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Services
Safeguarding advice and support groups for adults
Social care
Our adult social care team can help you access the care and support you need to look after yourself, your home, and to live independently. They can also tell you about how to get a social care assessment.
Loneliness and social isolation
Loneliness and social isolation can affect anyone. If people are socially isolated due to poor health, disability, bereavement, retirement or lack of transport, it can have a negative impact on their wellbeing. This leaves them at a greater risk of abuse, scams and bogus callers.
Tips to help reduce loneliness and social isolation
Say hello with a smile
We all like to be acknowledged, and small gestures often mean the world.
Say ‘I’m here’ with something delicious
Next time you make dinner and have a spare portion, why not pop it round and gift it to a neighbour or relative?
Ask if you can help
Ask someone if they'd like anything picking up whilst you're at the supermarket or shops.
Offer a lift
Many people have had to give up their personal transport due to ill-health or old-age, and this can be a key contributing factor towards their social isolation.
Introduce the internet and get connected
Technology such as mobile phones and the internet can be confusing to older people at first, but with the right instruction and the right type of device they can have a very positive impact on loneliness.
Know how to get help
Make sure people who live on their own have access to all the phone numbers they may need in an emergency or if they require help or support.
Check on others
Some people are at risk from being housebound or isolated in the winter months due to the weather or illness, so it’s especially important that we take a moment to check-in on them.
See if you can learn a lesson
Sometimes because a person is elderly, in poor health or housebound, we forget that they have a wealth of life experience under their belts which we could learn from.
Become a volunteer or befriender
One hour per week could make a real difference. Find out how you could become a volunteer or befriender on the Barnsley CVS website.
Not everyone who's alone is lonely; some people may choose to be alone and enjoy this. However, we can all help to keep people safe by being the eyes and ears in our community and looking out for each other. Visit Live Well Barnsley to find services that can help keep people well, safe and connected.
Scams
Not everyone is trustworthy and some people may try and take advantage of others, especially if they're socially isolated. Find out about scams and how to stay safe online.
Help to manage your own health and wellbeing
Barnsley Healthcare Federation offer a range of support to help you manage your own health and wellbeing. Their health coaches can look at your current health issues and work with you to prevent new ones. They'll help you identify your needs and set goals, and support you in reaching your goals with manageable steps.
The federation also offers social prescribers, who help people address social problems they're facing which impact their wellbeing and can make them feel unwell. This could be due to children and family issues, loneliness, housing issues, weight problems, work or unemployment.
Support groups
We're always looking to involve people in shaping the services and support we offer them. One way you can do this is by joining one of the support groups below.
Autism Reference Group
The Autism Reference Group gives you the chance to influence the delivery of services for autism.
The group's involved in things like the self assessment framework and the library sanctuary space. They also look at how accessible various websites are when searching for autism services.
Group meetings: bi-monthly at the Town Hall.
Call 01226 773447 for more details or if you'd like to become a member.
Carers and Friends Forum
The Carers and Friends Forum gives you the chance to influence the delivery of services for carers.
Group meetings: bi-monthly.
Call 01226 773447 for more details or if you'd like to become a member.
Mental Health Forum
The Mental Health Forum is for people living with a mental health condition. It gives you the chance to influence the delivery of services for mental health
Call 01226 773447 for more details or if you'd like to become a member.
My Barnsley Too
My Barnsley Too is a forum for disabled people and their families, friends and supporters. It looks at ways to improve services for them.
Call Barnsley Advocacy on 0300 012 0412 for more details or email mbt@cloverleaf-advocacy.co.uk
Older People's Forum
The Older People's Forum gives you a chance to influence the delivery of services for older people. The forum looks at various topics, including social isolation.
Group meetings: bi-monthly at the Town Hall.
Call 01226 773447 or 775838 for more details or if you'd like to become a member.
Substance Misuse Forum
The Substance Misuse Forum is for people who engage, or who've previously been engaged, in substance misuse services in Barnsley.
Call 01226 773447 for more details or if you'd like to become a member.
Thursday's Voice
Thursday's Voice holds a group for adults with learning disabilities and adults with autism. It's a place where you can go along to make friends.
Group meetings: every Thursday from 10am to 1pm, Barnsley Civic, Hanson Street, Barnsley, S70 2HZ.
Call Barnsley Advocacy on 0300 012 0412 for more details or email anthony.carr@cloverleaf-advocacy.co.uk.
Your Voice Barnsley
Your Voice Barnsley is a network for anyone in Barnsley who'd like to have their say. You can also get involved in making a difference to the way our health and social care services are planned and delivered.
Getting involved is easy - call 01226 773447, email lovewhereyoulive@barnsley.gov.uk or visit Your Voice Barnsley on Facebook.
Useful links
Safeguarding leaflets and resources
- Safeguarding adults in Barnsley (poster)
- Keeping adults safe from abuse and neglect (leaflet)
- Safeguarding adults and children is everybody’s business (leaflet)
- Contacting adult safeguarding for Deaf and hard of hearing people (leaflet)
Advice on choosing a care home
- Age UK has some really helpful information to help you find the right care home for you.
- The Care Quality Commission inspects and regulates care homes and has information on its website to help you make decisions about care.
- Barnsley Adult Social Care has lots of information on getting help to live at home, choosing and paying for a care home and more.
