Elderly ‘befriending service’ under threat due to HSE cutbacks
Older people concerned by isolation, crime, fuel costs and medical card reviews
The Good Morning Service, which helps many elderly to live independently in their own homes, increasingly struggles for funding.
Speaking at an Inishowen Network for Older People conference in Quigley’s Point on Tuesday, co-ordinator of the service Frances Browne said funds have ‘dwindled’ in recent years, putting pressure on key projects.
“We get core funding from the HSE but unfortunately the funding has been dwindling away – 2 per cent and 3 per cent every year – and at this stage it is starting to add up; we are struggling to make ends meet,” she said.
A ‘befriending’ service, in which up to forty Inishowen older people meet volunteers for face-to-face chats, is under threat due to HSE cutbacks.
A recent dementia befriending service, useful both for elderly clients and their care-givers, is also at risk.
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