New Right at Home Friends services promise a ‘ray of sunshine’

Local home care provider, Right at Home GF, has responded to the coronavirus crisis by launching a brand-new programme of free support for vulnerable people at home.

Friends of Right at Home GF is a community of individually vetted volunteers offering two vital services to older and other vulnerable people: shopping and phone companionship.

Alastair Shanks, Managing Director of Right at Home GF says: “We are an established care provider with a reputation for professional, high quality, award-winning services. Our expertise is being used to help even more people and to work with councils and local agencies to support the most vulnerable in the community.”

He adds: “Providing and maintaining social care is crucial in the fight against COVID-19. To meet demand for practical assistance, we have built up a community of volunteers who want to help. Run by my wife, Kate, our Right at Home Friends are now being interviewed, DBS and identity-checked before being trained by video. Clients and their loved ones can be confident that our volunteers will provide safe, high quality help. These services are run entirely not for profit and crucially there will be no exchange of money between clients and volunteers for the shopping service. If you think you could benefit from our help or know someone who could, please get in touch.”

Right at Home GF provides care to older people, people with disabilities or other health needs across Farnham, Guildford, Fleet, Alton and Bordon to help them live as independently as possible. Its experience of running social and activity groups for older people has made it well placed to spot a need for the Friends’ service and to respond swiftly.

Mr Shanks explains how the Friends services will work: “Through our shopping service, we will take your list, arrange for one of our volunteers to do your weekly shop and deliver it to your doorstep. We will debit your account for the shopping through our secure finance system.

“Volunteers supporting our phone companionship service will be matched with a client. They will get in touch by phone regularly to check how the person is, learn more about their life and share a little of theirs. This is a service where we hope lasting friendships will develop and a virtual ray of sunshine will arrive through the phone lines.”

To find out more or to register an interest in either of these services, Right at Home is encouraging family members and friends of people who might benefit as well as potential clients themselves to get in touch on 01252 950665.