Community outreach
As part of our mission to the people of Shirley and Freemantle, we reach out into the community beyond our doors. Here are some of the ways we serve others.
Communicare
Communicare in Shirley and District exists to help those in need. We shop for and with the elderly and infirm, visit the lonely and the housebound, provide transport for medical and social appointments and hospital visiting, befriend those with mental health problems, carry out practical tasks for those with physical difficulties, collect prescriptions and pensions and do small DIY jobs.
We are all volunteers and there are no charges for the help we give, though donations towards our running costs are gratefully received. We come under the umbrella of Southampton Voluntary Services.
We have been in existence since January 1991 and have helped hundreds of people over the years. Most are elderly but we also help mothers of young children and those of any age with mental or physical disabilities. Whatever your need, give us a try!
This is what some people have said about Communicare:-
“It’s with great sadness that I have to say goodbye to my Communicare visitor. She has been a great help to me over the past two years, always she has a listening ear. She always thinks of others not herself. Communicare is a wonderful service to all who need it.”
“I want to sing the praises of Communicare because of the difference it has made to my life. I have been a housebound elderly lady for over five years who can only go out in a wheelchair, but unfortunately I do not have any family to take me out. I appealed to Social Services to see if they could find someone, and they found a lovely lady from Communicare who now takes me out once a fortnight. She is such a caring lady and we have fun together. On one occasion I asked her if she would take me to the West Quay Shopping Centre. It was a very cold day and she turned up to collect me carrying a tartan rug with a hot water bottle wrapped up in it. Because of Communicare I now call myself a ‘liberated lady’.”
St Vincent de Paul Society
The SVP is a care society whose members visit people in their own homes, in Nursing and Residential Homes and in Hospitals. As well as offering a good listening ear, the SVP offer practical, personal and sometimes financial support in many different, confidential ways.
We regularly visit housebound or elderly parishioners, the sick and one-parent families, as well as providing food vouchers for the homeless and refugees in Shirley. Our work is always strictly confidential.
Each year we organise a Christmas Party for the senior members of our community, as well as regular outings into the countryside or the nearby New Forest.
The Society in Shirley meets regularly in the hall, and new members are always welcome. If you think you would like to help in this work, please contact the Parish Office and we will put you in touch with a member of the group.
More information on the national work of the SVP can be found at www.svp.org.uk.
Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF)
The APF exists to supply spiritual and material aid, mainly for the peoples of the Third World. The principal source of income is provided by the red mission collecting boxes.
To join what Pope John Paul declared to be his favourite charity, and help save lives and prevent blindness in the Third World, contact the Parish Office.
More information at www.missionsocieties.org.uk/APF.htm.