I live alone in an old house, in winter I’m always shivering.
Walter* worked all his life as a lorry driver. “I’m 75 now, and I’d still be working if I could, but I’m losing the grip in my hands, so the doctor wouldn’t let me.”
He is also losing the feeling in his feet. “I never go out anywhere now. I’m just here alone. I’m tied to my house.”
The very worst thing of all is that Walter’s house is bitterly cold.
“I live alone in an old house, in winter I’m always shivering. It needs insulation but the owners say they don’t have the money and if they do mine, they’ll have to do thousands of others, and they can’t do that.”
Sadly, keeping warm is a luxury older people can’t afford, even though it’s putting their health at risk. Research shows that 21.5% of excess winter deaths are attributed to cold homes.**
At this time of year, as temperatures plummet and icy winds rattle through our windows, your help is more important than ever.
Walter was constantly shivering from the cold. He said:
“My doctor tells me: ‘Don’t get cold or you’ll end up in hospital’, so I’ve got to have the heating on, but the gas eats away at my money. All my medicine is kept in the fridge, so I have to use electricity.”
Sadly, Walter is just one of the many older people who approach us for help at this time of year.
A donation today will help us provide more grants to cover the costs of things like heating bills, warm winter clothes and bedding. All donations to our Winter Appeal will go directly towards our grants service.
We are one of the few places older can turn to for financial help, as Walter told us, “I’ve tried applying for grants from other places, but I just get nowhere, no one else can help me.”
You could make the world of difference to someone like Walter today:
“Honestly, this grant is a lifesaver for me. It means I can afford food, electricity and to keep the gas on. For some people £400 is nothing, to me it’s like a million pounds.”
*These are the words of a real grant recipient, but the photos and name have been changed to protect identity.
**Reference: Institute of Health Inequality (2022) Fuel Poverty, Cold Homes and Health Inequalities in the UK.
Friends of the Elderly, registered charity in England and Wales (no 226064); registered company in England and Wales (no 133850).
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