Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 81 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
It’s safe to say we’ve all felt the cold over the last couple of weeks: the “Beast from the East” made it hard for us to stay connected and warm. Many of us couldn’t get to work, or use transport and social media was full of pictures of supermarkets with empty shelves.
It was particularly difficult for some of our older neighbours who don’t have family members or friends around to help, or who already struggle to get out and about, even without ice and snow to contend with. Through the Winter Wellbeing project, we’ve been trying to reach these more vulnerable neighbours in the community.
To date we’ve spoken to over 1360 of our older neighbours about the project. Of those, 360 people have received interventions: we’ve connected them to Social Clubs/Love Your Neighbour, arranged for warm items or fuel grants to be distributed, and linked them up to other organisations for energy saving, debt advice and much more.
Over 100 older neighbours have received warm items from us including hats, blankets, gloves and thermal socks. 24 grants have been distributed to those struggling with the keeping warm which have been used to pay for high fuel bills, heaters, curtains and winter coats. Here are a few of the people we’ve met and supported so far:
Sheila
Sheila told us she'd been sleeping in her living room on a sofa bed for the past year because of a problem with bed bugs in her bedroom. She had to get rid of her bed and has since struggled to find the money to buy a new one. We're helping her to apply for a Friends of the Elderly grant to buy a new bed.
Elena
We met Elena at a Healthwatch Southwark Winter Warmer event and she told us about her about the difficulty heating her home. Draughts come into her bedroom and she has to wear multiple layers in the house to keep warm. We were able to deliver Elena a blanket and longer term we've linked her up to SHINE who are helping her to install measures to stop the draughts.
John
We met John through Norwood Foodbank. They told us of John's difficulties with his home and his high heating costs. That same day we were able to send him a fuel grant which he could put straight towards his fuel bill. We also put him in touch with SHINE who offer free energy saving visits – they can install energy saving measures in the home, help with switching energy suppliers and give advice on how to reduce and save on bills.
The Winter Wellbeing project ends at the end of March but we’re still working hard to help our older neighbours.
- We still have a small number of grants left which can help with bills or buying items to keep warm.
- We can deliver woolly hats, thermal socks and gloves to people feeling the cold.
- We can connect neighbours to partner organisations who can help with finances, benefits, home repairs and energy saving.
- We can welcome people along to our 24 free social clubs a month or match them up with younger neighbour for weekly one-to-on visits through our Love Your Neighbour programme.
Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to make a referral.
Some names used in this blog have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.