Elderly and disabled people in the Harrogate area in need of help with decorating and DIY are being urged to contact a local charity.
Help at Home, part of the Harrogate Easier Living Project (HELP), has volunteers on standby to carry out basic DIY and decorating jobs for vulnerable people over the winter months. The charity, which has been running for over 20 years, supports older people and those with a disability who can no longer manage jobs around the house, and have no family who can help out or who can’t afford a professional service.
The volunteers work with the charity’s Service Support Workers to carry out one off tasks such as changing hard to reach light bulbs and defrosting freezers, to larger jobs such as decorating and DIY. The charity is hoping to reach even more people this winter.
Jane Cozens, HELP Service Coordinator, said:
Over the winter months our trained volunteers focus on indoor jobs, saving the gardening tasks until the spring. We have a number of volunteers lined up to help with jobs over the next couple of months and we know that there’ll be lots of people in the Harrogate area in need of our support, so we’re urging them to come forward.
There is no charge for our service, but clients will be asked to cover the costs of any materials and we are always grateful for donations when we’ve done a job for someone. Donations go towards paying volunteers expenses and covering the costs of running the service.
The Harrogate Easier Living Project (HELP) was launched in 2011, bringing together three services which provide support for older people and those with a disability to remain independent in their own homes. Help at Home, Opening Doors for Disabled People and Carers Time Off are all supported by an army of volunteers.
Anyone interested in getting support with DIY and decorating jobs from the Help at Home team can contact Jane Cozens on 01423 813096 or jane@harrogatecvs.org.uk
Picture caption: David Tindall from Help at Home who works with volunteers to support vulnerable adults in the home
