Our volunteers are hugely important to the work we do at Age UK Bristol. They help us to keep our services running and provide a helping hand to their communities. Unfortunately, since the outbreak of coronavirus our face to face services have had to temporarily close down. But we’ve been keeping in touch with our volunteers through weekly ‘Check In’ calls to ensure they have everything they need. 

Susie, who previously volunteered in our Healthy Together service, was feeling stressed and anxious when we called her, and over the course of the check in call, it transpired that Susie, who cares for her mother, had run out of money and couldn’t get to the post office to pick up her mother’s pension. We arranged, through the Support Hub, for Susie to have an over the phone counselling session with Oasis-Talk. We also arranged for her to receive an emergency food parcel to tide her over whilst our information and advice team could help her with her finances. Our check in calls will continue over the course of the pandemic to ensure people like Susie and her mother have access to the support they need.

This is just one story of many about the real lives and experiences of older people coping with the impact of Covid19 in Bristol.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved so far in the creation and administration of the Support Hub. You’ve made a difference to hundreds of people like Susie and her mother.

Thank you to our partners who help make up the Support Hub. It’s been a fantastic effort of shared knowledge and resources to reach the people who need our help the most.

Thank you also to our own staff and volunteers at Age UK Bristol who have been taking calls every day through the helpline, often on top of their usual workloads.

The Support Hub would not be possible were it not for the backing of local funding organisations. Thanks to Bristol Older People’s Funding Alliance, John James, Quartet Community Foundation, and St Monica Trust for making the Support Hub possible.

How you can help:

Volunteer.

If you have spare time and have an up to date DBS check, please consider volunteering with us. Due to the expansion of Age UK Bristol’s services we now need volunteers for new roles including:

• Telephone shopping and delivery
• Virtual activities

Please email volunteer@ageukbristol.org.uk or ring 0117 440 4303 to register your interest.

Donate.

Our team are working tirelessly to support as many older people as we can. Your donation will make a huge impact on our work reaching the most vulnerable and isolated older people in Bristol.

You can donate to our JustGiving page by clicking here.

If you would like to donate to one of our partner organisations, please go through to their website.

Additionally, if you are a company or business who would like to offer support please get in touch with fundraising@ageukbristol.org.uk  In recent weeks we have received donations of spare stock from local shops that we have been able to distribute to older people in urgent need, and access to a community vehicle that our staff have used when supporting the community.

Promote.

Can you help spread the word about the services available through the Support Hub? We are aiming to reach the most isolated and vulnerable older people to ensure they are supported through the outbreak. This means reaching people who may not have family or friends living nearby. They may be older people who are not active online and so are unaware of the services available. Could you help spread the word on social media and by word of mouth?

You could follow our accounts on Facebook and Twitter and share our posts, or when ringing family and friends, mention our Support Hub and help spread the word.

You can download a copy of our Support Hub flyer here.

Key information.

The helpline for the Support Hub operates from 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.  Sometimes the helpline will be busy but if messages are left on the phone or by email out of working hours, we will always respond as soon as possible.

You can find out more about the Support Hub on the Age UK Bristol website. To get in touch with the Support Hub please ring the helpline on 0117 929 7537 or email admin@ageukbristol.org.uk

The Support Hub is made up of: Age UK Bristol, Active Ageing Bristol, Alive, Alzheimer’s Society, Bristol Ageing Better, Bristol And Avon Chinese Women’s Group, Bristol Community Navigators, Bristol Stroke Foundation, Cruse Bereavement Care, Dhek Bhal, Independent Age, Linkage, Marmalade Trust, North Bristol Advice Centre, Oasis-Talk, Playlist for Life, RSCP West, St Monica Trust, The Reader and We Care Home Improvements.