Homecall's award

The Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Mrs Phyllida Stewart-Roberts, will be at Bexhill College on Tuesday to present the award as the Queen's representative in East Sussex.

Homecall schemes exist throughout the county and Tuesday's ceremony will also include the organisation's annual volunteer awards.

Also attending will be Dr Richard Wray a Deputy Lord Lieutenant, the High Sheriff of East Sussex Mrs Amanda Hamelin, Rother chairman Cllr Wendy Miers, Town Mayor Cllr Eric Armstrong, the Mayor of Eastbourne Cllr Colin Betsey, the Mayor of Hastings Cllr Maureen Charlesworth and around 150 clients, volunteers, representatives of the county council, voluntary organisations, friends, staff and trustees.

Only 104 Queens Awards for Voluntary Service were awarded nationally in 2006.

Homecall has also been awarded the Bexhill Achievers Awards Charity of the Year 2006 and received a Counsel and Care Befriending and Support Services Awards 2006 Certificate of Achievement.

A total of 33 Homecall volunteers have qualified for a five-year service awards, three for 10-year awards and one, Hazel Britt of Hastings, for a 20-year award.

They will each receive a certificate and lapel pin badge.

In total, the current 300-plus Homecall volunteers have between them given over 1,000 years of volunteering to 400 clients throughout the county. Three volunteers, Ann Brooks (21 years), Pat Dunn (21 years) and Hazel Britt have completed more than 20 years of service.

Homecall is a registered charity which has supported significantly sight-impaired people for 21 years. Most clients live alone and many are housebound and also have other illnesses and disabilities.

The Homecall network of trained volunteers visit clients weekly to help with tasks such as correspondence, day-to-day financial matters, checking best-before dates on food, going out together for walks and appointments and a myriad of other tasks that would otherwise be impossible for them to cope with on their own.

The regular support helps identify problems as they occur, minimising emergencies, and helping to access the local community and other services as necessary.

Homecall clients are some of the neediest and vulnerable in the community as, in a majority of cases, sight loss comes with increasing years. 88% of Homecall clients are over the age of 75. They depend on the help they get from their Homecall volunteers to enable them to remain living independently and to access a variety of social opportunities.

Despite providing a service that is greatly valued and considered essential by sight impaired people throughout the county, Homecall is currently facing a desperate funding crisis.

The charity has reserves and has received donations and grants that will so far guarantee survival at least until the end of this financial year.

Funding applications are being made to major funding bodies, local trusts and companies, and many fund-raising activities are taking place to try to ensure longer term survival.

New volunteers are always needed and welcomed.

When Homecall was founded in Hastings with six volunteers and 11 clients it was the first such home visiting scheme in the UK.