The festive season is well and truly upon us. While many of us are looking forward to the Christmas period, for others it can be a particularly difficult time – be it loneliness, difficulty accessing support, or simply staying warm. But whether you or someone close to you is struggling this winter, there are plenty of ways we can help.

Many older people have already reached out for a little extra help during these colder months. We spoke to one such member of the Staywell community, Alan Humphries, to find out how much of impact some of these services can have.

Alan first moved into his Malden Manor home as a child nearly 70 years ago. He remembers his family huddling together around a coal fireplace in a single room on especially cold nights, helping keep them a little more comfortable without having to heat the rest of their home. Things have not changed much seven decades later. Like many older houses across the borough, the building is far more expensive to heat than modern ones, lacking modern insulation, double glazing, or other innovations like heat pumps to help keep energy bills down. While the unpleasant smell of his parents’ old paraffin heaters has long-since faded, much of Alan’s home is unchanged from his childhood when it comes to staying warm: save the replacement of the coal fires and boiler with gas alternatives, and a few windows receiving double-glazing.

For many years, Alan had little trouble dealing with the cold. With half a century as a radio engineer for British Airways under his belt, he was able to take a DIY approach to maintaining his home. But as he got older, he found himself unable to carry out these repairs, with his gout and arthritis leaving him housebound. Alan tells us the former proved especially difficult, describing: 'I couldn’t make a fist. I couldn’t even sign my own name at one point.' When the gas fire in the same room his family used to keep warm in stopped working, he now only had two options: find the money for the installation of central heating throughout his home, or to do without. The prohibitive cost of the renovations meant he did not have much of a choice at all.

He remembers the cold of the first winter without his fireplace. 'It would be 13°C in here,' he explains. 'On cold days, it could get down to 9°C. I stay out of [my] bed, it’s just so cold in the bay [window].' When Alan was first referred to the Proactive Anticipatory Care (PAC) team, he received one of the insulating blankets donated to Staywell by Thinking Works, a local non-profit organisation which helps people across the borough save energy while keeping them and their homes warm.

To many, especially those who are not struggling to keep their homes warm, this may seem an unremarkable, even inconsequential gesture of support. Could a blanket really make a difference for someone like Alan? 'Oh yes,' he replies. He pauses. 'It saved my life.' Alan continues, adding: 'I’d been freezing the last two days until I got this blanket […] it saved me from getting bronchitis or pneumonia or something. It’s made all the difference.'

Since receiving the blanket, Staywell has continued to find support for Alan. A fleece-lined pullover – another Thinking Works contribution – came next. Later, his ailing electric heaters were replaced with two computerised versions, giving him more control of the temperature of his room along with the added peace-of-mind from the more modern safety features. A heated blanket came next, especially helpful when trying to sleep. 'It has been great for my feet and legs,' he says.

The latest additions include thermal socks, hot drinks and more warm layers, part of a Christmas care package put together by RBKares.