"People are very helpful and understanding," Jenny's journey out of lockdown.

”I was nervous when I first started venturing back into the shops and meeting people, but each time I did,  I felt a bit more confident.”

Jenny is in her 50s and lives in South Bristol with her partner and her daughters. She usually works part-time in a busy, people-facing job however due to her health conditions she has spent the last year and a half shielding. Her partner chose to isolate with her, however Jenny’s daughters made the decision to move out early on in the first wave of the pandemic, partly to protect Jenny, and partly for their own independence so that they would be able to continue their jobs.

Jenny has felt very isolated and anxious during the last year and a half but has been able to keep in touch with her daughters via FaceTime, socially distanced walks in their local park, and visits in their backyard once this was able to happen again. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was spent wrapped in coats and blankets in the backyard either side of a fire pit with one daughter on each day.

Jenny said she felt very grateful for the Bristol community effort to look after each other and keep each other safe, especially those that were vulnerable. However, her shielding experience throughout the pandemic has reduced her feelings of self-confidence and made her very wary about getting back out into the world, or letting people into her home. “When you get a text or letter from the government telling you that you're CEV - clinically extremely vulnerable - it makes you very cautious and anxious,” Jenny said.

Unfortunately, whilst Jenny has been shielding her partner has experienced some ill-health which has affected his mobility around the home. Although they have avoided anyone coming into their home Jenny and her husband needed a stair and shower rail fitted after Jenny’s husband was discharged from hospital. They were referred to We Care Home Improvements Handy Person Service. Jenny said, “After so many months of not allowing anyone in our home, it was strange having somebody coming in to do work, but he was very helpful, quick and efficient, and did an excellent job and left no mess. He was very careful and understanding as he knew I have been shielding. We are really pleased with the new rails which immediately meant my husband felt so much safer using the shower and the stairs; we are so glad we had them put in.”

As more and more people have now been vaccinated Jenny and her husband have started taking small steps towards to getting back to normal life. Jenny’s advice to others has been to take it a small step at a time and, if possible with another person to give you moral support. She has recently started meeting friends more (outside and at a distance) and going into some shops again. At first Jenny went with her daughter giving the reassurance that she could leave the shop if needed, this meant that if she felt overwhelmed by the experience, as she did the first time, she was able to leave and her daughter could finish the shopping and bring it out.

”I was nervous when I first started venturing back into the shops and meeting people, but each time I did,  I felt a bit more confident. If I am not sure what to do, for example with one-way systems in shops and suchlike, I just ask, and generally, people are very helpful and understanding. I've really enjoyed seeing my friends in the park, it's still possible to be careful, it is so lovely to see them in the flesh, not faces on a screen, I just have to remember not to give them a big hug!”

Jenny’s story is a part of Age UK Bristol and the Support Hub’s ‘One Small Step to Reconnect’ campaign, supporting and empowering people over 50 to reconnect with their community and rebuild their confidence in going out again post-lockdown. To find out more about the handyman service Jenny accessed through We Care Home Improvements, visit the website: www.wecr.org.uk