Helping the Community

Friendship Groups

What we have noticed when talking to customers about their care needs is that many older people simply require companionship. This is something that we provide at Bluebird Care, but we are aware that our Carer Workers are unlikely to be of a similar age to the people we care for, and therefore may struggle a little at finding things in common.

This is why we are providing a service to older members of the community who would like to make new friends in their local area. New friends of a similar age with similar interests.

How it works

People register their interest with us by telephone. We go to visit them to talk in more detail about the service and establish if they want to be a host or a guest. The host’s home is where the group will meet and the guests attend the host’s home.

We provide transport for the guests to the host’s home and a carer to support the host and guests during the gathering of up to 4 people in total.

If there is no suitable host home available or the attendees decide they would prefer to go somewhere else like a restaurant or café for instance, then that is also an option, but may require more than 1 carer depending on the needs of the attendees.

People would be matched on location, age and interests. When they call we take a few details and then find the most appropriate matches for them. Then we arrange a mutually suitable time for each guest to be ready for collection to be taken to the host’s home or a location of the group’s choice (within Sefton).

Attendees can meet just for a chat or they may have hobbies such as reading, so a book club could be organised or films, where attendees could watch a movie or listen to music, play games such as bridge, poker or dominoes, baking, knitting… the list is endless. At all times our highly trained and caring staff will be on hand to attend to your every need. They will help with all food and drink preparation, any personal care the attendees require and any other tasks required of them during the gathering.

Our care staff are second to none. All are selected primarily for their attitude; they are natural carers, always going the extra mile for someone. They have all chosen a career in care and want to do well and provide the best possible service. They are also selected for their aptitude for learning. They are highly trained, going well beyond minimum standards, and highly motivated in continuing to improve their training through our partnerships with NVQ Diploma colleges throughout the region.

Attendees can decide if they want to make it a regular meeting, maybe once a week, or they can attend more than 1 gathering if they wish, there are no restrictions. There is no contract and absolutely no obligation to continue using the service if they do not want to.