Up to £2,000 to Help People with Dementia Live Safely at Home
People with dementia or memory loss in Ribble Valley can live more safely in their homes thanks to a new council grant.
Ribble Valley Borough Council is offering up to £2,000 for a range of adaptations or specialist equipment to help people with dementia or memory loss navigate their living space.
These might include bespoke products, smart technology or the use of colour to aid orientation.
Grant recipients must live in Ribble Valley and be experiencing memory loss due to a clinically diagnosed neurological disorder.
Referrals can be made from a range of agencies, including Age Concern, GPs, the early intervention dementia service, Crossroads Care, occupational therapists, Lancashire Social Services, Carers Link or family members.
The adaptations will be undertaken by home improvement agency Homewise, following an assessment, and may include smart home kits, assisted technology, signage, big button telephones, dementia clocks, touch bedside lights, grabrails and bathroom adaptations.
Rachael Stott, Ribble Valley Borough Council’s housing strategy officer, said: “Enabling people to live in their own homes is our priority and this can often be achieved with a range of simple adaptations.
“The home safety dementia grant will allow us to assist people with memory loss to live in greater safety and comfort.”
Ribble Valley Borough Council also offers grants for house adaptations recommended specifically by an occupational therapist.
These are a mix of means-tested disabled facilities grants (non-means-tested if the facilities are for children) of up to £55,000 and non-means-tested discretionary grants, called Ribble Valley Adaptations, of up to £10,000 for a range of measures, such as accessible showers and stairlifts.
Adaptations can only be recommended by an occupational therapist and the work is overseen by the council’s surveying team.
Ribble Valley has an above average number of older residents – 20.3 per cent of the borough’s residents are aged over 65, compared to 16.3 per cent nationally.
For further information about home safety dementia grants, phone Homewise on 01254 232249, or for disabled facilities grants phone Lancashire Social Services on 0300 123 6720 and request an occupational therapy assessment.