The main welfare activities of Help are;
Helping people in Medical and other Emergencies.
We loan out wheelchairs and other orthopaedic equipment see page
We loan out oxygen concentrators to people prescribed them by a lung specialist
Liasing with Social services, Assisting people with other government bodies such as unemployment benefit offices, social security for sick pay.
Assiting people claim benefits either Spanish Benefits or the UK Attendance Allowance for people of retirement age with links to the United Kingdom who have lived in Spain before 1st January 2021 (Brexit).
Request for assistance should be made to the welfare coordinator on telephone number 607386964
The areas we cover are within the Marina Baixa Comarca, encompassing the towns of Benidorm, Villajoyosa, Alfaz, Albir, Altea, Callosa d’En Sarrià and Finestrat and surrounding areas. Outside of these areas, please contact other HELP organisations – please see the Directory section for their web site addresses.
Referrals to the Welfare Officer come in many ways – either from the client themselves or friends and family. Family could be in the UK and be concerned about their relatives. Sometimes members of the British Consulate hear about people in crisis and refer them to us.
Sometimes a client may just need someone to talk to, or need advice of other ways of helping them get out of their difficulties.
Both Tourists and Residents are referred to us, and, as you can imagine, both have very different needs.
A typical resident in crisis is often an elderly person who has fallen ill and is unable to care for themselves or their partners. When a client like this is referred, an assessment will be made as soon as possible. Depending on their need, the type of assistance given will again be advice, and in some cases we can offer help with providing necessary equipment from our store.
A typical tourist in trouble is often when they have an accident or illness that requires hospitalisation. In these cases there is often more than one person in crisis. Take, for example, a couple having a two week holiday here in Benidorm – one has a fall and breaks a leg. The patient is taken either to a private hospital or public hospital. The partner then is obviously extremely worried, often not knowing about public transport, or whether they can have a hotel room for the extended period whilst their partner recovers. We can help them get out of hospital and back home.
The added worry is their lack of understanding of the Spanish language. In this instance, the social worker at the public hospital may refer someone like this to us, to see if we can be of assistance. We have an interpreter service
We endeavour to help these people in many ways. Visiting the patient in hospital and assisting with translating. Giving advice where we can, or putting them in touch with the right people to give them that advice. This is of course, is totally dependent on the availability and co-operation of our UNPAID volunteers.
We can not provide ongoing care but can refer people to appropriate services and advise about benefits to pay for services when they are not available from social services. See our page on Social Services Aid for information.