Community Digital Drop-in Bloggers
Older people using digital inclusion to challenge isolation and loneliness in our community
We are not the only drop-in IT help centre in Hackney. The video shows a very successful project run by the Trowbridge Senior Citizens Club. We don’t know exactly when they are open, but they are easy to find on the Trowbridge Estate in Hackney Wick.
Hello Hackney podcast, Our VIP guest will be Nicky Branch from Hackney Shine …
Hackney SHINE energy advice has been set up to help residents keep well and warm throughout the year and avoid cold-related conditions during winter and anxiety over paying the fuel bills, which can lead to ill health, extra visits to the GP and hospital admissions.
Hackney Shine provides an extraordinary range of free services related to energy — including advice about bills, debts, switching providers, repairs, health and wellbeing.
Terry will answer all your questions, and will be just as interested in what you have to say. That’s what the podcast is for – older people talking about what they know.
Please bring your voice to Whitmore Community Centre on Friday afternoon.
If you find it hard to deal with your energy supply, you might be able to sign up to the Priority Services Register (PSR). This gets you extra support from your energy supplier.
You’ll need to contact your energy network and fill in a signup form. Your energy network is the company that manages the electricity meters in your area, not the company you get bills from.
You can register for priority services if your energy network considers you ‘vulnerable’. This can apply to lots of different situations – for example if you:
- are disabled or seriously ill
- are recovering from an injury
- have mental health problems
- don’t speak or read English well
- have children under 5 or are pregnant
- have reached your State Pension age
The Citizens Advice page has more information and a form to help you understand what extra support is available.
We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. We are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.
Over a million older people in the UK are always or often lonely, some go for months without seeing friends or family. Visiting an older person as part of your weekly run can make a huge difference to their life.
We call the older people we visit coaches because they help motivate us to run and they share their wisdom. It’s amazing what you can learn from your coach. Coach runs can be fit around your schedule and don’t need to take up more than 20 minutes of your time per week.
Use our tracker to check whether your local services are meeting strict waiting-time targets for cancer, routine operations and A&E.
The NHS is under unprecedented pressure. Rising numbers of patients need hospital care – whether in an accident and emergency department, for cancer treatment or for planned operations and care, such as knee and hip replacements.
For each there are strict targets local services are expected to meet across the UK. But what are the chances of being seen in time where you live? Use the interactive tracker to find out.