Your Council working with you to create a healthier environment

Power to the people

Hull City Council provides a range of services to empower people to live safely and independently at home

Charlotte Snowdon

Charlotte Snowdon is one of an army of council employees who provide essential help to vulnerable people across the city.
She is one of 20 welfare support officers who make regular visits to residents to assess their needs and put together a support plan.
Whether it's an older person in failing health or someone having difficulty coping with a disability, Charlotte and her colleagues provide a lifeline to many people of different ages and circumstances.
"It's my job to advise and empower people to live independently," says Charlotte, who is based in Bransholme.
"I make sure they are claiming their full entitlement of state benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, and I can also give debt advice and direct them to other care services the council can provide, such as home helps.
"The job takes dedication as it can take weeks or even months of visits to fully address a client's needs, and while you cannot allow yourself to get too attached to clients, I always get a great sense of achievement when I do something to improve their quality of life."
The service is available to people who own their own home or have a mortgage, as well as council tenants and people in private rented accommodation.

Irene's story

One of the clients Charlotte has been supporting is Irene*, an 89-year-old widow from east Hull.
Irene has lived in her council home for 35 years and never had problems looking after herself – until she began to suffer from dementia.
Now she is extremely forgetful and vulnerable, and got into £6,000 of debt by signing up to loans offered by doorstep callers from finance companies who made unsolicited visits to her home.
She would also change her gas and electricity supplier every time a caller from a utility billing company came to her door.
And in her forgetfulness, she made repeated phone calls, running up a huge phone bill that she couldn't pay.
Charlotte tackled these problems head on. First, she discovered that Irene had not been claiming all of the benefits she was entitled to. Successful claims were made on Irene's behalf which meant she received a substantial back payment which cleared most of her debts.
The gas and electricity billing was taken care of, and Charlotte also drew up a support plan which led to Irene receiving full-time visits by home carers who help with her personal needs.
And Charlotte also ensured Irene's phone was set up to only allow outgoing calls to the emergency services (while still receiving incoming calls), to stop her running up more phone bills.
"Irene has ongoing needs and each time I call she doesn't know who I am and asks the same questions again five minutes after I've answered them," Charlotte adds.
"However, the help we provide means she can stay in the house she cherishes so much."

Further help

The services provided by council staff not only support clients but can also benefit their families and carers. The help includes:

• day services which are available to give people a chance to get out of the house, have a meal, meet people, and give a break to their carers. Services are available at centres around the city and some are specialised for people with dementia, stroke or physical disabilities
• respite care to give families and carers a break. Residential homes in Hull provide short respite breaks which include all meals and personal care for clients
• members of the Community Support Team can visit older people to assist them with getting into and out of bed, personal washing and dressing and additional home care services can be arranged on request
• Telecare also supports older people and people with disabilities through a community alarm unit which is installed in their home to enable two-way communication with a 24-hour monitoring centre. Emergency assistance can be called via an alarm button on the box or by pressing a button worn on a pendant around the neck

Older People's Day

Meanwhile, on 1 October in Queen's Gardens, a free public event will be held to mark Older People's Day.
A marquee will house information and stalls from a range of service providers and businesses, all of which support older people to live independently at home.
"We would like as many people as possible to come along and make the most of this great opportunity to learn more about the help available," said Angela Dunn, the council's head of community care services.