Winter Appeal

I don’t know what I would have done without Friends of the Elderly, there was no one I could turn to for help. I am eternally grateful.

Iris*, 73

Iris’ Story

“I am 73 and live on my own. I lost my husband recently and things have proved to be a bit tough since then. I am massively struggling and I don’t know where to go for help.

Since losing my husband, I still have to run everything on just my pension. The oil tank runs my heating and hot water. I put away £5 per week for oil, that helps but it’s still not enough. I can only thank God for what Friends of the Elderly did for me. They were amazing, they gave me £400 for heating oil. Without that I’d be stuffed.”

*Names and photos changed for confidentiality

When the relentless grasp of winter takes hold and heating bills soar, your support will offer comfort, security, and hope to older people like Iris, who have nowhere else to turn.

Thanks to gifts from generous people like you, we were able to give Iris a grant of £400 to buy heating oil and cover the increased cost of her heating bills.

Iris informed us that she barely had lights on at all, to keep her costs down. In the evening when it got dark, she had one light on in one room and lit a candle in her kitchen. She was only able to have the heating on for half an hour per day – just enough to heat some water and take the edge off the cold in the house.

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She said,

“People advised me to go to this website or that website, but no one could help me. It was very stressful. At times I just didn’t know where to turn. I didn’t want to borrow, that’s when things start to go wrong. I had no choice, I just had to put up with it. I sometimes thought, “what is the point in carrying on?”. It’s a real situation, where you really do have to choose whether to eat or heat your home.

My family live 160 miles away. My brother died last year and I went to his funeral. It took me nearly six hours plus the cost of travel, so I can’t do that often. I don’t know what I would have done without Friends of the Elderly, there was no one I could turn to for help.

I am eternally grateful.”

We need your help to support older people like Iris through the bitterly cold and isolating winter months ahead.

Every penny you donate will directly help older people keep warm and safe through the tough winter months. Examples include winter clothing and bedding for warmth, help affording heating costs including bills and fuel (oil and logs), boiler repairs and maintenance, cookers to make warm meals, heat appliances, carpets and flooring, new windows and doors to stop drafts, damp proofing and roofing repairs.

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The Government estimates that six percent of all older people would not be able to afford an unexpected expense of just £200.
Approximately 1 in 5 older people have a severe physical health condition
6% of people over the age of 75 report often feeling lonely
Over one in three people over 70 live alone
Research by Age UK has found that 1.3 million, 61% of older unpaid carers (age 65+) have felt unhappy or depressed, while 1.3 million, 62% of older unpaid carers have lost sleep due to worry, clearly demonstrating the diminished quality of life.
16% of people aged 65+ in the UK are unpaid carers, equivalent to 2 million people, while 13% of people aged 80+ in the UK are also unpaid carers, equivalent to 440,000 people

Last year, we were able to award 802 essential grants to older people, an increase from the year before – showing just how much help is still needed.

We have seen the enormous difference even our smallest grants make – for example a grant to pay for a warm duvet for an older couple in Essex.

Your kind donation will pay for the essentials some older people cannot afford, for example warm clothing, a new cooker to make hot meals or to help cover heating bills.