People have been asked to look out for their neighbours during the coronavirus pandemic after a 75-year-old man was found alone at home with no food or support.
The plea comes after support group Lowestoft Helping Hands was contacted by the man’s housing association, which explained he had no food, a broken freezer and was completely isolated.
Volunteers with the group rallied together to clean the man’s freezer, removing ruined food sitting in drawers of water, and have returned several times in recent days to cook the man hot meals.
The man was assessed by paramedics, while Suffolk County Council’s social services team have also been contacted by the group.
Miss Jones said: “During the coronavirus pandemic, elderly people are far more isolated than normal, and more often than not they do not know where to turn to.
“So I’d stress to everyone to check in on their elderly neighbours, especially if they haven’t seen them for days.
“Elderly people are not supposed to be second class citizens.”
The group was formed late last year by volunteer Anne-Marie Elliott, alongside Miss Jones, in a bid to provide residents with essential information.
Miss Jones said: “You wouldn’t believe how many people ask ‘how do you do this’ and ‘where can I get this’, so it was a place where we could help people help themselves.
“Then the coronavirus pandemic happened and we suddenly foudn ourselves in lockdown and furloughed, so Anne-Marie took the lead on providing food packages for those who are vulnerable.
“We are different to other organisations within Lowestoft that are doing the same, and we don’t have restricitions.
“We can do the shopping for you and emergency food parcels for those who are really struggling.
“We rely solely on donations of food and e-vouchers from the community, so essentially it is a service by the community, for the community.”
Anyone looking to donate can contact the group on Facebook at Lowestoft Helping Hands.
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