Cold weather warm homes

Friday, 03 February 2012

As the country endures freezing temperatures Haringey Council has been told it will receive a timely £87,000 from the government’s Warm Homes Healthy People scheme following a successful bid for funding by the council. Age UK Haringey and the council are using the award to remind people to make plans for keeping warm this week, and until the temperature starts to rise in the spring.

Cold homes are not good for older people's health and one of the best ways of staying healthy is to stay warm. The Haringey Warm ‘n’ Healthy campaign will pay for extra support to contact 300 vulnerable people over 60-years-of-age during the cold weather focusing on warmth grants, benefits advice, accident prevention and ways of keeping active.

Cold Weather Street advisers will identify potentially vulnerable residents out in the community and give them information about services and support that’s available. The advisers will distribute advice to as many people as possible from different sites including GP surgeries and community centres.

Councillor Dilek Dogus, cabinet member for health and adult services, said: “The winter isn’t over yet, as we’ve seen this week. We will be working closely with colleagues in the NHS and the voluntary sector in order to make the most of this funding. Staying warm can keep coughs and colds at bay and can also ward off serious illness. The chance of experiencing serious illness during the winter increases if you are elderly or vulnerable because of medical conditions.”

Ruth Cherrington from Age UK Haringey said: “Congratulations to Haringey Council for securing this funding, which is great news for older people in the borough. For many older adults it's a struggle to keep their home warm enough to combat the cold weather and then pay their heating bill.

“Each year in England and Wales an extra 25,000 older people die during the winter months from preventable causes. We will be working with the council to target this extra money where it’s needed the most.”

For more information on the Warm ‘n’ Healthy programme or if you know someone that could benefit contact Haringey Council on 020 8489 1400 or e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.