The Ten Principles of The Eden Alternative model of care:
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The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.
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An Elder-centered community commits to creating a Human Habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals, and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.
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Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.
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An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
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An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom.
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Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.
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Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.
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An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down, bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.
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Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.
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Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.