A key crisis support service for older people provided by Bristol-based charity Brunelcare is under threat, following a proposal to withdraw its funding.
The Help When You Need It service is available to all of Brunelcare’s 900 sheltered housing residents living across the city, and is currently funded by Bristol City Council.
It provides vital support to elderly and vulnerable residents including those who are at risk of not being able to sustain their tenancies, residents who require additional support during and following a hospital admission and others struggling with a wide range of crises including poor mental and physical health, poverty and social isolation.
The Council is proposing to withdraw funding for the service at the end of the current contract in March 2025, as part of wider savings being considered within its Adult Social Care budget. This proposal would save the Council £200,000, a small fraction of the overall savings it is aiming to make within adult social care. A public consultation on the proposal closed on 17 September, and the final decision is due to be made later this month.
Oona Goldsworthy, Chief Executive of Brunelcare, said: “We urge the Council to reconsider the proposal to end this service for vulnerable older people. We see the huge benefits this service provides to those we support, and in many cases, transform their quality of life.
“The service also results in substantial annual savings for the Council and NHS. In Bristol, more than 500 households approach the Council each month because of homelessness related issues. We fear that without the support of this service, it is likely that more vulnerable people will be unable to sustain their tenancies and will require assistance from the Council’s own housing and homelessness team at a considerably higher overall cost to the Council and the NHS.”
Brunelcare has provided this service since 2021, and over this time we have also seen our clients’ needs and the demands on the service grow in complexity. This is mainly due to the change in needs of residents who are nominated to Sheltered Housing, with a significant percentage presenting with mental and physical ill health as well as a history of homelessness and substance abuse.
Anthony, a Brunelcare sheltered housing resident who has received support from the HWYNI service, said: “I suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and use oxygen to help me breathe. I was struggling to look after myself and my property, which had become very overcrowded and cluttered with possessions. My physical and mental health started to decline, I was in and out of hospital on a regular basis and I was at risk of losing my tenancy because of the poor condition of my property.
“I was assigned a Health and Wellbeing Officer from the team, and they have made a huge difference in getting me back on track. With their support I was able to declutter my flat enough to live there safely and happily. I was still struggling to get up the stairs to my flat, so when a more appropriate ground floor flat became available on my site, the team supported me to make the move which has improved my situation even further.”
A decision on the proposal regarding the future of this service is due to be made by members of the Council’s Adult Social Care Policy Committee on 21 October. Brunelcare staff and residents who have been supported by the service will be attending the meeting to raise their concerns in pers
