There are around 40,000 senior citizens in Taiwan who are residing on their own, and everyday, we are hearing more sad stories about elders who have problems taking care of themselves. The civil groups are urging people to seriously consider and evaluate the condition of their own parents, in addition to seeking assistance from social workers.

This single, elderly woman is quite happy when she sees this volunteer coming to her house.

They chat easily but this type of scene does not take place every day.

Many elderly people no longer have their children around, resulting in many awkward social problems.

Because no family is around, some elderly people can only vent their feelings to these social workers.

Still, many refrain from this according to the Stella Matutina Social Welfare Foundation, which established an old friends network.

It says that at present there are 40,000 elderly people living alone. Many have never been married and live with families though they can't care for themselves and can cause many social problems. Some have little contact with the outside world because they do not know how to make use of social resources.

This also runs against many people's view that we care for the older generation.

Social workers say that there is a serious problem when it comes to the aging society.

Children should assess if their parent's have the ability to live on their own, and if not, they should seek out community resources to help.