One of the ladies we help, Gladys, is 89 years old
and lives in a remote cottage in Yorkshire. Although she has a free
bus pass, there are no local buses into town for her to buy
groceries.
This makes her feel very isolated, and in addition to the
practical problems of buying food, she has felt increasingly sad
and lonely since her husband died last December.
Yet Gladys has mobility problems, which means she is practically
housebound in the ice and snow. It costs her £12 for a taxi every
time she wants to go to the shops to buy food. And she didn't use
to have a working freezer, so she had to do her grocery shopping
every few days.
Luckily her Independent Age volunteer, Rose, saw her
predicament. Rose was able to assist Gladys in applying for
Attendance Allowance, so she has help with day-to-day tasks, as
well as Winter Fuel Payments to help her keep warm.
Rose also applied to Independent Age for a freezer for Gladys,
so that she could stock food to see her through the cold winter
months. With the help of generous donations from our supporters, we
were able to deliver the freezer just before the snow and ice hit
the UK last year.
This meant that Gladys didn't need to go out in hazardous
weather and her daughter was able to top up her freezer when she
made her visit each month.
You can't imagine how much difference this has made to Gladys.
She was safe and sound during the winter of 2010/11, which proved
to be one of the coldest on record. She said, "the snow drifts made
the lane impassable for a week. Thank goodness for my freezer - it
meant I had food to see me through."
Gladys is greatly relieved to have her freezer again this winter
too.
With the continued visits from her volunteer, Gladys
feels cared for and reassured.
Please make a donation here, to help us keep more older people
safe in the dead of winter ... even if we do have another white
Christmas this year. Your donation will be used wherever the need
is greatest to help older people. Many thanks from all those we
support.
"The freezer you provided was a real blessing. I no longer need
to worry about where my next meal is coming from when the snow is
deep or the lane is too icy to go out for days on end. Please send
my thanks to the charity's volunteers and all your
supporters."
Gladys, age 89, helped by Independent Age
Please note that this is a real story but some details have
been changed to protect identities. Photograph posed by
model.
