Age Action lends a hand

IT REALLY only does take one person to change a light bulb but if you’re getting on in age and unsteady on your feet, that can be one too many.

A voluntary service aims to do all the little jobs that can mean so much inconvenience for the older householder if left undone.

That can mean something as simple as changing an out-of-reach light bulb, installing a smoke alarm, putting up a washing line, hanging curtains, mowing a lawn or replacing a fuse.

The Care & Repair programme, run by Age Action Ireland with sponsorship from Irish Life, uses teams of volunteer handymen and Mrs Fixits who will call out to a householder and do the job free of charge or for the cost of the materials.

Kevin Murphy of Irish Life said the company was delighted to be involved in the programme, which will receive €250,000 in sponsorship annually. “Changing a bulb may not seem like a job which would enhance the quality of your life, but if you are unable to get up on a chair or a step ladder the Care & Repair service may be the difference between continuing to live a full life or sitting in the dark,” he said.

Age Action said the programme was devised in response to calls to the organisation’s information lines and outreach workers that indicated a huge demand for home repair and maintenance services among older people.

“As an organisation we are committed to helping older people to live full, independent and satisfying lives for as long as they wish in their own homes,” said chief executive Robin Webster. “This new service is a practical and critical way of assisting older people to do this.”

Care & Repair was launched by architect and broadcaster Duncan Stewart in Dublin where it has been running on a pilot basis since March. The programme has been running on a small scale in Galway in recent months but it will now be rolled out nationally so that it will be countrywide within three years.

The programme also runs a trades referral service using a register of reliable tradespeople who can be recommended to do larger repair and refurbishment jobs that are outside the scope of care and repair. In addition, a quote-checking service will send an experienced volunteer to assess a large job and give advice on any quotations that have been given.

The new services are in addition to Age Action’s home visiting and befriending services which have teams of volunteers maintaining social contact with older people at risk of isolation and loneliness.

* Anyone interested in helping to provide voluntary services, or avail of them, can contact Age Action by phoning 01-4756989 or writing to Age Action, 30/31 Lower Camden Street, Dublin 2.