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Help at home scheme
Help at Home ServicesWhat does it do?
Help at Home includes free services and a charged practical help service, and anyone over the age of sixty may be eligible. There are four elements to the scheme, as described below.
Practical help
This is available throughout Shropshire and is a chargeable service. We employ paid workers called Home Support Workers. They can carry out everyday tasks that an older person may find difficult to manage.
Following our referral, one of our co-ordinators makes a home assessment to decide how best we can help, and arranges a Home Support Worker. The same Home Support Worker calls each time, for two hours at a time. Further blocks of two hours can be booked.
All Home Support Workers have a three day induction programme, enhanced criminal records check which includes a police check and two independent references.
Practical tasks include:
- Vacuuming and dusting
- Bathroom and kitchen cleaning
- Shopping and collecting prescriptions
- Laundry and ironing
- Gardening
- Cleaning inside windows
Volunteer Befriending
This service is free. We have a team of volunteers who can visit older people in their own homes and provide a friendly social visit. The volunteers all have a criminal records check, provide two references and are supported by a dedicated co-ordinator in the Age UK office.
To qualify for a befriender you must be living in the county of Shropshire, excluding Telford & Wrekin. Telford & Wrekin have a similar service called the Volunteer Visiting Scheme.Befrienders help by:
- Having a chat
- Accompanying on walks and shopping trips
- Helping with small tasks
- Playing scrabble and cards
- Sharing experiences
- Helping with paperwork
- Collecting prescriptions
- Offering support and a listening ear
Telephone Buddy
Who it is for?
Where it is available?
What it costs:
This is a free service. Telephone buddy volunteers come into our office at Mardol Gardens on a Monday morning to ring older people for a friendly weekly chat. Volunteers provide two references and are supported by a dedicated co-ordinator in the Age UK office.
To qualify you must be living in the county of Shropshire excluding Telford & Wrekin.Benefits Check
This is a free service. This is available to people living in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. Our officers can answer queries, provide benefit checks, and assist in the completion of claim forms. They can also support people at appeals and represent at tribunals.
How to access or apply for it:
Classification(s):
Info last updated:
