Linking public sector projects and teams to the service has helped Help and Kindness provide more connections to support residents and communities accords county.
Help and Kindness has received more than 5,000 enquiries across a staggering number of themes – from finding people to help with household tasks and care needs, to putting people in touch with common interests in wild swimming, gardening or model trains.
Jon Sloper, Help and Kindness chief executive, said the Community Response Service was enabling people to find help, give help and work together: “We are indebted to Dorset Council for their commitment to and support of this amazing work. My team and the many people who have supported us in reaching this milestone are awesome.”
Mr Sloper said a local resident who uses a wheelchair and is largely housebound, with no friends and family had contacted the service asking to help clean his home and remove rubbish that was putting him at risk of eviction.
“The condition of his home made it difficult to get around and access food from his freezer. We were able to help find a local self-employed carer who was able to help. They really enjoy one another’s company and are working together to get the resident’s home safe, clean and tidy, one room at a time.”
Part of Dorset Councils’ commission through Help and Kindness is the Community Connectors Hub, which has been developed by Adult Social Care, to bring together front-line teams with community connectors on the ground.
Launched as a pilot in Weymouth and Portland at the end of 2023, the scheme has had nearly 400 enquiries and now has 400 people involved.
The most common information requests are around:
- Social activities – such as asking for support for elderly and disabled individuals, information about community activities and events, volunteering, and transport and accessibility.
- Domestic support – including emergency and night-time support (falls) and technical and online support (online banking).
- Grants/Free services – financial help with bills, mobility equipment, food and pet supplies
- Cleaning services – including decluttering homes and laundry services
- Food Bank/Delivery services – such as requests for hot meal deliveries, food shopping and nutritional support for vulnerable people.
Other questions have covered gardening, care home provider information, animal rehousing and support and where to find Technology Enabled Care (TEC)
Cllr Steve Robinson, Cabinet lead for Adult Social Care at Dorset Council, said the scheme was a good example of Dorset’s ambitions of “Communities for All” in that it provided a quick and easy way of tapping into the knowledge and experience of what is available across our communities to help residents.
“This is a simple but fantastic scheme that helps our social workers, occupational therapists and assessment support coordinators find out quickly what is available to our residents in their local area and then make the best connections, quickly and effectively.”
