It's not just for old folks. Many of the skills that I used in my career, were honed doing volunteer work.
I've been doing this kind of work, all my life, and retiring just gave me more time to devote to it.
> NOTE: Not a bed of roses, unless you count all the thorns.
It was cool to play Spacewar! on it as well from 1962, some of his colleagues made it on the same computer at MIT. Very likely the oldest program you will ever interact with, certainly the oldest game, and it was so damn smooth and playable.
The people in there have lived lives. They may be out of touch but they know things. I talk with residents about my hobbies of woodworking, gardening, canning, hunting, fishing, and wild gathered food.
I've learned WAY more with those conversations than YouTube or books could've ever taught me. It's absolutely worth your time.
And nursing homes are always looking for people to spend time with the very lonely residents.
Anyone with a hobby that isn't technology should do that.
My mother has worked in long-term care facilities for around 40 years, and has only seen one violent resident in that time.
Care homes a) have protocols in place and b) can boot violent residents if they are unequipped to care for them.
The people who are really, genuinely dangerous tend to be in very specialized care settings.
Also the nursing home staff in the activities department can tell you which residents to work with, even on the special care units (Alzheimer's and dementia sort of things). They know the residents and know which ones are lonely, what their history is, and which ones will enjoy your company.
There's so many ways to volunteer, always another way to help if you need a change. I got into fire fighting last year, and now help with ambulance volunteering. I also do free job skills tutoring, that's a fun way to interact with people directly.
I am more than happy to chat about it, but I don't usually discuss it at the level of Press, Radio, and Film. Drop me an email.