Age Concern Bristol continues to provide all kinds of assistance to older people across the city, and the story of Easton resident Mrs X demonstrates how much ACB can help. Born and living in Jamaica until the age of nine, retired NHS worker Mrs X has lived in Bristol since 1957 and recently came into some financial difficulty, fearing there may be no way out.
Mrs X had previously worked for the NHS for many years but had to take an early retirement in order to take care of her last child. Divorced from her husband and consequently with little help other than her pension, her financial situation was extremely difficult.
When some of the trees in the garden of her rented council property impinged on neighbouring gardens, the local council became involved. On inspection of Mrs her garden, they discovered that Mrs X was not in a financial position to resolve the problem herself and recommended she get in touch with Age Concern Bristol.
Mrs X did as she was advised, and an interview at Age Concern Bristol was quickly arranged to see what help could be offered. She found the meeting extremely beneficial and was impressed by their desire to help and their knowledge of what help was available; “They were very helpful, telling me what help they could offer. They saw that my situation was quite bad and wanted to help me out.”
The Information and Advice team at Age Concern Bristol not only took a thorough look at Mrs X’s finances and assessed what entitlements she was eligible for, they also talked to her in depth about her general living situation and discovered that she desperately needed assistance with decorating her house. Age Concern Bristol recommended Mrs X get a quote for all the gardening and decorating work that was required and to let them know so that they could take it from there.
Age Concern Bristol wrote to a charity that supports people who worked as a nurse, on Mrs X’s behalf, and were delighted when she was awarded a grant of £1,000 for help with her decorating and gardening. Furthermore, she was also able to buy new furniture for her house with the money that she received. Now in far more safe and comfortable surroundings, she was able to begin to move on with her life.
The extent to which Age Concern Bristol’s Information and Advice Service were able to help came as a shock to Mrs X, albeit a very pleasant one. She remarked that she “never knew [ACB] could help until the council recommended I get in touch with them.” Speaking to her, it is evident that Mrs X is delighted that she contacted Age Concern Bristol and that she is grateful for all the help they were able to provide. “They’ve been very very good to me,” Mrs X concluded, “the girl that spoke to me was lovely; she was really nice.”
The benefits that Mrs X received from picking up the phone and contacting Age Concern Bristol’s Information and Advice Service, are both immediate and long lasting. When asked what advice she would give to others in her situation, said “I would really recommend they contact Age Concern Bristol to see if they can help. People should not be embarrassed in asking for help…I would definitely recommend them to other people.”