Supporting Older People During COVID-19
Published on 03 April 2020 01:09 PM
It has been both a challenging rewarding week here at Age UK West Cumbria.
On Thursday 31st of March 2020 we launched two new services to help support people aged 55+ during the coronavirus outbreak.
The first, our new Helpline, was set up to offer information, advice and support to anyone aged 55+ who is struggling during these unprecedented times.
All week, our Helpline has been inundated with calls from older people who are:
- confused about what coronavirus means for them
- feeling lonely and isolated
- worried about their ability to cope
- concerned about their health and wellbeing
- concerned about their financial situation
- worried about their ability access to essential food supplies
Our friendly and knowledgeable staff have been working hard to provide callers with information, advice and most of all – reassurance.
Where appropriate, people have also been referred to our internal Information & Advice, Befriending, and Food Parcel Delivery services, or sign-posted to external services that can help support them during this time.
“The people I have spoken to have been so reassuring” – Isobel
To supplement our Helpline, our team have also been providing a ‘check-in’ service for our existing clients. We have been calling people directly all week to ensure they have access to support, and a friendly voice in case they feel alone.
Our second new service is a Food Parcel Delivery service. Since last Thursday our dedicated staff and volunteers have been working hard to create and deliver food parcels to older people across West Cumbria.
Each food parcel costs £10 and contains essential items like; milk, bread, potatoes, fruit and biscuits. Orders are being placed over the phone and delivered to people’s doorsteps the next day.
Since we began operating, we have delivered 120 food parcels to some of the most vulnerable people in our community – this has been a lifeline for many.
“Thank you so so much, my neighbour got his today. Amazing service. You have no idea what this means to the recipients and their families” – Fiona
We have also teamed up with JEHANE Ltd, a collection of artists who want to help bring some care, colour and compassion to people’s lives through our food parcels. We will be announcing more information on this over the coming days.
This has been an incredibly rewarding and humbling time for everyone at Age UK West Cumbria. We have been met with nothing but kindness and gratitude from those we have helped, and it is a privilege to be able to support the local community in a time of national crisis.
However in order to continue this support we need your help.
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak we have had to temporarily close our Day Activities service, Footcare service and our five charity shops across West Cumbria. These provided the main source of income for our organisation and we now lack the funding needed to continue.
This comes at a time when Age UK West Cumbria’s services have never been more in demand.
If you are able, please visit our Just Giving page and donate to our emergency appeal: