Taipei Medical University Hospital yesterday said its lunch delivery service for elderly people who live alone or have mobility problems has been feeding people for more than 10 years, and has served more than 110,000 meals.
Taipei City Government statistics showed that there were 417,242 elderly people living in the city as of November last year, accounting for 15.48 percent of the city’s population, so enhanced long-term services are needed as the proportion of elderly residents is growing, said Chang Chien-chung (張建中), director of the hospital’s social work office.
The hospital in 2005 began providing a variety of services to elderly people in the Xinyi District (信義) who live alone or in disadvantaged circumstances, he said.
The meals — which are planned to meet the nutritional needs of individual recipients — are delivered Monday to Friday by a team of seven volunteers, he said.
One of the newest members of the team is 28-year-old Hsu Yang-an (許揚恩) who has Tourette’s syndrome.
Due to the involuntary noises and vocal tics that are a part of his neuropsychiatric disorder, he said he had a lot of difficulties finding a job.
However, he has gradually gained a sense of achievement and self respect from helping elderly people, he said.
Another member of the team, Chen Wen-chin (陳文錦) who has a leg damaged by polio, has been delivering meals since 2011.
The elderly recipients often wait downstairs for him so that he does not have to climb up flights of stairs, he said, adding that he finds this very touching.
The hospital gives volunteers NT$300 per day for their efforts, Chang said.
The hospital said it is looking for more volunteers to help it deliver the meals.
Volunteers must be at least 18, have a car or motorcycle license and be patient, responsible, and willing to interact with elderly people, the hospital said.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56