Handyman for Older Citizens

Adding life to years

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Summary

The goal of the project is to increase and improve the quality of life of older people by offering them free minor home repairs. The services are available to residents of Katowice who are over 65 years, and/or living alone, in a household of two people, cannot handle household repairs or rely on their relatives.

The repairs offered include:

replacement/repair of taps in the kitchens and bathrooms,
unblocking drains,
repair of leaking pipes,
repair of cisterns,
installation/replacement of toilet seats,
connecting washing machines/dishwashers,
replacement of light bulbs,
repair/replacement of electric sockets,
adjustment/sealing of doors and windows,
repairing doors and window handles/locks
repairing skirting boards,
other minor repair and installation work accepted by the organisation in charge.

An older person may ask for a service once a month (12 times a year) and in exceptional situations, it is possible to ask for an extra service once the City Hall analyses the case.

Requests for services are accepted via the Silver Phone program and in person. In 2021, 306 Katowice seniors were provided with 656 repairs.

Website: https://www.katowice.eu/dla-mieszka%C5%84ca/dla-senior%C3%B3w

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): The poor

Sector(s): Social protection

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Ageing in place
Inclusion
Participation

Contact details

Name: Małgorzata Moryń - Trzęsimiech

Email address: ps@katowice.eu

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Civil Society Organisation
Older People’s Association

How collaboration worked: It was the idea of the city to implement the ‘Handyman’ practice for older residents. Implementation of the project has been realised through an open call intended only for NGOs. Every time the program is offered the contractor for the task is one organisation. Currently it is the Social Economy Development Foundation. A contract between the City Hall and Foundation regulates the terms and conditions of the project and fund accounting. Once the project is completed, the Foundation submits a report. In 2022, the city has secured PLN 89,980.00 for the practice.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were not directly involved

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
Since the start of the project in 2020, every year the NGO in charge of the project submitted a report with fund accounting, the number of offered repairs and the number of people who were provided help.

Feedback:
The ‘Handyman’ project has received a lot of positive feedback from the beneficiaries. The main advantage mentioned by that group is the help with small repairs they often cannot handle themselves.

Expansion plans:
No

Looking back

Reflections:
The difficulty in implementing the project is to plan purchases of appropriate fitting and repair tools in advance so that the repairs could be carried out during one visit.

Challenges:
One of the challenges was providing home repairs during the pandemic as well as building trust to with the ‘Handyman’ program. The trust issue was resolved through promotion and the preparation of badges so that older people felt safe during visits. Throughout the pandemic, the ‘Handyman’ also gave advice to older people through a dedicated TV programme ‘Silver Katowice’.