The hub of a wheel: a neighborhood support network.
In a neighborhood where elderly residents have known each other for years, a closely-knit network of mutual assistance and support has developed among a few of the oldest residents. The network and its functions are described in detail, and two features are discussed as being unusual. First, the "old old" people help each other on a daily basis, and second, the routine nature of the assistance is taken for granted by all concerned, except for the author, who observed the evolution of this network over a period of several years. The network's theoretical implications for social integration and its practical implications for the maintenance of independent living are summarized.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support