Look after yourself
Keeping yourself healthy and well is important. We all know that life can be challenging so making time to take care of for yourself – even if it's just to take a walk or talk to a friend – is something we should all try to do.
Contact with other people and building connections in your local community can also be beneficial to your mental health – especially if you live alone.
There’s lot of useful information about community groups and activities on the Live Well Directory.
The Be More Us website is also a useful source of ideas and information to support people who might be feeling lonely.
For older people who live alone and might be missing the joy of regular conversation, Age UK and their partner charity The Silver Line can help. They offer free telephone friendship services so that people can enjoy chatting with someone over the phone, all from the comfort of your own home. Call 0800 470 80 90.
Advice from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service
Home fire safety checks
Each year Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) carry out approximately 50,000 of these checks in person. They identify, target and visit the most at risk community members through information sharing agreements, partner agency referrals and deprivation data. MFRS works with partners to identify and target the most vulnerable people living in Merseyside and deliver interventions to raise awareness and promote safety in the home.
Safe and Well Checks
MFRS provide around 10,000 Safe and Well visits which are carried out by Prevention Advocates across Merseyside. The Safe and Well visit focuses on key aspects of health and in most cases connects people with partner agencies for further assessment as well as addressing fire safety concerns in the home. This intervention includes falls risk assessment, fuel poverty, alcohol reduction and smoking cessation.
Target hardening
MFRS responds to incidents where fire has been used or threatened against a person or a property. The aim is to offer advice in order to make the person safer and the property more resistant to the potential of fire. This process is known as ‘target hardening’.
Each property is target hardened based upon a number of factors which form the basis of a risk assessment. Residents are offered specific advice and guidance based upon the potential risks encountered. This is specific to each location, internal layout, external surroundings and lifestyles of the occupant/s.
Youth engagement activities
MFRS offers several different Youth Education programmes, including Prince’s Trust, Beacon program and Fire Cadets. These programmes are delivered across Merseyside and engage with children as young as 9 through to adults.
The Prince’s Trust Team Programme is a 12-week course run at fire stations across Merseyside for young people aged 16 to 25 who are not in employment or education.
It aims to develop young people’s skills to strengthen their job prospects. During the course they complete a week-long residential stay, a four-week community project and two weeks’ work experience.
Teams of young people on the course also raise money for community projects.
Teams currently operate from Bootle and Netherton Community Fire Station, Prescot Community Fire Station and Wallasey Community Fire Station.
MFRS currently run the National Fire Cadets Programme in a number of fire stations across Merseyside for 13-17 year olds.
The aim of the Fire Cadets is to enable young people to gain skills and knowledge and have positive experiences in a fun, safe and secure environment, while developing life skills and inspiring positive life choices about their futures.
The Beacon Project, supported by Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership, is a six week or 12 week (one day a week) programme designed to engage with primary and secondary young people aged 8-18 who meet any of the following criteria:
- They are in their transition to secondary school
- They have experienced ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experience)
- They have poor attendance
- They are displaying symptoms of someone exposed to trauma
- They are involved in risk-taking behaviour, fire setting or becoming involved in ASB (anti-social behaviour)
- Young people socially excluded in less obvious ways are also eligible – young carers, young people with disabilities, looked after children, young people from minority ethnic backgrounds
Business safety advice
MFRS has a legal duty to enforce the Fire Safety Order and promote fire safety in places such as offices, factories, shops, public buildings and high rise buildings. This helps to reduce the impact of fire in communities, keep firefighters safe and protect the area’s heritage and the environment. This helps reduce the number of fire related injuries, loss of life and cost to businesses and the community. MFRS support business and communities to meet their legal fire safety duties. Over 65,000 places in Merseyside have been identified that need to comply with the Fire Safety Order. Fire Safety Inspectors visit 7,500 very high and risk premises, including all of the High-Rise-Residential Buildings in Merseyside, and firefighters will visit a further 6,336 low to medium risk premises, between 2021-2024.