# Need your feedback, a refugee family moving to a senior citizen house



## karos (Aug 31, 2015)

I appreciate any advice that anyone can give me

My Father who is living alone at the moment, His health is not good anymore and needs companionship and some help in home decided to receive a refugee family from Iraq in his house, this way he wont be alone anymore, they will help him in taking care of house care and his personal services. 

what is your perception about the idea ?


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## Warrigal (Aug 31, 2015)

This could be a very beneficial arrangement. There are a number of instances where this has been very successful in Australia.
A lot depends on whether your father can adapt to some different cuisine and having more people in the house than he is used to.

I'm presuming there is some agency overseeing this program.


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## karos (Aug 31, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> This could be a very beneficial arrangement. There are a number of instances where this has been very successful in Australia.
> A lot depends on whether your father can adapt to some different cuisine and having more people in the house than he is used to.
> 
> I'm presuming there is some agency overseeing this program.




Would you please send me links for these articles or agencies


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## Warrigal (Aug 31, 2015)

I'm looking Karos but I'm finding most references are about helping refugees, not about refugees helping the elderly.
I'll keep trying for you.


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## Fern (Aug 31, 2015)

It is not something I would go into lightly. The cultural difference will be big. Sharing your home with your own family can be stressful, let alone with strangers. 
How accomodating is your father and most of all how accomodating would the newcomers be., plus the difference in ages, if any,the expectations of both sides.?


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## Underock1 (Aug 31, 2015)

I understand your nervousness. With no information about them, its a roll of the dice. I watch a lot of documentaries about refugees trying to make it in a new country.They are generally extremely grateful to find a home and employment. It might actually be a big plus in the way they care for your father. You really need to know more.
Coincidentally, at 82, and walking with difficulty, I am alone in my home. My grandson is here temporarily, but I do think about letting someone live rent free upstairs who could do some light yard work, shop, etc. The problem is finding the right person.


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## Butterfly (Aug 31, 2015)

For myself, I would find it very scary to have someone I did not know living in in my house, regardless of where they came from, especially if I were alone in the house with them.


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## imp (Aug 31, 2015)

*"The problem is finding the right person."

*This is the "key" issue. We almost universally here, North Americans, believe, or like to believe, that the human ideals we embrace must be shared by all human beings. NOT SO! That is the issue I see with this situation. If Muslim culture condones the killing of "infidels", i.e., believers of other religious slant, we must exercise caution, restraint. But then, who am I to disagree? As per Annie Lennox.    imp


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## Linda (Sep 1, 2015)

I agree with Fern and Butterfly on this.  My elderly English neighbor, across the street, tried just having one lady come in and live there and then the lady's grown children came to help sometimes and also little kids she was babysitting were there, and it turned out bad.  After a few months we told her she should move closer to her grown children in LA.  Her husband died about midway through all of this and then after that she took our advise and moved away.  In an ideal world it would be nice though.


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## Butterfly (Sep 2, 2015)

For myself, I would not do this.  I would try to find help through a bone fide home help service, or get advice from a local senior citizens' group or social service agency or something that has a track record or references.  

There are just too many unknowns in taking in a family you do not know anything about.  How would you even know they are who they say they are?  They might be wonderful, or they might be predators, and your dad sounds like he would be basically defenseless.  It just sounds like a prescription for disaster to me.


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