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Urgent action needed to
reach older isolated people in the North West
"GROUPS of volunteers that organise
monthly tea parties for isolated people aged 75 and over in the North West
are struggling to reach older isolated people in their communities..."
the
national charity Contact the Elderly told us in a press statement.
Residents in the areas around:- Southport, Stockport, Crosby, Wigan, Warrington, Blackpool and
Ormskirk, are being encouraged to spread the word about the Tea Parties to
encourage older people in their areas who live alone and have little contact
with family and friends to sign up to attend the groups. Contact the Elderly's North West Regional Development Officer, Gwen
Lightfoot, said:- "We've been overwhelmed by the response from willing
volunteers to the Christmas John Lewis advert and the Bisto Empty Chair
campaign in January, but unfortunately we are still not getting to the people
who need our help.
It is increasingly hard to reach isolated older people. They are so often
feeling trapped in their homes; not getting out a lot and not speaking to a
single person for days.
Everyone knows someone on their street or in their local area who could do
with getting out of the house and socialising. We urge residents in the
North West to think about someone who would benefit and ask them to get in
touch with me. Our volunteers pick guests up and take them to a Sunday
afternoon tea party, often the loneliest time of the week for many people."
Loneliness among older people in communities is getting more and more
widespread. An estimated 2.5 million older people are lonely, and 8 in
10 people find it difficult to admit to feeling isolated.
Contact the Elderly operates by forming small local groups made up of guests
and volunteers. One Sunday afternoon a month each group meets for tea, cake
and company. Hosts take it in turns to welcome guests, usually once or twice
a year and volunteer drivers take guests safely to the tea party and then
home again. This is a free service.
The groups are small, usually around 10 to 15 people so that everyone can
really get to know each other. Guests and volunteers make lasting
friendships and afternoons are spent laughing and enjoying each other's
stories.
Contact the Elderly Regional Development Officer, Gwen Lightfoot, would like
to hear from anyone interested in joining the groups as a guest and can be
contacted via:- 01925 728 969 or send an
email.
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3 sentenced following
crash for cash Insurance Fraud
3 people have been sentenced for
planning a crash for cash scam following an investigation by the Insurance
Fraud Enforcement Department, part of the City of London Police. The scam,
which would have cost Direct Line more than £38,000 in insurance claims, was
uncovered after forensic engineers spotted the vehicles had been driven into
each other four times; completely at odds with the accounts given to the
insurer by the claimants.
Faisal Saeidi, 26, from Liverpool, Ffion Owen, 25, of Golan, Gwynedd, North
Wales and Keiran Hodson, 24, of Carlett View, Liverpool previously pleaded
guilty to fraud by false representation at Liverpool Crown Court.
All 3 were sentenced on 29 January 2016, to 12 months' imprisonment,
suspended for 2 years, and were each ordered to pay £3,000 in compensation
to Direct Line.
In March 2013, Owen contacted her insurer, Direct Line, to inform that she
had been involved in a collision between her Ford Focus and Saeidi's Audi A4
whilst driving near Sefton Park, Liverpool. Owen claimed to have driven into
Saeidi's vehicle causing extensive damage to both.
Further claims were made against Owen's policy by Saeidi for damage to his
car, plus a number of personal injury claims for passengers that were
present at the time of the collision in both vehicles; this including Hodson,
who was Owen's boyfriend at the time. The total amount put aside by Direct
Line for the claims was over £38,000.
However, with Owen's insurance due to expire just a week later, Direct Line
appointed a claim investigator to look into the claim. When a forensic
engineer examined the vehicles, he found they had collided with each other
on at least 4 occasions; not the once as had been claimed and the case was
subsequently referred to IFED officers to investigate.
Hodson was arrested and Owen voluntarily attended an interview with Police
in October 2014. During Police interviews, the pair admitted to planning the
collision with Saeidi as Owen's car was old and needed replacing and
Saeidi's bumper on his car was already damaged and also needed replacing.
Saeidi was later arrested in February 2015 and when detectives seized and
examined his phones, they found messages containing the details of the
registration number of Owen's Ford Focus, along with messages sent to Hodson.
Police Staff Investigator Abdelkader Rezkallah, from IFED, who investigated
the case said:- "This crash for cash scam was pre-planned together by
Owen, Hodson and Saeidi to make a quick profit at their insurer's expense.
Despite knowing it was wrong, they still made the insurance claims and lied
about how it had happened. This should serve as a warning to others thinking
of doing similar that there are serious consequences to making false
insurance claims. crash for cash scams will be rooted out and those involved
could be prosecuted and end up with a criminal conviction."
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Small starter
office and shop fount available in Southport Town Centre
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IN the same
building as ourselves are 2 recently reinvaded Office / Shop rooms. The ground
floor room is split into 2 sections, allowing for a non public work area and
a public area. The 1st floor is a large room that could be used for
administration for example. The user of those rooms will have access
to a kitten and toilet facility as well. Please contact Dawn or Ged on 07834 184927 or email:-
Palmcorner@Hotmail.Co.UK for more
information. |
4 Post Office Ave.
Southport, PR9 0US.
(This advert is valid
for the week and week following of this edition only) |
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