Four national agencies have started to pilot an initiative to improve access to good quality information and advice about all aspects of housing, care and support for older people.
Partners in the venture are Counsel and Care, Help the Aged, Nursing Home Fees Agency and Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC). The FirstStop service will provide a single phone number and website through which older people and their carers can access our complementary specialisms.
We would like to see FirstStop grow into a network of local as well as national agencies committed to delivering good quality housing advice to older people. The ‘core’ national service we are setting up will contribute a central information resource as well as the specialist knowledge of our team of telephone advisors. Local agencies may bring the offer of face-to-face contact and home visits, local knowledge or specific skills such as in advocacy – or home repairs and adaptations.
Alongside exploring the prospects for local partnerships, a key aim of the pilot is to test out our model for a financially sustainable service. Our target is to develop earned income streams to cover half the cost of running the service, and to persuade central government to cover the remainder. Negotiations with government departments are well advanced, as are discussions with several potential sponsors.
Visit the new FirstStop website