| Advice and Welfare |
Elderly WelfareThe High Wycombe Central Aid Society has a longstanding role in elderly welfare. We have previously provided advice and support services under the auspices of Age Concern, and we continue to support the elderly by working with Age Concern and other agencies and charities. Advice and SupportCurrently, through staff and volunteers in our office in the town centre, we provide information on a wide range of topics, small grants, plus clothing and food on a limited basis, to those in need of help. All help is provided regardless of age, religion, or ethnic background. Central Aid Grants SchemeThe Society operates a small grants scheme which provides help to those those living in the High Wycombe area who are in particular need. Our trustees meet regularly to decide on grant applications. Grants may also be awarded for the purchase of essential items of furniture from our furniture project. Most grant applications come through referrals from Social Services, agencies, charities and voluntary organisations. Please contact us for more information. Ten Years On - Working for The Central Aid Society
I joined the Society in March 1999 and this was my first encounter with the charity sector. I really had no idea what to expect and was certainly surprised with the variety of problems put to us, either by phone or by personal callers, who had managed to stagger up our steep stairs. I was taken aback to find there were people sleeping rough on the Rye. Unfortunately Wycombe still has people of no fixed abode – last week we gave some hot food to a gentleman who had slept in a shop’s empty bin. He had been woken up by a very surprised shopkeeper in the morning. For the past few years we have been handing out bags of food! These are to people and families who have been let down by the Benefit System and have been asked to wait three weeks before they receive any money. I can say it is not a pleasant feeling giving out a bag of “value” supermarket food but I know that for the recipients, it is like a Fortnum and Mason Hamper. In fact some clients have buzzed the door and asked for a “hamper”. I have been bitten by fleas when we were storing an old gentleman’s clothes as he was sleeping rough at the age of 64. He later went into a care home and has since passed away bequeathing his estate to the Society, which was a generous donation. Our Furniture Warehouse has had its ups and downs but we have granted many thousands of pounds of furniture to people with very limited means who have not had a stick of furniture. I have met some exceptional people and many people who have had such bad luck in their lives it just isn’t fair. We try our best to help them all. Margaret Bowyer |
Welfare
