Mabel

Mabel, a lady in her mid 80’s, was referred to Supporting Older People by her GP, who felt we would be the ideal charity to help her.

Mabel’s husband had died of cancer and deteriorated so quickly at the end that she had very little time to come to terms with this. Mabel suffered from anxiety and tended to fixate and worry about things. She had, and still has, limited mobility which restricts her going out and about. She has no immediate family and only a couple of friends.

Her GP suggested Supporting Older People as a way of meeting new friends and having someone to chat to.

The Home Visiting Scheme Manager introduced Mabel to a volunteer called Hannah. Hannah had come to Supporting Older People on the recommendation of another volunteer who enjoyed it so much she encouraged her friend to participate. Hannah is a full time mum and felt she wanted to make a difference to the life of an older person.

The pair immediately hit it off, finding common ground to chat and Mabel enjoyed seeing Hannah’s little boy. During the time Hannah has been visiting, Mabel has had concerns about builders and Hannah immediately contacted the SOP office to discuss this and we were able to find ways to help Mabel.

Hannah now visits on a weekly basis; they enjoy going shopping, out for tea or just sitting and chatting. When Mabel had a leaky pipe in her kitchen Hannah was on hand to help with clearing up. Birthdays are celebrated with a trip to Harlow Carr for a walk around the gardens followed by afternoon tea.

Mabel says, “Hannah is now a friend, a lovely lady with a wonderful disposition. She is a constant in my life”. She also expressed her thanks to Supporting Older People for introducing her to Hannah.

(All names changed to preserve confidentiality)

Sophia & Pearl

Sophia was referred into Supporting Older People in March 2018 and suggested she would like a Home Visitor. Sophia lives alone, has limited sight and poor mobility. Her son lives away from Harrogate. Sophia was born in Southern Italy and was a lecturer in Italian.

Paul joined SOP as a Home Visitor he is studying Italian at Leeds University! I mentioned Sophia to Paul and he said he would love to visit her.

A date was set (unbeknown to us Sophia’s birthday!!) for Paul and Sophia to meet. We rang the bell and I introduced Paul to Sophia – Paul introduced himself in Italian and Sophia’s face was priceless! I had not told her about Paul’s studies.

They now meet on a regular basis to chat away in Italian – a perfect match as Paul has his spoken and written Italian corrected and Sophia gets to converse in her native tongue! Not only that but they are great friends and enjoy each other’s company immensely!

Pearl had recently moved to Harrogate to be near her family. She was in sheltered housing and although enjoyed visits from her family missed the friends she had left behind. I visited Pearl and spoke to her about our activities programme. Tea & Talk interested Pearl and she came along to a session at the Crown. From that moment she was hooked. She found new friendships and enjoyed the social side. Pearl has recruited other ladies from where she lives to come along to Tea & Talk. Pearl’s daughter sent the following email:

“Hi Julia, Just wanted to say a huge ‘thank you’ to you and the team for looking after my Mum who has recently moved to Harrogate. Mum has attended the Tuesday afternoon tea at the Crown Hotel for a few weeks. She was collected from home and delivered back safely after having a fantastic afternoon. She is 96 yrs old has failing eyesight and is hard of hearing. But what an effort you put in to make her feel so welcome. She has made new friends and so looks forward to her outings. This has made a huge change of circumstances for her. Thank you so much”

(All names have been changed to protect the client’s privacy)

Juliet

The day Juliet walked through the door of Supporting Older People we did not know the impact she would have on two older people who were feeling isolated. Juliet was matched with M who had family living away and although lived in sheltered housing felt she would like one to one contact. M instantly bonded with Juliet – their love of clothes, style and fashion helped bond their wonderful relationship. Juliet and M see each other on a weekly basis and pass the time either going out for coffee, shopping or enjoying a good catch up.

Juliet felt she had the time to visit another person and the Befriending Manager introduced her to J who lived alone with his dog Alfie as his companion. When J was initially visited by the Befriending Manager he asked if she could find him someone who would go for a short dog walk with him. Juliet and J soon became good friends and J mentioned that he had lost touch with his family. Juliet asked if he would like to reconnect and she enlisted the help of her savvy social media expert niece.

She managed to track down Derek, J’s brother on social media which led the way to six other siblings being traced. J said since meeting Juliet “I am so much happier in myself – I never used to go out. I would go from one day to the next with seeing or talking to anybody, before I met Juliet and found my brothers and sisters. My life has completed changed. I cannot thank Juliet enough for everything she has done for me. Our friendship means a lot to me and she has made a massive difference to my life”.

A perfect example of the power of volunteering.

(All Names have been changed to protect the client’s privacy)