 2102012334 |
| 6th Municipal District:
Platia Amerikis Friendship Club, 4, Telestou street, |
| 7th Municipal District:
Ampelokipi Friendship Club, Panormou & 25, Vatheos streets, +30 2106451870 |
For more information about the programme, please contact the City of Athens Directorate of Social Solidarity & Health (14, Agiou Kostantinou street, Omonia).
Contact phone no: +30 210 5210631
Summer camp for the elderly
The City of Athens summer camp is located in Agios Andreas, Attica, about 30kms from the city, in a pine-forested area spanning 180,000 square metres, which combines seaside and mountain recreation.
This is one of the best and most comfortable camps in Balkans, since it is well-equipped with sports facilities and other infrastructure according to current European standards, and ensures the safety of all holiday-makers. It should be noted that there is a special operational plan in place (“THEMISTOCLES”) for evacuation of the camp, so that it may be vacated in complete safety in the event of an emergency.
DOCUMENTS FOR ENROLMENT – SENIOR CITIZENS