A service for the elderly in Fairford, Tetbury and Lechlade (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

A service for the elderly in Fairford, Tetbury and Lechlade

2:19pm Monday 15th June 2009

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In Autumn last year People for You launched in Fairford, Tetbury and Lechlade to offer help and advice to elderly residents. Charlotte Shepherd found out more about the organisation throwing vulnerable, older people a vital lifeline.

SUPPORT for elderly residents exists in the Cotswolds but knowing where to go to access it can a struggle.

But thanks to a service offered by voluntary organisation People for You, residents can now be connected with the correct agencies to help them meet their day-to-day needs.

Voluntary organisation People for You started last October in Fairford, Lechlade and Tetbury.

Funded by Cotswold District Council the organisation offers advice, home visits and home from hospital transport to those who need it.

‘There is a real need for this service," said People for You coordinator Sue Black. "There are a lot of lonely and isolated people out there."

As well as a traditional visiting and home from hospital service, People for You gives 'signposting' - offering older people guidance and information about the local services that are available to them.

It is about pointing them in the right direction and may also be about helping them to fill in forms.

Completing complex forms can be challenging for many of us but for some elderly residents they can prove particularly daunting.

"I helped a 96 year-old lady to supply information about her electricity bill to enable her to get a discount," explained Sue.

Volunteers are the life-blood of this service. Sue has 17 people currently willing to help but is looking for more. She is also keen to hear from more clients who feel they could benefit from the service.

Volunteers can do as much or as little as they choose.

Some, like Colin from Fairford, prefer to concentrate on the visiting side of the service.

His 89 year-old "client", Mary, is in a wheelchair and mostly house-bound. "The idea is that I go once a week and socialise. My role is not to do odd jobs around the house," he said.

For Mary his visits provide relief from what can be a lonely day. "It gives me someone to talk to," she said. "It makes a difference to me. I don’t see a lot of people."

Some volunteers might prefer to become involved in the other side of People for You - home from hospital visits.

This is still in its initial set-up stages and Sue wants to forge links with hospitals and GPs.

The idea behind it is to be there to meet an older person if they are returning from hospital to an empty house. "Imagine getting out of hospital to a cold house and having no one at home to make you a cup of tea," said Sue.

"We will be there to meet them, get milk and turn on the heating," she added.

With its three-pronged approach, People for You hopes to bring the community to elderly residents in Fairford, Lechlade and Tetbury.

"The elderly have such a lot to give back to society and that can be neglected," said Sue.

* To find out more about People for You, or to volunteer, contact 07507 641815.

* Members of the organisation can also be found on Mondays at Tetbury Hospital and on Wednesdays at Fairford Community Centre.

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