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Help in a crisis
Judy's story
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On Friday 20 July 2007, Judy Faulkner’s life was turned upside down. Her Warwickshire village, Shipston-on-Stour, saw some of the worst floods Britain had experienced in decades. That morning, she remembers, the sky was black. By 3pm, the village was cut off, her cottage was under three feet of water and she had fled upstairs. She remained in her bedroom without phone or power until Sunday. When she found out repairs to her cottage would take at least 18 months, she rented a mobile home.
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However, Judy, 94, has severe back pain and difficulty walking and bending and couldn’t cope with the mobile home’s bathroom. So we paid for a walk-in bath and bathroom equipment.
One of Independent Age’s greatest strengths is that in a crisis, we provide help fast. One small thing - a cheque for a walk-in bath - meant the difference between Mrs Faulkner staying independent or having to go into care.
She said: ‘I am so grateful for the immediate help you have been to me during this huge upheaval and disaster.’
Mrs Faulkner wasn’t the only person we helped immediately. Within days of the floods, we had written to each of the older people we help in the flooded areas, offering to pay for essential items not covered by insurance. Local volunteers checked the older people were safe and alerted social services to addresses where vulnerable people were living alone without power.
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