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Advice Portsmouth provides free, independent, impartial and confidential advice to people living in Portsmouth. Our Purpose is to give the right advice and appropriate support to help clients solve their problems

Our team of qualified professionals, support staff and dedicated volunteers provide general and specialist advice in social welfare advice in the fields of debt, welfare benefits, employment, housing, family and consumer law.

The African Women’s Forum (AWF) was founded in 1995 to provide opportunities for social contact, communication and emotional support for African women in Portsmouth, directly replicating the support that would have been provided by closely related women in African societies.
AWF also works with local communities and organizations to increase inter-cultural understanding between Africans and the wider community.

The African Women's Forum's main aim is to provide opportunities for mutual communication by having social contact as well as emotional support for African Women residing in Portsmouth.

Our aim is to provide affordable and sensitively managed sheltered housing for people over 60 years of age, giving priority to those who have served in the Armed Forces and their surviving partners or relatives. We also aim to meet the needs of those with priority on housing waiting lists when possible.

We provide free, independent and confidential information and advice on a wide range of issues affecting people over the age of 50 in Portsmouth and the local area.

Our Information & Advice service is open from 8.45am to 5.00pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Bradbury Centre. We can offer telephone advice or face-to-face office appointments and even home visits if necessary.

Our aim is to provide you with the facts so that you can make choices and decisions knowing that you have reliable information.

Issues we can help you with
• Welfare benefits and entitlements
• Housing choices
• Money matters
• Blue Badge applications
• Health and social care
• Staying independent at home
• Residential and nursing care
• Leisure and social activities
• Family and personal matters
• Legal issues
• Your rights

Welfare benefits
Benefits enquiries are one of our most common requests, and last year we were able to help claim over £1.3 million in benefits for older people living in the Portsmouth area. It is estimated that every year over £3.5 billion of benefits goes unclaimed across the country, with three million older people living below the poverty line.

Many people are put off claiming either by the complexity of the benefits system, or they assume they cannot claim anything because they have a private pension or have some savings or own their home.

We have a team of trained staff and volunteers who can check to see if you are entitled to claim any welfare or disability benefits, and can help you through the claims process from start to finish. If needed we can give you assistance filling in all of the forms.

Legal issues
Every two weeks legal advisors from Biscoes Solicitors offer free 20 minute appointments at the Bradbury Centre to provide advice on matters such as Wills, Power of Attorney, Probate and other legal issues.

Close Encounters is designed to improve the quality of life for lonely and isolated older people in Portsmouth, Gosport and the surrounding areas.

You only get one pair of feet so it's important to take good care of them.
Looking after your feet is one of the most important aspects of personal health care, whatever your age.

During your lifetime your feet could walk the equivalent of four times around the world!

To make sure that your feet stay fit you need to look after them, keeping them clean, warm and well supported. Nevertheless, many of us will develop some foot problems as we age, simply as a result of daily wear and tear.

Anyone who has experienced foot pain knows only too well how debilitating it can be. Over time it can become a significant health issue because, if we can't walk comfortably, we're less likely to get out and about and take part in the social activities or daily exercise that is vital for our health and wellbeing.

As we get older, an annual foot health check is as important as a sight or hearing test. Conditions like diabetes or circulatory problems can all be picked up by looking at the feet, and common problems like corns, cracked skin and ingrown toenails can be successfully treated.

Never ignore minor foot troubles. They may not seem to matter very much at the time but they can get worse unless you seek proper attention and treatment. Fortunately most common problems can be treated successfully by a chiropodist or podiatrist - there is no difference between the two but most practitioners nowadays prefer to call themselves podiatrists.

Age UK Portsmouth holds regular footcare surgeries at the Bradbury Centre each week with independent footcare specialist Camilla Edwards and independent foot health practitioner Kate Slater.

We have a comfortable and fully-equipped hair salon at the Bradbury Centre where independent hairdresser Donna offers a warm and friendly hairdressing service at very competitive prices.

Our Help Around The Home service is designed to assist older people in south east Hampshire who may need a little extra help and support to maintain their independence at home.

We have a team of Supporters ready to help you with your domestic chores and shopping, as well as offering companionship and assistance with day-to-day living, both inside and outside the home – all you have to do is give us a ring.

Services we can offer you
• Domestic chores such as vacuuming, mopping and dusting – priority is given to hygiene and safety areas, such as bathrooms, toilets and kitchen
• Doing your laundry, ironing and putting away clothes
• Bed-making and changing bedding
• Food shopping from your nearest local shop
• Accompanying you on shopping trips
• Cleaning your fridge and checking ‘use by’ dates on food
• Cleaning cupboards and interior windows
• Help with correspondence – letter writing, paying bills and organising paperwork
• Pension and prescription collection services
• Taking you out to visit friends and family
• Accompanying you to social events or doctor’s appointments
• Spring cleaning service
• Support for a planned return home from hospital – house cleaning and preparation, shopping, short-term help while recovering

How the service works
One of our assessors will visit you in your home to discuss the service and to understand your requirements. Once it has been agreed that our service is right for you one of our Supporters will be allocated to you and they will support you as per your needs. We try to ensure that you have the same Supporter each week although this may not always be possible.

All of our Supporters have excellent references and have been checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service. We will regularly monitor the work carried out to ensure that you are happy with our service.

If you feel like you have missed out on learning about computers, don’t worry. Our IT sessions are open to anyone over the age of 50 who would like to improve their basic computing skills.

Nowadays computers and the internet have become a part of everyday life – from staying in touch with friends and family and sharing photographs to researching your family tree and doing your shopping online. It’s all really useful . . . if you know how.

It doesn’t matter whether you are completely new to computers or whether you already have a little computer experience, our friendly volunteer tutors will explain things clearly in plain English to help you get the most out of your computer and the internet.

AJM Healthcare is the leading provider of NHS wheelchair services throughout the UK, specialising exclusively in wheelchair services.

Our services are designed with customer care as a priority. Our teams provide a genuine caring and holistic approach in all they do.