Housing NSW Care Call for elderly living in public housing

The Australian Red Cross will deliver a telephone monitoring service called Housing NSW Care Call for elderly social housing tenants.

The Australian Red Cross executive director, Lewis Kaplan, said the new service would provide real peace of mind to older people living alone – keeping them connected to the community and making sure someone checks they are okay with a regular phone call.

Housing NSW Care Call will be available from July 2008 to tenants in public and community housing, (including housing cooperatives and housing associations) on a voluntary and free of charge basis.

The service will be targeted to at-risk tenants who are living alone aged 80 years or over (or over 75 years if they are frail and vulnerable), or 55 years for Aboriginal tenants (or 50 years if they are frail and vulnerable).

Further information will be provided over the coming months, including interim referral arrangements to the existing Telecross service between now and July.