The Repair Service uses a pool of volunteers and handypersons to carry out small repairs and to complete minor home tasks for older people. Volunteers in effect provide a willing pair of helping hands to do a variety of small tasks that an older person may find difficult to do. The most common services required by older people are:

• Minor gardening (e.g. mowing lawns)
• Installing handrails (grab rails)
• Changing plugs, fuses and light bulbs
• Hanging curtains, moving furniture
• Minor home decorating (e.g. painting)
• Tacking down carpet
• Installing security locks and chains
• Installing domestic smoke alarms

A “job” is expected to take no longer than an hour, though many small tasks may be undertaken during the same visit. The service is free of charge; the client only pays for the cost of materials used. However, donations are always welcome.

The Care Service is a home visiting or befriending service using volunteers to provide social contact to older people who are at risk of isolation in their own homes.

The Trades Referral Service is an option whereby a register of reliable and honest tradespersons is maintained. Our pool of volunteers and handypersons is not intended to replace the need for specialist skilled tradespersons but often people do not know how to go about getting reliable tradespeople. If the required job is beyond the scope of Care and Repair, we will endeavour to supply the names of trustworthy tradespeople from our register.

The QuoteCheck Service is a service whereby an experienced volunteer visits the older person’s home, assesses a large job and gives an informed opinion about quotations received by the client from professional tradespersons. QuoteCheck gives the older person peace of mind and the assurance that the prices being quoted do not constitute a “rip off”.