A lifeline for older people in Fife during lockdown

It was set up by Castle Enterprise Scotland, a mental health charity based in Cupar and Glenrothes.

Best known for its Castle Furniture Project, the chief executive Silv Ingram quickly realised that her team could be put to better use helping older people through the crisis.

Thanks to £5000 funding from Foundation Scotland’s Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund, Castle was able to set up the Elders Contact Crisis Centre.

The call line – 01334 898669 – allows over 55s with underlying health conditions and the over 70s throughout Fife to receive support.

Callers can have their prescriptions and up to five essential grocery items delivered to their door free of charge or can phone a call handler simply for a chat.

Volunteers are now also providing patient transport to GP and hospital appointments.

Silv said: “Before the crisis, Castle’s befriending service recognised the need for older and vulnerable people to feel connected within their community.

“Now more than ever there is a need to support older people as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Without such support, the mental well-being of our elderly population could deteriorate rapidly.

“Castle had the IT capabilities and volunteer infrastructure already in place to respond to calls seven days a week.

“But the funding from Foundation Scotland was a Godsend in being able to set up a VOIP call system.

“Usually, it would take six months to get such a project operational so I’m proud of how quickly we were able to get it up and running.

“We now aim to deliver within 48 hours of receiving a request.”

Castle has been advertising the service on social media but is aware that many older people do not access the internet.

So Silv is keen to spread the word further.

She said: “Through our befriending service, lunch clubs and groups, we already work with older people so we know that a lot of them don’t have tablets or smart phones.

“That’s why we’re trying to get the word out there that this service is available.

“Our message is simple: If you are an older person who needs help, please don’t hesitate to use our service and pass on our contact details to as many people as you can. We are here to help.”

The EEEC has already delivered to scores of older people in Fife who were concerned about how they would manage to get their prescriptions and essential shopping. And it is also there to help ease relatives’ minds.

Silv explained: “This all happened so quickly and some people had fallen through the cracks.

“If you live locally, it’s easier to find the help that you need. But if you live down south, how do you check on a family member?

“We had one lady from down south who was really worried about her sister, who is blind, so we were able to do an eyeball welfare check on her and report back that she was fine.

“It’s giving families who live many miles away peace of mind that their relatives are getting support, should they need it.

“We’re delighted that people like this, who have perhaps fallen through the cracks, are finding us.”

The service is still evolving and adapting to meet demand, which Silv freely admitted.

“We didn’t initially think about transport to and from GPs and hospitals,” she said.

“Someone asked if a volunteer could take them to an appointment so we’ve now set that up too.

“Many of the clients are shielding and were not too keen on hiring taxis. So we send one volunteer to take them to appointments, wait and bring them home.

“The cars are cleaned before and after each trip so it’s reducing the risk of the virus being transmitted.

“We’re evolving and learning as we go.

“But there’s little doubt that we are fulfilling a great need and we’ve done it in a very short period of time, on a shoestring budget.”

The helpline – 01334 898669 – is currently open 10am to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm, seven days a week. However, that too may change if demand increases.

It’s also keeping the 25 members of staff gainfully employed during lockdown.

Silv added: “The crisis line is there for people who don’t have anyone else to turn to.

“It’s good for people to know they are not alone.”

To find out more, visit www.castlefurniture.org.

Joining forces to help others

Castle Furniture Project and Furniture Plus in Fife are both part of the Community Resources Network Scotland (CRNS), a consortium of reuse furniture charities.

And recently they were both called in to action to help Stella’s Voice in Aberdeenshire.

The consortium has been supplying quality reuse furniture to a number of local authorities over the last three years, including Fife and Aberdeenshire Councils.

Stella’s Voice has a massive warehouse of furniture in Peterhead but stock was running low as donations dwindled due to the lockdown.

So when the European director Mark Morgan was asked by his local council to find furniture to help 30 homeless people move into individual accommodations, he feared he wouldn’t be able to meet the demand.

However, he contacted Castle Furniture and Furniture Plus and they were only too happy to help.

Mark and his team travelled down to Fife recently to fill a vanload full of furniture and white goods to take back up to Aberdeenshire.

He said: “It was great to see the heart of what it means to be in the consortium in action.

“Furniture Plus and Castle Furniture went out of their way and worked with us to help in any way they could - even though each party is facing its own pressures during these challenging times.”

Despite most of his staff now being furloughed, Colin Bruce, general manager at Furniture Plus, was delighted to help.

He said: “It was a great example of similar charities working together in difficult times.”

Both Fife reuse projects are hoping people will hang on to good quality second hand items until the lockdown restrictions are lifted – as they will need to restock quickly thereafter.

To find out more, visit www.furnitureplus.org.uk.