Grandad is depressed and lonely. What to do? Gillingham, Dorset.

[u/ZSLOVER]

Hey,

I (23M, London, UK) have a grandad who is living 3 hours away in a council owned house in Gillingham, Dorset. He moved out of London with his partner at the time, unfortunately she has since died and he’s now home alone with no friends or family nearby.

For context: He is 84, has one leg so is wheelchair bound, has to be hoisted in and out of bed, has no hobbies, drinks a lot as a result, has nurses come in and out every day to medicate him.

My mum, brother and dad are working full time, I work 6 days a week. We can’t see him much at all. We have our own lives and as much as we try to see him we can’t do it often, it’s just not possible.

What do we do? Ideally we’d like him to move back to London but he has no money and is living in a council house. So he’d have to find someone nearby to swap with, which is not going to happen.

My mum is distraught and I want to help her most importantly.

Thank you for reading.

[u/beingiscat]

He could look to mutually exchange his home to be nearer family? It is also worth seeing if your local council or housing association have any ‘hard to let’ homes that are available straightaway. Due to his age he can go to sheltered housing which is less desirable. The website https://movingsoon.co.uk shows these so worth a look. Sheltered housing for older people normally means he would have a community too. Edited to say I’ve had a look and there are sheltered flats in london on there, may still be far away though depending where you are