Help When You Need It is a confidential, free and friendly service funded by Bristol City Council, to help people over the age of 55 who live within the Bristol boundaries and are in need of support (including mental health and substance misuse issues).
All referrals are followed up with an assessment of your individual circumstances. We work with you to create a personalised set of outcomes and give you the support needed to achieve them.
We can support you to:
- Maintain accommodation/tenancy or secure accommodation
- Self-manage physical health and wellbeing
- Manage mental health and wellbeing
- Maximise income, reduce debts, or find paid work
- Prevent loneliness and isolation
- Stay safe
Find a service
Download our HWYNI leaflet
Find out more about our Help When You Need it service by downloading our leaflet.
DownloadCommonly asked questions
- What is Help When You Need It?
Help When You Need It is a support service funded by Bristol City Council, to help older people living within the Bristol boundaries.
- Which Help When You Need It service is right for me?
We offer two Help When You Need It services:
- Help When You Need It – Community: This service is for older people who live within the Bristol boundaries, are over the age of 55 years, and in need of support.
- Help When You Need It – Health and Wellbeing: This service provides support to tenants living within Brunelcare properties.
- If I meet the criteria, what support can you offer?
- Support with overall wellbeing, including managing physical and mental health
- Support with mobility or issues related to frailty
- Promotion of self-care, and support with life skills for example, food preparation, advice and prompting on cleaning and hygiene, although we cannot offer personal care
- Support to identify, access and maintain meaningful activities to prevent loneliness and social isolation, such as timely signposting to local community and activity groups, befriending services, and support to keep in contact with family and friends.
- Support with aspects of maintaining tenancy such as: Effective liaison with RSLs regarding tenancy issues/queries: Assistance to maintain the safety of the home and report maintenance issues, minor repairs etc. Income maximisation checks, completing benefit forms, budgeting Moving and resettlement activity including support to source furniture, funding, liaising with utility companies, signing on with GPs. etc.
- Support with maintaining the environment, including referral to Home Improvement Agencies for adaptations and assessments, access to Assistive Technology and Gadgets.
- Support following discharge from hospital, and support to prevent readmission and liaison with social care and outreach agencies.
- Support with finances such as welfare benefits advice and signposting to Money Advice Services (such as BCC’s Welfare Rights and Money Advice Service – WRAMAS) and Citizens Advice.
- Support to feel connected, including support to access the internet and other sources of information.
- Support to access advocacy services.
- Identification and support for carers to prevent carer breakdown.