A Day in the Life: Southwark Circle, help for Older People in Southwark
First posted at 16:02GMT on 07/07/09 by Melanie Beasley
11:30am - Ryan answers the Southwark Circle phone and greets Alan. Alan is looking for some help with learning how to email. Within minutes, Ryan has called Caroline, a neighbourhood helper, and arranged a visit for the following day. Alan got on well with Caroline the last time she visited to have a look at why his printer wasn’t working.
12:00pm - Another member named Edith answers the door to Denise, a neighbourhood helper in her area. Denise has come round to help Edith sort out a cupboard and to take some of the things she no longer wants to the charity shop. Edith pays £30 a quarter for her membership to Southwark Circle and has used it to gets a number of DIY tasks done around the house. When her washing machine stopped working, another neighbourhood helper named Sarah took a look at it. According to Edith: “It turned out to be the filter, Sarah emptied it and it worked again. That saved me £40 in call out charges just to check it.”
1:45pm - Louis greets a neighbourhood helper, Luciana with ‘Hola!’ He has been learning Spanish from Luciana for a couple of weeks now. He read about another member in the Southwark Circle newsletter who learns Spanish and was inspired. Last week, Louis met up with another member, Derek, who like him is from the West Indies and a cricket fan. They watched the West Indies vs. England test match and, whilst they hit it off, the West Indies were less successful!
Every one of our members personalises the service to match their own life. For some, it’s just about getting help with something specific like computer lessons or learning a musical instrument. For others, it is about getting help with bits and pieces around the home, and many members use it meet new people and do things for other members.
If you’re looking for help yourself, or perhaps looking for help for your parents, Southwark Circle is now up and running. Call to find someone to help out with gardening, a spot of DIY or to share a coffee with!
If you are interested in joining Southwark Circle give us a call on
0800 112 3441 or email for more information.