Shot in Freemans Bay and supported by Robert Kerridge, INDICTMENT! screened before the main feature at Auckland cinemas in effort to raise funds for the Auckland City Mission.
There are 42,000 people in Auckland over 60 and the Auckland City Mission is appealing for £40,000 to build a home where the elderly can live the remainder of their years with pride and dignity instead of living and dying in loneliness.
Dr Oddie, Medical Superintendent at Cornwall Hospital, speaks of his experiences and observations while working amongst the elderly and sick in Auckland. He is appalled at the plight of some of these old folk. Some live in appalling conditions, squalor and most of all loneliness. “The responsibility lies with us as New Zealanders to relieve some of their misery.”
Housing is often sub-standard with inadequate cooking facilities, sometimes without electricity, gas or even an adequate water supply.. Many of these dwellings are just a stone’s throw away from inner-city living. Visiting clergy, doctors and nurses can do little but offer temporary assistance. “It is easy to condemn the elderly when a visit to the local pub occurs, but it is here that they find occasional relief from loneliness. Many seek spiritual help from God, but it is the help from man that can relieve them of their plight.” Of the more fortunate recuperating at Cornwall Hospital, many can return to Old People’s Homes or their own homes, but for others there is nothing. There is a need for more homes where the elderly can live the remainder of their years in dignity, be cared for, find things to do, to give them faith and respect in themselves.