How Care & Repair Cardiff and the Vale can help

If you are aged 60 and over, our home visiting service can provide you with free advice, information and support tailored to your individual needs. Our experienced caseworker will come to your home and will listen to your needs.

Our expert Casework team can visit you in your home to listen and discuss any issues that concern you and identify individual solutions for you.

We can offer you:

• Support – Caseworkers can provide personal support and encouragement as clients prepare for and deal with the disruption that may be caused by any adaptions/building work.
• Liaise on the client's behalf –We act as a point of contact between the client, family or carer within various organisations and statuary bodies which provide support.
• Applications – We can visit the client's home to help fill in forms such as Local Authority Grant applications and Attendance Allowance applications.
• Signposting –we signpost and liaise on client's behalf with appropriate organisations for support tailor made to the client's needs, for example, Energy Advice Centre, Department of Works and Pension, Royal British Legion, Age Cymru.
• Advice and Information – we can also provide help and information over the telephone, services such as benefit checks and Disabled Facilities Grants financial checks can be completed over the telephone by one of our trained members of staff.

• Grants/Funding options – We will discuss what repairs and adaptations you need, the possible solutions and provide advice on sources of funding such as Disabled Facilities Grants, self-funding or benevolent funding for the identified works to be carried out and can assist with the completion of forms or other paperwork.
• Affordable Warmth – We provide energy efficiency advice, support and solutions including funding options, fuel debt, switching tariffs and suppliers, Warm Home Discount and Priority Service Registration.
• Benefits Check – We offer and complete a welfare benefit check to maximise your income and refer you for appropriate benefits to ensure that you are in receipt of your full entitlement.

Welfare benefits calculator link
www.turn2us.org.uk

• Health – We refer clients for Occupational Therapy assessments to assess for equipment and adaptations relating to the clients health needs. We also have trained assessors who can assess for small scale adaptations.

The funding for RRAP is provided by Welsh Government for people who are in hospital awaiting discharge, have recently been discharged from hospital or at risk of being admitted to hospital or into a care home.

To obtain grant assistance referrals must come from a Health or Social Service Professional e.g. an Occupational Therapist. We can advise you how to access this funding and speak to the referral agency on your behalf.

Examples of types of work involved are:

• Hand rails/ Grab rails
• Access to toilet facilities
• Repositioning of Light Switches/sockets
• Provision of stair rails

• Steps and half steps
• Door entry Systems
• Assistive Technology
• Repair to stair tread / timber floors
• Levelling concrete floors
• Improve Lighting interior/exterior
• Heating Repairs to main living areas
• Fitting carpet strips
• Relaying paving stones
• Additional Sockets
• Telephone Extensions

The Managing Better service is a 3-year project, funded from the Welsh Government's Sustainable Social Services Third Sector Grant. The service is led by Care & Repair Cymru in partnership with RNIB Cymru, Action on Hearing Loss Cymru and Care & Repair Agencies across Wales.

If you are aged 50 and over, are a home owner, live in private rented accommodation or live in Social Housing our Managing Better Caseworker can provide free advice and support to help you secure necessary home repairs & adaptations.

Managing Better caseworkers have particular expertise in the impact of sight loss, hearing loss and/or duel sensory loss and how this affects people at home in terms of their personal safety, independence and well-being and will provide advice and support around this.