IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN TOUGH - poverty of the elderly in Poland

Empty street of Warsaw’s Old Town during the second Covid-19 lockdown. The neighborhood, although well maintained, is not considered a convenient place to live for the young Varsovians. Therefore, there are many cheap communal apartments available in the area, making it a place where tourism and poverty mix in the historical center of the capital. Warsaw; Poland, 20.12.2020;

Barbara Dąbrowska (79) is blind. In her youth, she struggled with alcoholism, partly because of which, despite having children, she has lived alone for years. Since she lost her sight a few years ago, she practically does not leave the house independently. Warsaw, Poland, 18.03.2021

The interior of Zygmunt Ostaszewski's (73) house, who has been living alone since the death of his wife almost 3 years ago. He is blind and unable to tidy the flat himself. Among other jobs, Ostaszewski was also an engineer and a construction worker. A few years ago, before he started losing his sight, he had completely renovated the house on his own. Warsaw, Poland, 16.01.2021

Joanna Zurek-Zulawska (right) and Anna Kaczmarska (second to right) are volunteers in the Senior w Koronie (Senior in a Crown / Coronavirus) foundation helping the elderly. Before Christmas, together with their families, they were visiting the elderly with small gifts, Christmas trees, and traditional meals prepared for Christmas Eve supper. Warsaw, Poland, 23.12.2020,

Andrzej Grajewski (73) shows how he used to play violin when he was younger. He lived alone since he lost his daughter and his partner in a car accident several years ago. Engineer, before retiring, he worked in management. However, most of his documents got lost from the public archives during the post-communist transformation period, and his retirement pension was only 270$ per month. As he said, due to stress-related to his financial condition, he developed severe health problems and spent eight months in hospital before the pandemic started. Grajewski passed away in February 2021. He was found in his bed by a volunteer taking care of him in the past months. Due to the lack of imminent family, he was buried weeks later in another part of Poland. All the volunteers learned about his funeral post-factum from the social welfare center. 20.12.2020, Warsaw, Poland

Volunteers who have been visiting Henryka Lubecka (90) for several months organized a small celebration on her 90th birthday. After the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, everyone was able to take off their masks and see their faces for the first time since they knew each other. 16.02.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Agnieszka Kajzer (40) and Paweł Ostrowski (40) are a couple in their private life. For several months, they have been very active in helping seniors in Warsaw. During the Saturday lunch delivery, they also hang curtains in their beneficiaries’ flat to make their apartment at least a bit warmer during winter. Warsaw, Poland,

Krystyna Jedrzejczak (70) learned about the foundation helping the elderly through Facebook when she was ill with sciatica and prolapsed disk. After dealing with huge debts for almost ten years, she lived with only 400 PLN (100$) per month. She did not have warm clothes for winter, money for food, or medication. Since, with the administrative help of some volunteers, her debts were canceled. As she says, she developed multiple health problems during years of a violent marriage, where she was regularly severely beaten and maltreated. 12.03.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Grazyna Nojek (70) is holding a small Christmas tree, a gift from the volunteers, as a Christmas commercial is broadcasted on a TV behind her. She lives alone after losing her parents and her son. Before the pandemic started, she worked taking care of a disabled boy to add to her modest retirement pension, but with the first lockdown, she lost her job. A month ago, she didn’t even have essential household appliances or bedding, which had to be thrown away to eliminate bed bugs discovered in her building. 23.12.2020, Warsaw, Poland

Volunteers from Senior in a Crown / Coronavirus foundation are preparing food packages delivered weekly to more than a hundred seniors in need living in the capital. In the beginning, most products were bought by volunteers themselves or from the money raised through online fundraising, but as the foundation grew, companies and private donors started delivering food and other needed products. 23.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Maria Korycka (80) spent most of her working years in Germany; she left before the Berlin Wall collapsed and came back before Poland joined European Union. Also, because of multiple personal tragic events and a severe accident she survived, she lost most of her money. She is now living only with social help, and most months, she has less than 400 PLN (around 100 $) to live on. She was firmly dependent on meals provided by social welfare before the centers closed in March 2020. As she says, she lives again since the volunteers are helping her with food, medication, and almost daily conversation on the phone. 16.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Henryka Lubecka (90) lives alone after her son passed away five years ago. She is extremely poor and severely handicapped as she lost both of her legs in an accident in her childhood. For a few months, she receives help from the volunteers helping the elderly. That day they came to clean her apartment and exchange some of the old furniture. They also taught Lubecka how to change programs on her TV. 26.11.2020, Warsaw, Poland

Rafal Witkowski (43) (left) visits Bogdan Wyzykowski (91) almost every day. In a few years since they know each other, they have established a very personal bond. Rafal calls Wyzykowski not different than “my grandpa”. He helps him with his chores, prepares him some meals or helps him do it on his own, brings him to visit the cemetery or sit in a park, but mainly comes to talk and spend time together, as due to severe loneliness, Wyzykowski had suicidal thoughts before he was approached by “PSIK” foundation which helps seniors in need. Bogdan passed away in July 2021. 21.03.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Zygmunt Ostaszewski (73) lives in an apartment provided by social welfare in the house, which is on the national heritage monuments list. When he moved there in 2001, there was no hot water, heating, or even decent floors or plaster on the walls. He fixed it all on his own, and now he is the only person living in the house during winter. All the other apartments are not heated, and his neighbors are spending winter with their families. Zygmunt lost his son years ago, and his beloved wife passed away almost three ago, after 37 years of their marriage. Warsaw, Poland, 20.01.2021

Rafał Witkowski (43), for three months already, has been spending several hours a day helping Henryk Stepien (77) to become more independent. After having his legs amputated, Henryk has been dependent on his wife's help for several years. The family could not even afford to buy nappies, let alone medicines or rehabilitation. Witkowski himself was paralyzed in his early youth. He uses his knowledge from many years of recovery to help others. 15.03.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Grazyna Sowinska (66) used to be very active in her youth. For years she has been running art classes for children, and she was the leading costume designer for the most prestigious circus and dance artists in Poland. However, in the last years, her health has quickly deteriorated; she had a heart attack and suffers from coronary artery disease and very advanced rheumatoid arthritis, which prevents her from walking and even doing the most basic house chores, like preparing food or washing the dishes. 23.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Alicja Santkowska (91) is on the phone with Maciej Slupski, a volunteer to whom she is especially close. Mrs. Santkowska lives alone and suffers from severe loneliness. She buried two of her husbands and her kids are living abroad or in another part of Poland. For her, most of the communication with her loved ones was happening on a phone even before the pandemic started. 16.03.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Old photographs are hanging on a wall of Danuta Orlowska’s (90) apartment. The image on the left is a portrait of her son, who passed away in August 2020; the second is her wedding picture. She was 23 when she got married and buried her husband 43 years later. The image on the right shows Jean-Paul II, the pope from Poland. 23.02.2021

Viola Lubacz covers Henryka Lubecka (90) with a blanket. Lubecka fell in the street a few days ago. She doesn’t have legs and walks with a prosthesis, which is no longer fit due to a painful growing ulcer, making it even more difficult for her to walk. 05.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Krzysztof Wojtowicz (96) is receiving his first dose of vaccine against Covid-19, the first day that Poland allowed vaccination for patients over 80 years of age. Despite his age, Krzysztof is still highly active; he reads a lot, watches documentaries, and uses the internet for research. He used to work for the Polish National Radio for about 40 years and traveled all his life extensively. He feels alone since his beloved wife passed away less than a year ago. 26.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Marta Bialkowska (34) has just learned that one of the ladies she was taking care of for the last months has passed away in the morning. "Helping the elderly is not a glamorous job, we do not prepare anyone for a better future, for a better life, we only accompany them in their last months, at best we make this time a little better for them (...) Poland is not a country for senior citizens. They don't always smell good; they have their cravings, don't learn fast, have baggage, and have history. People don't want to see that." she said right after. 19.12.2020, Warsaw, Poland

Parrots given to Barbara Szczesna (83) four years ago by her grandson, who works in Warsaw Zoo, keep her company, especially during the long months of the pandemic, when she was too scared to see even her closest family. Barbara had animals all her life. 30.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Magda Gilarska (41) is helping Barbara Dabrowska (79) to get into the car as she is taking her for a medical checkup to verify why her health has recently strongly deteriorated. 16.12.2020, Warsaw, Poland

A night view of the garden in front of Zygmunt Ostaszewski’s house, located right behind one of the main railway stations in Warsaw. The building where he lives is classified as a historical monument, which increases the costs and makes it extremely difficult to carry out any renovation work in the area. Therefore, the building practically falls into ruin. At the same time, due to the lack of any isolation, it is noisy and the walls shake even at night when trains pass by. 05.01.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Before the pandemic, Maria Korycka (80) worked in a social welfare library, adding extra income to her 100$ retirement pension. In March, her daughter, who supported her financially, also lost her job, leaving Maria with about 50 cents per day for food and necessary medicine. In the last months, Maria did not go out and spent her days reading or watching programs about nature on television, which she worries will be cut off soon due to the lack of payment. Warsaw, Poland, 10.12.2020

From the moment they met three months before, Rafal Witkowski (43) was promising Henryk Stepien (77) that once the winter passes, they will go for a long walk together to the place of Henryk’s choice. Today they went to the main memorial square in Warsaw and to the royal park of Lazienki, located almost 4 km from the place where Henryk lives. Before they met, Henryk did not even have the force to lift his head from the small bedding he was spending his days in. 21.03.2021, Warsaw, Poland

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, old age in Poland has been related to poverty and social exclusion. With Warsaw as a sample, I am documenting the impact of the pandemic on social wellbeing, the level of medical care, and food and housing security of the elderly in Poland.

According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, 90% of people above 85 don’t have any access to the digital world. More than half of them live alone, 1⁄4 declare suffering from depression and much more from chronic loneliness. In Poland, an average pension is half an average salary and, as Social Insurance Institution says, most of the Polish elderly receive around 229$ per month. In the cities, the poorest live without electricity, hot water or basic furniture. Before the spring lockdown, they used to rely on emergency financial assistance and hot meals provided by social centers, most of which closed during the pandemic. Further, in recent months, up to 1/3 of the elderly stopped their medical treatment.

Although civil society engagement hadn’t been great in Poland, the pandemic seems to have changed the situation. Informal groups of volunteers engaged during the first lockdown in March 2020 have since grown from a few people to hundreds of members of newly established foundations delivering meals, buying medication, helping the elderly with everyday chores, or even renovating their houses.

In this work, I hope to showcase not only already existing difficulties that the elderly face, only further exposed by the current sanitary crisis but also the stories of solidarity and intergenerational bonds between volunteers and seniors, who paradoxically found help and connection in the times of social distancing.

Financed by National Geographic Society Covid-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists