Care & Repair team step up to the mark

A FREE gardening and odd-jobs service aimed at helping senior citizens and persons with disabilities, has been a godsend for hundreds if not thousands of recipients for years, many of whom live alone and/or unable to physically carry out essential tasks including grass-cutting, fixing broken gutters and fitting carbon monoxide alarms.

This is where the team at Care & Repair steps in – a South Dublin County Partnership group based out of Ace Enterprise Centre in Bawnogue.

The service is staffed by a team of Tus participant volunteers, all of whom are garda vetted, which enables ablebodied participants to assist the most vulnerable across South Dublin County.

The main challenge currently is that demand is exceeding supply and calls have increased this year, according to Collette Tobin, Tús Team Leader, Care and Repair.

“We have over 270 clients but we can’t keep up and if we can get more volunteers it would help more people,” said Collette.

“There are many people within the community who are no longer able to maintain their own gardens or complete small jobs around the house – quite often they would have no one to call upon to get assistance. This is where Care & Repair comes in.”

Eligibility criteria for requests are checked by the team as part of the application process to ensure those in genuine need can access assistance.

Many of the recipients praised Care & Repair for their help, including Tymon pensioner Billy Deegan, who is in his late 70s, avails of the service frequently.

Billy Deegan praises the service

“Absolutely delighted with the service. The staff are an absolute pleasure to have working in the garden, the job is out of this world, you couldn’t get better,” said Mr Deegan.

Other recipients cited their relief in getting carbon monoxide alarms fitted, another was “so happy this morning seeing my garden so tidy – you have no idea what it means to live alone.”

Meanwhile, another recipient said the “professional gentlemen” replaced a gutter after it was “done incorrectly 35 years ago.”

“This was a cause of concern to me for a long time and such relief to have sorted. The gutter man as I called him is a credit to himself and your organisation. I feel very fortunate to have stumbled across Care & Repair,” he said.

Recent changes to the Care and Repair operation have seen the introduction of additional supports within the initiative, including a ‘Winter Warmer’ project.

“This year has seen an unusual increase in the volume of calls to our service and keeping up with the workload can be challenging,” said Nick Butler, Tús Team Leader.

“While we are fortunate to have a great team of friendly and committed operatives, we are always looking for more team members. A background in handywork or gardening would be an advantage but is not essential as training will be provided.”

Anybody interested in joining the team must be in receipt of Jobseekers’ or disability payment for at least 12 months, and will receive a top-up of €27.50 to social welfare payments.  Young people under the age of 25 will receive a minimum payment of €247.50 per week for 19.5 hours work.

Visit HERE or more details or Freephone 1800 938884.

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