Most people react with horror and revulsion when they read of a person lying dead in their home - undiscovered by others for weeks and in some cases months.
Just such an event happened in a Housing Commission block of units this week. It is easier to understand when this happens in an isolated farm house, but in a heavily populated block of units - where neighbours are only separated by the thickness of a brick wall ?
How could it happen that a human living in close proximity to others could simply fade from sight - and go unnoticed until the smell of putrefaction caused neighbours to seek the source ?
This incident will cause a flurry of well meaning citizens to suggest remedies. There will be calls for the aged and infirm to receive regular telephone contact and for a " buddy " system to be developed where others in a building look out for the welfare of those living alone.
These are good ideas - and they have been tried before - but the single obstacle to their success is that some people simply do not want contact with family or friends - and specially not those who are simply neighbours.
It is a fact of life that a proportion of the population has an advanced wish for privacy and would resent any form of regular contact as an intrusion.
That is not a reason to abandon such " contact schemes ". To do so would remove a practical solution for those who are isolated because of a lack of the English language - a shyness that prevents them from making friends - a lack of living relatives - or the onset of a disease such as Alzheimer's which divorces them from reality.
For those that prefer their own company and shun others - the only help possible is for neighbours to be alert and contact the authorities when a suspicious lack of sightings occur.
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