Charedi charity awarded £87,300 to boost care for elderly
Bikur Cholim granted funds by City Bridge Trust 'to help meet a surge in demand for its services'
An Orthodox Jewish charity in North London has been awarded £87,300 to boost its programme supporting elderly carers in Hackney and Haringey.
Bikur Cholim was granted the money by City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, “to help meet a surge in demand for its services”.
The money will pay for a Carers Support Worker to provide respite care for carers over the age of 65 through activities such as arts and crafts, gym sessions or simply a coffee at a local café.
The grant will fund the charity’s health and wellbeing programme for carers after it reported seeing “an increasing number of older carers struggling to cope, resulting in poor physical and mental health”.
The new Carers Support Worker will provide advice, support and rest and relaxation, and will help develop individual support plans for each carer, working closely with volunteers to coordinate activities.
“Bikur Cholim has an impressive team of 300 volunteers with a true community approach to helping others,” said Alison Gowman, chair of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Committee, which has dished out £370 million in grants since it began in 1995.
“The charity has an excellent track record of supporting elderly people in North London. There is a clear need for this programme and I am sure the expansion of the carer scheme will be as successful.”
The funding will also pay for a public information campaign to promote the services and find ‘hidden carers’ who are unaware of the support available to them. A new carers’ support group will also be set up so that people using the service can play a role in the management of the project.
Jocheved Eiger, chief executive of Bikur Cholim, said funding for the new recruit would “enable us to reach out and provide support to older carers, many of whom are challenged by their own health needs whilst balancing the care of a loved one”.
Eiger added: “Our project will give them the support they need to continue in their vital role”.
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