Flowers and vouchers are to be presented this week to Abingdon resident Mrs Pat Russell, who has just become the 500th person to receive a Vale Care Link personal help alarm.
The Vale Housing Association is celebrating the success of the alarm project after over two years of providing alarms to the community. The alarms are provided in co-operation with the police and the District Council and provide security for people who want to live independently, but with the knowledge that help is only a push of a button away. Specialist Services Manager David Woodhams commented, It’s very reassuring to think that our alarms are allowing people like Mrs Russell to feel safer in their homes.
After having had operations on her knee and hip 82-year-old Mrs Russell decided it was time to get a help alarm. My house is quite large and my staircase is narrow and twisty. A couple of months ago I tripped over my cat, which took me by surprise! It’s things like that which make you think
she explained.
Mrs Russell has lived in Abingdon for fifty years and is well-known to many in the community. Until she retired in 1992 she designed and made church embroideries and is a professional lettering artist. An example of her design can be found in the Westgate Library in Oxford and she worked on the design of the copes worn at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.