Litter Picking Is a Good First Step: Eco-Volunteering That Helps Prevent the Need for Long-Term Care
A Council of Social Welfare is a nonprofit set up in each city, town and village in Japan to support community welfare. In this interview, we spoke with Yamashita of the Tokoname City Council of Social Welfare, which promotes welfare activities that residents of Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture, can join.
Yamashita, who kindly took part in this interview
1. Preventing the need for care, and volunteering
Does the Tokoname City Council of Social Welfare also promote volunteering?
Many councils run nursing homes and facilities for people with disabilities. Our council mainly runs welfare activities that residents take part in. To support the health of older people, we promote activities that help prevent the need for long-term care, and volunteering that gives back to the community.
There is a term, "community welfare." It means everyone working together to solve local welfare issues, so that anyone can keep living in the place they know. Welfare workers, public and private, provide services to people who need support in daily life. On top of that, we promote "mutual support" in which residents take part and help each other, such as volunteering. With the help of local people, our goal is for everyone to keep living in the community they know. I have worked in many areas of welfare ever since I finished university.
What is the "Smile Point" system, where people can earn points by picking up litter with the Pirika App?
We focus on building a community that makes use of the strengths of older people. When you join an activity approved by the council, you get points. You can collect points and exchange them for gifts. The "Smile Point" system is for people aged 60 and over. Its aim is to help older people stay healthy and prevent the need for care. For some volunteer activities, people aged 40 and over can also take part.
Rather than acting after someone needs care, it is important to prevent that need as much as possible.
A litter-picking event held by the Tokoname City Council of Social Welfare
2. Barriers to volunteering
What activities earn "Smile Points"?
There are two kinds. One is care-prevention activities, such as exercise, walking and ground golf. The other is volunteering, such as setting up and cleaning up these venues, or helping registered groups. You do not get points for exercising alone at home. You get them by joining one of the many groups in the city.
We started in 2016, and about 4,900 people are now registered. At first we hoped more people would volunteer, but in fact most took part in care-prevention activities. People said they did not know what volunteers do, or were not interested. And to start, they had to join a group or visit a facility. We learned that the barrier to volunteering was quite high.
3. Litter picking is a good first step
Why did you turn to the Pirika App?
We wanted a way to start volunteering that was easy, with almost no barrier to getting started. Volunteering is one of the main pillars of our council. We have supported many activities, such as sign language, braille, international exchange, local cleanups and community building, and we have provided places for them. We looked for simple volunteering that does not put responsibility on older people. But many options came with fixed roles, or could not be chosen to fit how people felt that day. So we looked for something older people could do in daily life, and found Pirika on the internet. Today, older people use smartphones as a matter of course. The Pirika App needs a sign-up step at first, but posting litter pickups was not difficult.
Litter picking has no big barrier as a first step into local environmental volunteering. We want people to start before they reach the age when care may be needed. But for older people, trying something new can feel like a bother, so it is hard to get going. Senior clubs have also done litter picking. But for people living in a facility, it is hard to match schedules and go out. Joining a volunteer group, and arranging the date, time and place, can be fun, but it also takes effort. And as members get older, it is hard for some self-run groups to keep going. You just live as usual and take a walk in the morning or evening. If you pick up even one or two pieces of litter instead of only walking, your town becomes cleaner, and it helps someone in the community. You can prevent the need for care and volunteer at the same time. Tokoname faces the coast of Ise Bay. So picking up litter washed ashore helps not only our area but also towns across the bay. I think it can be a contribution that goes beyond our community.
4. All on your smartphone: volunteering is not special
Please tell us your future plans, and give a message to people thinking of trying Pirika.
Activities grow little by little. I think it is important to keep going step by step. Once more people join, I hope it grows into something people can join with their small children.
Volunteering, including at our council, is not something special. I hope we can lower the barrier so it becomes something everyone can do. For that, it is better to do activities at your own pace. With the Pirika App, you can do everything on your own smartphone. I think it is an easy system to use for the years ahead, and I hope many people will use it.
Organization: Tokoname City Council of Social Welfare Industry: Welfare services Service: Pirika for Businesses and Organizations (visualization page)