Help at Home for the elderly
Many elderly people want to remain at home for as long as possible. This sometimes leads to social isolation, loneliness and depression.
Alongside the need for help with cooking, shopping and housework living alone is a daunting task as ill health and immobility increase.
One solution is to have a live in carer. If this is arranged either privately or by a care agency this can be an extremely costly option, however there is an alternative.
In this day of high rental costs and the inability for first time buyers to get a foothold on the property ladder, a place to live in exchange for helping an elderly person seems an excellent compromise. Help at home for the elderly in exchange for a place to stay.
Draycott Homeshare specialise in organising these reciprocal arrangements.
This is a brief summary of how this works, taken from their website.
The Householder provides a bedroom in their house for the Homesharer during the arrangement.
In return the Homesharer spends an agreed amount of their time each week with the Householder and stays in the house overnight. The Homesharer is free to work or study where they wish during the week and is able to arrange time off according to the agreement.
How it works?
The agreement between both owner and sharer is versatile and flexible.
The Homesharer’s time can be taken up with a variety of practical tasks from shopping, cooking, light cleaning and gardening, to visits to the doctor or trips to the theatre or cinema.
The level of companionship is up to the individual; a chat first thing in the morning, watching a favourite television programme in the evening or just having someone in the house overnight to give the Householder a sense of security and peace of mind.
Once we have sensitively matched Householder and Homesharer we keep in touch with monthly phone calls to make sure that all continues to be satisfactory.
Homeshare is not a substitute for professional care.
In fact Homesharers are NOT permitted to provide personal care. To be clear personal care includes; bathing, administering medication, assistance with dressing, feeding and lifting.
If this is an idea you think may be of interest to an elderly person you know please contact Draycott Homeshare via this link.
