A charity that has played a crucial role in helping elderly and disabled people in East Yorkshire for more than 50 years is a “lifeline” for isolated pensioners.
Beverley Community Lift offers vital transport services for medical appointments, essential shopping trips, and recreational days out, with the aim of alleviating social isolation for older residents in the region.
At one time in fear of closure, Beverley Community Lift now supports more than 450 people aged 65 and over and the charity fills a gap in a rural community where buses are scarce, and taxis are costly.
Pensioners Mary Weber and Carole Smith depend on the service. GB News joined them on a Beverley Community Lift trip to the supermarket and the pair told us why the facility is vital.
Yorkshire pensioners offered ‘lifeline’ amid scarcity of buses and local amenities
GB News
Mary Weber, 78, lives in the rural village of Leconfield in East Yorkshire, where buses are rare and there are no local amenities.
She said: “It’s out in the boondocks. There’s no transport in Leconfield. We have no shop; we have no Post Office. Leconfield’s got nothing, no pub even.
“You don’t want to keep asking people to do shopping for you, or take you shopping, even, and you want to be independent as much as you can, and this [Beverley Community Lift] gives you independence.”
This was echoed by Carole Smith, who has been using Beverley Community Lift for several years for shopping trips and hospital appointments.
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Beverley Community Lift now supports more than 450 people aged 65 and over
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“It means I can get out and about and meet people and have a bit of a social life and it’s good for hospital visits. They always know where to drop you, where to go, where to pick you up,” she told GB News.
“I can’t speak highly enough of it, yeah, I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
The charity provides 2,500 subsidised journeys for passengers each year and its volunteers are at the heart.
Stephen Priestley has been volunteering as a Beverley Community Driver for eight years.
He said: “The transport around here’s a bit hit and miss. You can have a good laugh with all the people that you take around because there’s quite a good few characters that you take out and about.”
Sheena Turnbull volunteers as a Passenger Assistant for Beverley Community Lift
GB News
Sheena Turnbull volunteers as a Passenger Assistant for Beverley Community Lift Volunteer and told GB News that her background working as a nurse helped her in this caring role.
“There’s a lot of people on there that sit and chat and they might not see people from one day to the next,” she said.
“So it gets them out and about and it makes me feel like I’m doing something back for the community.”
The charity is calling for a host of new volunteers, including car and minibus drivers, passenger assistants, and charity shop workers, so it can fill the gap in under-served areas of the county and expand its reach.
Fiona Wales is the manager for Beverley Community Lift and told GB News: “We can’t do what we do without the volunteers that we have in place.
“Without us, you’ve got an awful lot of people who can’t actually physically leave their own home. We saw through the pandemic just how isolating not being able to get out of your own home is.
“So if you live on your own, we’re your vital link really to be able to access shops, to get to your GP, to meet a friend for coffee, just to get a social life.”
Two upcoming volunteer events will give prospective supporters more information about the roles available. These will be held on Wednesday, February 28, 10am to 1pm, at Market Weighton Community Hall and on Wednesday, March 6, 10am to 12.30pm, at Haltemprice Leisure Centre.
By attracting the right number of people in the most-needed places, Beverley Community Lift hopes to be a presence in areas such as Brough, Welton, Elloughton and Willerby, where services have closed after struggling for many years with finance and sufficient help.
Beverley Community Lift was first set up in 1970 as a neighbourhood support service for every street in Beverley, with churches and help groups involved. The range of assistance available included gardening, shopping and help to attend medical appointments.
The first minibus was donated in the early 1970s and now the charity has a fleet of five vehicles and will soon take delivery of two new buses, with accessibility for wheelchairs.
Call Beverley Community Lift on 01482 868082 for more information or to donate visit bclift.org.uk or find the charity on Facebook.