FOR CORONAVIRUS SUPPORT

Visit our dedicated website - www.ageuksomersetcoronavirus.org.uk

UPDATE ON OUR SERVICES AND OUR OFFICE RE-OPENING - 15th July 2020

With services opening up slowly across the UK we wanted to keep you updated on where we are with regards to our services and our office opening.

Currently we are all working from home and our Taunton office will remain closed to the public until further notice.

But we are only a phone call (or email info@ageuksomerset.org.uk) away!

We are continuing to run most of our services, so if you need:

Benefits advice then please do call us on 01823 345613, leave a message on the answerphone and someone from our team will call you back.
We can help with assessments to see what you may be entitled to,
We can advise you on Pension Credit (which you’ll need to continue to get a free TV Licence) and,
We can find a Volunteer to assist you over the phone with forms such as Attendance Allowance.

We are currently working hard to be able to resume our Ageing Well exercise sessions at some point in the future and many of our existing class members have just started participating in many classes online!

Our Befriending service continues to run mainly over the phone but with some of our volunteers, if stringent safety measures are in place, beginning to do socially distanced face to face meetings.

For those who would like to have someone to chat to on the telephone we now offer a Friendly Phone Calls service. Call 01823 345610 if you’d like more information.

Our Toe Nail Cutting service will soon restart gradually and we will be in touch with our clients who are affected to arrange a suitable way forward.

We are still working hard to do all we can to support older people in Somerset and North Somerset so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are fully staffed and are standing by to be of service!

Our Office may be closed but we are still available for you by telephone and email and through our new website www.ageuksomersetcoronavirus.org.uk

Call us We are experiencing a high number of calls so please leave a message and we WILL call you back.	01823 345610
email us	infoandadvice@ageuksomerset.org.uk
Find us on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/AgeUKSomerset/
Follow us on Twitter	https://twitter.com/AgeUKSomerset/

Volunteering

Friendly Phone Calls Service

We have recently set up a new service in response to Coronavirus and the increased isolation it has caused many older people to experience. The Friendly Phone Calls service involves making a weekly call to an older person, to alleviate their sense of loneliness. If you'd like to volunteer, please email volunteers@ageuksomerset.org.uk.

Here are some other ways you can help:

Registering to Volunteer with the NHS

The NHS are also asking volunteers to register for volunteering and the details for this can be found here. https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS

This is for people who can drive and get out and about and also for those willing to support patients by phone.

Register to Volunteer with the NHS

________________________________________________________________________________

Neighbourly Volunteering

Take part in neighbourly volunteering and help support older people in your community who are staying at home due to the coronavirus epidemic.

To help you get involved we have produced a postcard that you can print off and complete with key information (including our contact details) and post to older people in your area to let them know you are available should they need support.

Download and print Age UK Somerset's Neighbourly Volunteer Postcard

More information and a training video can be seen here

________________________________________________________________________________

Volunteering with Age UK Somerset

If you are interested in volunteering with us in the future we would love to hear from you and will keep your contact details on file ready for when we are resuming normal service.

What we are doing

As the local charity for older people we are working with local authorities and other local voluntary groups and organisations at this trying time to put in place a county-wide plan to ensure that those in need of help are supported. With new government advice that people over 70 should self-isolate we are urgently reviewing how we will be providing our services. More information will follow.

Latest Advice from the NHS

Be aware of SCAMS!

Some nasty people are taking advantage of people's anxiety during this time to try to scam them. We've had some information about various scams going round.

Read about scams