Elderly and vulnerable residents throughout Denbighshire are being given a helping hand to feel as safe as houses in their own homes thanks to an initiative which has just gained a £20,000 Welsh Assembly grant.
The Community Safety Partnership has been awarded funding to help fund the “Safer homes”, a scheme which aims to ensure that elderly and vulnerable residents stay secure in their properties by providing relevant advice and some security equipment.
“The grant has given the initiative a great boost,” said Sergeant Melanie Brace of the Community Safety Department. “It’s not only allowed us to buy more target hardening equipment such as alarms, lights and locks etc but also enabled us to buy a van which will now ensure that even more people are visited in their own homes and given the top tips help them feel and stay safe.”
Volunteers deliver ‘Safer homes’ and are supported by police officers from the Central Division and the Local Authority’s Community Safety Department. The volunteers visit clubs and groups for the elderly and vulnerable where they deliver presentations on home safety and advice for when out and about. Under the New scheme, the volunteers also provide reassurance visits to people in their own homes following a referral from a police officer from the local Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
Before any visit, contact is made with the householder by a member of the Community Safety Team to ensure that there is no cold calling.
Items such as door alarms, handbag alarms, door mirrors and locks are also available to some residents.
“Safer Homes’ is working well and it has been welcomed by many residents,” added Sgt Brace. “It is important that people feel safe in their own homes and this initiative helps to ensure just that. To date, residents in Denbighshire have benefited from the initiative and our hope is to extend it into the county of Conwy.”
