City Ełk in the interest of safety and improvement of the quality of life of older residents Ełk implements the "Senior Support Corps" program, which consists of two modules.

Module I - care services in the form of neighbourhood services

In this year, the city of Ełk will start the implementation of neighborhood services (planned Completion date August - December 2024):

· On May 28, 2024, the Ełk City Council decided to a resolution specifying, among m.in, the conditions for granting neighbourhood services, the and the scope and method of settlement,

· On 11 July 2024, a competition was announced for the public benefit organisations, a task consisting in the implementation of a providing care services in the form of neighbourhood services in 2024

Service neighbourhood services may be granted to a single person in the form of neighbourhood services, age of 60 years and over who, due to age, illness or other reasons, requires assistance of other persons, and is deprived of it, and the above-mentioned person who, due to age, illness or other causes requires the help of other people, and the family, as well as the also close persons, such as a spouse who does not live together, ascendants, descendants cannot provide such assistance.

Service neighbourhood assistance may include assistance in meeting basic life needs, basic hygienic and nursing care, which should be understood as forms of support that do not require specialist knowledge and competences, and, in the case of as needed and possible, ensuring contacts with the environment.

Way assistance in the form of neighbourhood services is analogous to that of the care services provided by the city of Ełk so far (including Specialist Aid), in accordance with the Act of 12 March 2004 on Aid social security (i.e. conducting a background check, issuing a decision on the neighbourly services and payment and exemption from paying fees).

Difference:

· neighbourhood services shall be granted in the not exceeding 10 hours per week,

· Neighbourhood services include help and care not requiring specialist preparation,

· Neighbourhood service provider lives in the immediate vicinity of the person to whom the services are provided neighbourly,

· a person providing neighbourhood services has been accepted by the person to whom the neighbourhood services are provided,

· cost per one hour of care services in in the form of neighbourhood services is PLN 35.

On for this purpose, the city of Ełk allocated over PLN 58 thousand, including over PLN 46 thousand from a targeted subsidy for the implementation of services under the Programme of the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs "Senior Support Corps" for 2024, module I.

Module II - telecare services

Service Telecare is an innovative tool to support Ełk seniors over 60 years of age, in particular lonely and sick people whose health or life is may be at real risk, and they are not able to call for help in a way that is traditional.

Goal programme is to improve safety and the ability to independently functioning in the place of residence of older people by increasing access to to the so-called "remote care", which consists in providing round-the-clock on-call duty Operational and Alarm Center and its readiness to perform the ordered procedures Upon receipt of a signal from a person covered by telecare services, the via the 'red emergency button'.

Centre Operational-Alarm will notify one of the contact persons indicated in the information sheet and, if necessary, the ambulance and/or the Police and/or the Fire Brigade under the address of the recipient of telecare services.

Currently in the city of Ełk benefits from the support of 70 seniors, next month Another 10 people will be helped. Total by the end of 2024 from services 80 seniors will benefit from telecare. Applications from people who would like to obtain Assistance in the form of telecare services are accepted on an ongoing basis.

On for this purpose, a targeted subsidy was obtained in the amount of  PLN 23 thousand 207, as part of the "Senior Support Corps" program for 2024, module II.

Detailed information is provided by the employees of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Ełk, Piłsudskiego 8, tel. 87 732 67 23, 87 732 67 28 or 87 732 64 50.