Laois Services to Elderly People supports the county’s older residents

THE Laois Services to Elderly People (LSTEP) programme promotes independent living for older people in Laois, empowering them to enjoy the best quality of life in their own homes.

This is achieved by providing general maintenance support to the county’s elderly population, including home repairs, lawn cutting, and fitting alarms. The main office is based at Clonminan Business Park in Portlaoise, where manager Michael Malone coordinates 19 staff, some of whom are participants on either the Tús or Community Employment work placement scheme.

Michael, who previously worked in the Tús work placement department of Laois Partnership Company, is the third LSTEP manager since its inception in 2008, following in the diligent helmsmanship of Sean Gorman and Willie Marum. He estimates that in any one week, the team delivers to some 40 service users, drawing on their individual skillsets and life experiences to meet the needs of their elderly, and sometimes vulnerable, customers.

“The workers are extremely highly skilled. They’re extremely helpful to the elderly, as they go above and beyond – for example, if they’re sent to paint three doors, I know they do five. They’re called out at all hours and always display good nature, good banter, and good craic,” says Michael.

As LSTEP is operated as a social enterprise, the only reason there is a charge to the customer is to ensure the service is sustainable, with prices kept to a minimum.

"We’re not there to make money, we just have to make enough to keep going,” says Michael. “I go out twice a month and price up to ten jobs, so we have around 30 jobs a month on top of the weekly and daily work.” The team have all the necessary resources, with an onsite shed for equipment and three vans to meet their transport needs. Among the team is Michal Burnos, a qualified welder from Poland who has been with LSTEP for 18 months, and Michael Lawless from Portlaoise, who has been in the building trade most of his working life and with LSTEP for 11 years. They perform general maintenance work all over Laois, such as painting, hedge and grass cutting, tiling, fixing leaks, and changing taps.

Michal Burnos explains that they begin each day with a list of assignments, which could entail anything from seven different customers across the county to just one job painting someone’s entire house, which could last a week. He says that they have many returning customers because of the quality of their work, with Michael Lawless adding that the staff get to know the people they do jobs for.

“They’ll ask for us, so we sit down and chat and have a cup of tea with them. That’s more important than anything,” says Michael.

The staff often go above and beyond merely putting up shelves or installing handrails, taking the time to make their elderly customers feel listened to and connected.

“We’ll be that way ourselves one day,” says Michael Lawless. ”We were brought up never to be cruel, only to be kind.” While the LSTEP team provide services to individual homes right across the county, there is one part of Portlaoise where they have assumed sole responsibility for the upkeep of an entire estate. The Green in Kilminchy is a retirement village comprised of some 60-odd homes, with the lawns, gutters and general maintenance work all looked after by a three-man team.

Team leader is Jim Lawless, who has been with LSTEP for 11 years, ably assisted at present by Leon Dollard and Callum Hennessy. There is an onsite storage shed containing machinery and equipment, ensuring they always have the proper tools to do the best job, with the team working in twos for safety reasons due to the use of bladed machinery such as lawnmowers. While the team mostly stick to the assignments they are contracted to do, Jim confirms that they have no problem helping someone out with any additional tasks that can safely be performed.

Befitting the ethos of LSTEP, which is not just focused on carrying out home maintenance but helping elderly people live independently, Jim says that the workers have developed a bond with the residents.

“You get to know the people, and they make you cups of tea. Most of them like to chat, because some of them don’t have anyone coming in and out to them. Sometimes, you could be chatting to them for 20 minutes, and that’s more important than the maintenance,” he says, adding that there is a sense of peace and contentment to be derived from working in such relaxed surroundings.

With the aging population of the county growing, the demand for the services provided by LSTEP is sure to continue to increase. The services are available to anyone aged 65 and over, so for more information, contact Laois Partnership Company on 05786 82779 or email stepp@laoispartnership.ie.