Elderly Home Visiting & Daycare Service

Volunteer Glasgow has been providing support to people over the age of 60 through Elderly Home Visiting and Day Care Services since 1985. Support takes place through Home Visiting or Lunch Club and volunteers are essential in both contexts.

Home Visiting is a befriending service for people over 60 which when successful involves a support worker, the person referred and a volunteer. It offers regular visits by the volunteer to the matched person’s home or shared activities outside the home and aims to reduce isolation, build confidence and resilience and maintain or increase activity and engagement.

People referred to EHV may be isolated because of health, disability, bereavement or simply living alone. Their families may live some distance away or may be out at work throughout the week. Physical frailty, whether temporary or not, may mean that the person can no longer go out alone to see friends or access the things they enjoy. A loss of confidence may prevent them from going out and staying in may mean that solitude is not a choice. Research shows that loneliness has a direct relationship to health problems, both physical and mental and the provision of a relationship based on trust, respect, shared activities and fun can alleviate the loneliness which some people experience

EHVS also provides support through the Lunch Club which runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Lunch Club is about more than simply a hot meal. Members meet, share a meal and a chat with friends, enjoy activities and days out and have access to information. Volunteers are on hand to provide support whether that’s escorting for those who don’t travel independently, catering or organising an activity. For everybody it means that members have the chance for a chat, to stay connected and engaged and have the opportunity to express their views on issues that matter to them.

If you would like to be involved as a Volunteer with EHV…..

Home Visiting Volunteers are adults who are interested in supporting someone, are able to spend 2 or 3 hours with them once a week and able to commit to a befriending relationship which may be difficult and will certainly require several months to develop. Matches can last months or years so this should be seen as a long term investment in yourself. Contact us and we can talk to you about the time you have to offer.

EHV will provide Foundation training as part of the recruitment and selection process. That way you will know what will be expected of you as a Home Visitor and what you can expect from EHV in terms of support. The training is designed to prepare you for the role of Home Visitor and to allow EHV to get to know you so that we can make the most appropriate matches of Home Visitors and people referred to the service. We also provide ongoing training on topics relating to for example, befriending, health and community support.

Home Visiting is a service delivered through the partnership of a Volunteer and support staff. The best results are achieved when Home Visitors and Support staff communicate openly and frequently and when a match is reviewed and planned in a structured way.

Home Visitors are supported throughout their volunteering –

monthly meetings with their designated Support Worker will review the match, discuss progress, provide feedback on befriending and plan befriending for the following weeks
regular Support Events enable Home Visitors to meet as a group to exchange ideas, discuss difficulties
phone and email support allows issues to be addressed quickly as well as keeping everyone up to date on any change in circumstances
access to a range of policies and guidelines to provide answers to the questions which will arise on for example, Adult Protection, Confidentiality.

If you would prefer volunteering in a group setting perhaps our Lunch Club would suit you better. The Lunch Club runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers at the Lunch Club provide support and encouragement to members – for those who don’t travel independently to the Lunch Club this may be escorting, for others it will be organising an activity. For everybody volunteers make sure that members have the chance for a chat, to stay connected and engaged and have the opportunity to express their views on issues that matter to them.

Lunch Club volunteers work as members of a team, are interested in supporting a group of people aged 60+ for a couple of hours once or twice a week and are flexible and reliable.

Again Lunch Club volunteers receive Foundation and ongoing training. Support is more informal but will be one to one, group based, phone/email and policy based as required.

As a Home Visitor or Lunch Club Volunteer you stand to gain

experience and skills valuable to employers and training/education providers
the opportunity to impact on someone’s life, their outlook and health
a chance to try new activities and to learn from someone with over 60 years of life experience
a way of contributing to your community

If you are interested in volunteering with Elderly Home Visiting and Day Care Services either as a Home Visitor or at our Lunch Club then get in touch – we’d love to talk to you.

www.volunteerglasgow.org

drumchapel@volunteerglasgow.org

0141 226 3431

Volunteers have said of their experience:

“I get so much out of my visits to Janice as I get to hear a lot of her interesting life history and reflective positive attitudes I feel uplifted when I leave.

It is humbling to hear of the hardships encountered by Janice and her peers and their awesome sense of survival despite desperate circumstances and poverty. Their resilience is overwhelming.

I very much enjoy my visits to Janice and am delighted that I made the decision to join Elderly Home Visiting.” Teresa, matched for 2 years

“I was my mum’s carer and after she died I thought I’d give volunteering a go. I started at the Lunch Club and became the escort on the bus. It gets me out of the house, gives me something. I like helping the old folks and it means a lot to me.” Tom, a Lunch Club volunteer since 1985

How do I get a visitor or join the lunch club?

If you are aged over 60 and live in Drumchapel or parts of Knightswood all you need to do is contact the address shown below or if you have any other services ask them to pass your details on your behalf. Support staff will call to see you to explain more or answer any questions you may have about Home visiting and/or the Lunch Club. Once we’ve got to know a bit about you we will try to match you with a suitable volunteer as quickly as possible but it’s important that we find the right person for you. Once we’ve matched you the times of the visits are up to you and the Home Visitor as well as what you might do together – stay in for a chat or go out for a couple of hours. Support staff will keep in touch to make sure everything is going well.

Lunch Club

Again you should be aged 60+ and live in Drumchapel but all you have to do is contact us. If you can travel independently you can often come along right away but if you need transport you may have to wait for a place as our ability to provide transport is limited but please get in touch.

The lunch club operates 2 afternoons per week: On Tuesdays & Thursdays at the Phoenix Hall from 12-noon–2.00pm.