The question of the day. Are you afraid of getting old?

Human and financial resources, ambition of the policy pursued… The question of aging at home should, unsurprisingly, be an issue at the National Conference on Home Help which is being held on Tuesday in Paris in the presence of professionals in the sector.
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What is the state of affairs?

The years go by but the observation remains the same: an immense majority of French people want to stay at home as long as possible. In 2022, 94% of them said they would do everything to end their lives at home (Ifop) and 92% thought that staying at home as long as possible would allow them to live a satisfying old age (Harris Interactive).

A wish which, until now, has managed to come true for a majority of them. A Drees survey published in February 2023 reported less than one senior aged 75 or over in 10 (9.2%) living in an accommodation establishment compared to an overwhelming majority (90.8%) at home.

But the situation could change with the demographic tsunami announced for the coming years. According to demographic and epidemiological projections, elderly people losing their autonomy should represent 4 million of the population in 2050 – an increase of 60% since the last census dating from 2015.

The demographic shock linked to the aging of the population will require the creation of a significant number of home service places, solely to maintain equipment rates and the share of homes at their current level. noted in a report published in 2022 by the Court of Auditors.

What problems?

However, on the ground, the account is not there, according to professionals in the sector and observers who point to an insufficient supply of home help services capable of providing assistance in the actions of daily life (washing, ‘dress, go out…).

Like other elderly professions, the home help sector is facing a crisis of attractiveness with many positions remaining vacant. A major capacity and HR challenge warned the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) in 2024.

A system already under tension which should be strained even further. The aging of the population and the desire of elderly people to stay at home should indeed lead to a strong growth in the need for personal services by 2030 with an increase of more than 30,000 jobs in the support segment alone. at home, according to government projections.

Beyond the workforce, other issues are also unresolved. On the one hand, personal housing is still largely unsuitable for aging – only 6% have been adapted to date for loss of autonomy and 10,000 fatal falls per year are still to be deplored, according to the national housing agency. (Anah).

On the other hand, the prospect of a decline in caregivers – linked to the reduction in the number of children and the increasing geographic distance between parents and children.

However, the impossibility for those around them to continue to help the person is one of the primary reasons for entering an establishment. noted Igas in its 2023 report.

What solutions?

Faced with this picture, voices have been raised for several years to defend a third way and definitively put an end to the home/establishment dichotomy .

This alternative could go through the independent residences – private accommodation with common areas and collective services. In its report, Igas called for building 100,000 more by 2030.

Another alternative put forward is that of inclusive housing like the most famous of them – the Maison des Babayagas designed in the 1990s by feminist activist Thérèse Clerc and inaugurated in Montreuil in 2013.

In a report published in 2021, the Senate information mission entitled Aging well at home: that’s possible too! insisted that the home was not not necessarily your forever home .

It can be adapted, shared or of a particular type. It must nonetheless remain personalized, that is to say composing a part of personality she concluded.