Help at Home Case Study

Help at Home gives peace of mind for Daughter

When Anne Davies' mother, Marion Marriott (88) went into sheltered accommodation, Anne wondered how the move would work out and what services there would be available to her mother.

Anne Davies, like many 60 year old leads a busy life and lives quite a distance from her mother. Anne wanted the best available care for her mother. Anne came across the Help at Home service, a non profit making scheme run by Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Services.

The service offers domestic support such as cleaning; accompanied shopping and gardening to those that are elderly or disabled who live in the Amber Valley or Erewash areas.
Helen Hart, Help at Home Diary /Admin Coordinator said of the service "Our aim is to enable people to live independently in their homes".

Anne Davies said of the benefits from the Help at Home service “I live quite a way from mum so I only manage to get over once a week. It is so nice to know that there is this service available and that someone like Karen is visiting mum and keeping her house clean. Mum is very house proud and always has been, so this was a very important aspect to her care".

One of the services that Help at Home offers is for clients to pay by invoice. All the Help at Home workers are paid, undergo extensive training and have been Police checked.
Anne said "This is such a great way for me to keep an eye on my mother’s funds. Due to my mothers memory loss I am reluctant to leave money. I am sent an invoice for the Help at Home Service and I pay this on my mother’s behalf. It also gives me peace of mind to know that any of the Help at Home workers have all been CRB checked".

Karen Parker is Marion’s Help at Home cleaner and visits Marion twice a week for 1 1/2 hours at a time. Karen helps Marion with many house duties that unfortunately due to age and health Marion is unable to do herself. Karen cleans the bathroom, changes bed sheets, Hoovers and does Marion’s weekly shop for her. Marion said of Karen “It is so nice to have Karen’s help; she keeps the flat clean and makes it smell fresh”.

Karen has been working with Amber Valley CVS as a Help at Home cleaner for two years and Marion was one of her first clients. Karen said of the job “I get so much out it, it’s not just a job. I’ve met such wonderful people and built up lovely friendships. The job isn't just about cleaning; we keep an eye on our clients to make sure they’re ok”. Karen said of Marion “Marion is a wonderful lady; she is always happy and pleased to see me. If Marion is having an off day I make sure that Anne knows. I like to think that if it was my mum, someone would do the same".

The Help at Home Diary/ Admin Coordinators like, wherever possible, to arrange for the same worker to visit the clients to allow a friendship to form. This has already been recognised as one of the main assets of Help at Home service.