THERE HAS been a dramatic rise in the number of people who have contacted the charity Alone in recent months looking for assistance with financial problems and advice on social welfare issues, a spokesman said.
Of the total calls made in the first quarter of the year requesting direct call-outs, 43 per cent were made during March.
The chief executive of the charity, Seán Moynihan, described it as “particularly worrying” that the number of requests for a call-out to intervene in an issue or crisis had increased, “and continues to multiply month on month”.
He said the increased demand for the services offered by the charity’s 130 volunteers demonstrated “that those on the margins of society are being further isolated by the economic crisis”. He said this was “also displayed in the dramatic increase in requests for assistance with financial matters”.
Mr Moynihan added that while the Alone service was operating at capacity, it would “continue to encourage those older persons in need of assistance to contact us with any concerns they might have in relation to their homes, health or financial issues”.
The charity’s community response service received 130 calls requesting assistance in the first three months of the year, with 30 of the calls specifically requesting intervention in an urgent issue. The range of issues requiring intervention include housing, isolation, health and disability.
Requests for assistance with financial problems and benefit information rose steadily in the first quarter. Calls of this nature represented 7 per cent of the total in January but jumped to 25 per cent in March. Up to 30 per cent of requests for intervention by the service related to health issues, while an average of 12 per cent were connected to housing issues.
“We frequently receive calls from very distressed older people in need who are facing a range of troubling issues and crises,” Mr Moynihan said. The service gives older people information to help them make informed decisions. Figures indicate that 15 per cent of older people need this type of help.
