Great service praised
FIONA MAGENNIS ON THE VITAL SERVICES AND SOCIAL OUTLET DDS4OP PROVIDE TO THE OVER 65S IN THE REGION
THE INCREDIBLE service provided by the Drogheda and District Support 4 Older People (DDS4OP) group was heralded by thankful family members last week.
The group held a special morning at their centre at the Haymarket Bridge and it was packed out.
Chairperson Oliver O’Connor explained that their ‘Good Morning Wake Up Call’ is one of the most popular services offered by the organisation, with up to 100 important calls made each morning by volunteers.
‘NOBODY should be lonely in Drogheda with a place like this here.’
The words that sum up in a sentence what Drogheda and District Support 4 Older People (DDS4OP) means to those who use the service, according to Gillian Cunningham.
Gillian knows firsthand what the organisation does for older people living in the town; her Mum Kathleen found the services ‘invaluable’ after her husband passed away last June.
Both women were part of a packed house at the DDS4OP offices at the Haymarket for their annual Easter Raffle and coffee morning last Thursday.
Kathleen explains: ‘I first came down here after my husband died. When you lose your spouse you lose all your rights; I had to reapply for my telephone, television licence, electricity, everything. It’s very daunting when you have to fill in all the forms and do all of that so I came down here to see if they could help me.
‘Dave and Ann were absolutely brilliant, only for them I don’t know what I would have done without them.
Through utilising the service, Kathleen became involved in the Monday club and says the social outlet this has given her, with new friendships, classes and outings, has been amazing.
In fact Gillian was so appreciative of the help that DDS4OP gave to her Mum, she decided she wanted to give something back and she now runs one on one computer classes at the offices every Wednesday.
‘I said to them, I want to give something back because they were so good to Mam. And it’s great fun. It’s brilliant to see people of all ages learning and saying ‘My God I can do it’ and they can do it and they are brilliant at it. All different walks of life come in with mobile phones, ipads, laptops and the class is really just about helping tem understand how to use them.’
‘Everything Mammy was entitled to she got which we wouldn’t have known to apply for only for here. It’s a Godsend. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly, you walk through the door and you’re greeted by a smile there’s ‘wait over there, someone will be with you in a minute’.
The Good Morning Wake Up Call is one of the most popular services offered by the organisation.
‘We make 100 calls every morning,’ says Chairperson Oliver O’Connor. ‘ They would have a timespan sometime between about 10am and 10.30am and if something went wrong and there is any delay they would often phone in to say they hadn’t got there call and ask us was everything okay! It’s just a call to make sure they’re okay and maybe a little chat. We do it five days a week.’
He says the organisation has grown so much since its inception six years ago, he wonders how the town ever did without it before.
‘We do a lot of helping people to fill in forms, that’s something that can be very daunting for people, and we have a care and repair team who will do small jobs around the house for people and we have a grass cutting service as well.
At the moment we have about 90 volunteers but it’s not enough to deal with the demand, we could really do with more, especially to help with our care and repair service.’
‘Health and safety and well being are the big issues for the people who come here,’ says Manager Dave Turner. ‘We help out a lot with filling in forms and dealing with statutory agencies. A lot of utilities, gas, telephone, electricity because people get in a real muddle. Even just trying to get through to speak to a human being on some of those things can be a chore in itself. Ann is brill, she does all that stuff. We specialise a bit in UK pensions also for people who lived in the UK and didn’t even know they were entitled to a pension. The Fair Deal as well, with the nursing homes, we’ve done lots of those recently as well, helping people fill in those forms and medical cards that’s another big area.’
Thelma O’Brien can’t say enough good things about the service. ‘I think it’s great, it should be supported more. It’s marvellous, they never turn anyone away and they are always there to help if you need them.’ Thelma first heard about DDS4OP after she had been ill.
‘I had been in hospital and because I live on my own, even though my son and daughter live very close by, the hospital suggested I use there Good Morning Call service just in case. I’ve been involved ever since. Margaret Kelly agreed and revealed that when he phone was out of action for nine days it was DDS4OP who helped her to sort out the problem. ‘Only for Dave and the team here I’d still have no phone.’Denis said that, for him, the Good Morning Call Service is invaluable.
‘I got in touch just after my 80th birthday. I live at home with my wife and I worried that if I didn’t wake up in the morning she wouldn’t be able to ring the phone or open the hall door even because she suffers from Alzheimers so I was worried about what would happen. It’s great every morning to get the call because no matter how you wake up its always a cheerful voice at the other end of the phone, it starts the day off well and it gives me great peace of mind.’