Some conversations stay with you long after they end. Hosting Sewa USA's Policy Café on "Ageing with Dignity in America" was one such experience for me.
Through Sewa, I have met seniors, caregivers, volunteers, and families. I have seen neighbors checking in, volunteers offering companionship, and families caring for ageing loved ones. These experiences reinforced my belief that community can make all thedifference.
The Policy Café made me think about ageing more holistically. Ageing is not only about healthcare, retirement plans, or services. At its heart, ageing is about dignity: whether older adults feel connected, supported, empowered, and able to live with purpose, safety, independence, and respect. Three lessons stayed with me.
Nutrition Is More Than Food, It Is the Foundation of Healthy Ageing
One strong lesson was how deeply nutrition shapes dignity in ageing. When Robert Blancato spoke about inadequate protein intake, dehydration, malnutrition, and multiple medications, I thought about seniors I have met through Sewa's work. We often discuss ageing through healthcare or treatment. Yet dignity is also shaped by practical questions. Does a senior have healthy food? Can they prepare meals safely? Can they afford nutritious food without sacrificing rent or medicine?
Nutrition affects strength, mobility, recovery, disease management, and independence. A nutritious meal can determine whether an older adult lives confidently or becomesvulnerable.
Caregiving Requires Understanding as Much as Responsibility
This part felt personal to me. My experience with dementia is not rooted in directly caring for my ageing parents, but in witnessing how my late father cared for my grandmother. She was over 80, and I saw the toll it took on him, the family, and all of us. It was emotional to see roles reversed between a parent and a child. The person who once cared for him now needed his care, patience, attention, and strength.
Because of this, Dr. Laura Mosqueda's insights on elder abuse and dementia resonated deeply with me. Her research revealed something uncomfortable: most elder abuse and neglect occur not in institutions but within homes and communities.
What struck me most was her emphasis on understanding before judgment. Harmful behavior can emerge when caregivers are overwhelmed, unsupported, exhausted, or struggling to understand dementia. This does not diminish abuse or neglect. It broadens prevention. Supporting older adults also means supporting caregivers with information, training, awareness, and early recognition of distress.
Ageing with dignity cannot rest solely on individual families. It requires a culture of empathy and support that helps caregivers before challenges become crises.
No One Should Have to Age Alone
Among all the conversations during the Policy Café, this stayed with me the most. Elena Portacolone spoke about older adults who live alone, many managing cognitive impairment, chronic illnesses, medication schedules, and daily responsibilities without consistent family support. Her observations challenged the assumption that someone will always be nearby.
As families become dispersed, more older adults are navigating life alone. Who notices if a senior misses a meal? Who checks in when they seem confused? Who helps when medicines become overwhelming? Sometimes dignity is preserved through small acts of consistency: a phone call, a weekly visit, a trusted neighbor, or a familiar volunteer.
Through Senior Sewa, older adults are not viewed merely as recipients of care. They are participants, mentors, and community builders. Senior Sewa creates spaces where older adults remain connected, engaged, and valued.
As I concluded the Policy Café, I felt grateful for the chance to reflect on what ageing truly means. Ageing is not merely a healthcare issue. It is a community issue, a policy issue, and most importantly, a human issue. Seniors are parents, teachers, mentors, volunteers, leaders, storytellers, and carriers of wisdom. A society that values ageing creates opportunities for older adults to remain connected, purposeful, respected, and engaged.
Kavita Tiwary,
Executive Director of Sewa USA's Houston Chapter, is a pharmaceutical chemist by training who began her career in drug research.
She later discovered her deeper calling in the nonprofit sector, where she now leads community-focused service initiatives.
