Local people offering support to Worcestershire residents

Worcestershire County Council is supporting these businesses and the differences they make to people’s lives, through its work with Community Catalysts.

Community Catalysts is an organisation that helps to set up these small businesses, or CMEs, in the community with funding support from Worcestershire County Council.

Friendly Befriending is just one example of a personal and care service that is a Community Micro Enterprise (CME).

Sue* (78) lives alone in Worcester. She, like many other people, struggled with loneliness and being stuck at home due to health issues and services she 6used to attend no longer running.

She described her situation: “I had become lonely, depressed, anxious and I did not go anywhere, I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
Luckily, she was able to find her happiness again thanks to Gary, who runs Friendly Befriending.

Sue added: “Gary has helped me get out of the flat again. We have been to the Next café, to the Warndon Hub and to the garden centre where I bought some shoes. We have a laugh together.  Because I am happy again now, I have started going out again on my own.”

CMEs offer a wide variety of services to local people, from helping with food shopping, help around the home, and hobby and craft activities, to simple befriending services that tackle loneliness.

Thanks to the service that Gary provides to Sue, she is in a better place mentally and is enjoying life again.

Councillor Adrian Hardman, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Worcestershire County Council said: ”It’s great to hear the positive stories of help being provided in the community by these local services. They help people remain independent and have a real positive impact on our community.”

The support offered by CMEs like Friendly Befriending can help isolated people feel a stronger sense of community. It also offers a great opportunity for working people to set up their own services and do work that they enjoy, in their local area.

Launa Brooks, Community Catalyst Worcestershire, said: “Lots of people in Worcestershire need some extra help to live the way they want to, perhaps because they are older, disabled or have a long-term health condition. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like to find out more about how we can help you get set up offering care and support. You don’t need any care or business experience, just to know what good care looks like.”

If you, or someone you know is interested in accessing help through these local and independent services, you can do this by talking to your Social Worker to set up a Direct Payment if you have eligible support needs.

Alternatively, you can search for services using the Small Good Stuff directory, or the Community Services directory which list all the local services available to you.

If you need help with this please call the Adult Front Door on 01905 768053 or visit the Adult Social Care pages of the County Council website.

Or, if you know someone who would like to set up or expand their own service offering this type of help, please visit the Community Catalyst website and leave your details and your local Community Catalyst, Launa will be in touch.