Kings Langley Good Neighbours
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Loneliness seems to be a national concern, but not necessarily in Kings Langley! There are a number of activities and events for people to choose – today we’re focussing on the TUESDAY LUNCH CLUB!
Meet Anna Sapte who regularly picks up some of our diners from their homes and returns at 1.30 to take them back. She also drives the minibus that takes a number of them on the fortnightly ‘Door to Store’ scheme. How does she fit it all in when she has a part-time day job too? “Oh”, she says, “I definitely make time for volunteering with Good Neighbours, it is such a blessing and I feel so privileged to be able to help”.
Amongst the diners, spot Charles, who says, “For those who live on their own, Lunch Club provides a lively social gathering and interaction. The food has always been very tasty, hot and served by friendly and helpful volunteers. I look forward to attending every week and enjoy it very much!”
And then there’s Colin who takes a regular turn with the washing-up machine, and our faithful servers who remember who likes a small portion or a ‘special’! As you see, the Lunch Club is thriving, but currently we are short of volunteers, both for driving and for serving. Please get in touch if you could spare an occasional hour or two on a Tuesday. Tel: 07790 668672 . For new diners, Tel: 07527 907128..
Not all our drives are “one-off”
"I have not forgotten your kindness in taking me to Mount Vernon for cancer treatment. I think the pandemic has taught us all how much we need good neighbours." (A client)
Sometimes a client is asked to attend hospital for a series of appointments. Physiotherapy, dialysis and chemotherapy are typical examples of treatments requiring a sequence of appointments . We usually set up a rota but this requires a large pool of volunteer drivers, so we are always keen to recruit more. Rotas allow volunteers to choose the most convenient date and time for them.
Photo:BBC
Recently, a client needed to visit Mount Vernon Hospital for cancer treatment every weekday for two months. That would have taken all our resources but we were able to ag
ree a plan in which we covered three days a week, while the client used buses on the other two days. It was a great help when Ariva started their 508 bus service, which goes all the way to Mount Vernon Hospital.
Another client needed regular three hour dialysis at St Albans Hospital. Hospital transport would have covered this, but because there are many patients to collect from a wide area, it can mean being ready by 7am and not returning home until the early evening. In this case we were able to cover the important outward journey, leaving the client to make his own way home by public transport.
Day centres are a boon for someone caring for a partner with dementia. Once a week we took a couple to a day centre in Hemel Hempstead where the carer spent much needed free time in retail therapy, a cafe or hair salon before they both returned home by bus.
With us, volunteer drivers only take consignments which fit their personal preferences and availability. A realistic milage allowance means they are never out of pocket.