He made enquiries asking if we could help to have his dogs nails clipped as he couldn’t travel due to mobility issues. We offered to attend to complete this for him as one of our directors owns and operates a grooming salon but we don’t usually complete mobile services. This was refused on multiple occasions and we didn’t want to push the topic but the gentleman was adamant he didn’t want home visits, we settled on a meet outside his home eventually and we started building a relationship with him with regular checking in and offering of just a conversation.
With focused sessions with him at a local coffee shop we discovered that he had lived alone for over 18 years and for the past 13 years has just been him and his dog, within this time he had had no external support from services despite recently being contacted from the council with concerns for his future tenancy due to his living conditions that had been reported.
During access to his flat, we quickly realised this gentleman needed help. He was eating and sleeping in a corner of the living room with just a walkway to the toilet. Our initial steps was to contact the council and ask for support but very little was offered and infact the suggestion of possession was brought up unless property standards improved.
And we knew at this point we couldn’t walk away. With a total cost of £6000 including renovation equipment and skip services we have transformed his home into a warm and comfortable space. We have also reached out to local social services who have now allocated a specific worker to help and assist the gentleman moving forward. Between us we spent an over 178 hours across 6 days in order to complete.
Since completing this we have had daily chats with the gentleman who is filled with joy and excitement about how to use his new appliances. We get updates on how much Boots loves his new sofa and have been invited around for coffee numerous times. He states we have transformed his life beyond words and brought him to tears with joy when we handed his home back to him.