Bridgnorth care company launches High Street advice centre

Goodwood Homecare's premises in Bridgnorth High Street will be on hand to help residents looking for carers for themselves, family or friends.

Julie Classen, who runs the advice centre, started the business in 2016 after struggling to find a care provider for her mother.

Julie said: "The service we'll be offering is wide ranging and people can come in for help if they don't really know where to start.

"Help and funding may be available for care through people's local authority but accessing this help isn't always simple.

"We found this out when looking for care for my mother.

"We learnt what was available and how difficult it was to navigate the system."

Decision

Julie was joined by MP Philip Dunne and the town mayor, councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight, to open the drop in centre on Friday.

"Having opened last week, we've already had several people come in and ask for advice," added Julie.

"Having a High Street presence was somewhat of an impulse decision as property became available during the pandemic, but it's allowed us to provide a local service for local people and attracted a couple of potential employees from the area."

Goodwood Homecare provides wide-ranging care for people with very little needs, to end of life care to people with complex needs.

Sally Themans, of tourism and promotional campaign Love Bridgnorth, said: "This sort of provision is a really exciting thing for Bridgnorth and it's also great to see a small family-run business flourishing – particularly in the care sector and one that is actively recruiting.

"It is also one of the ways that echoes the future of the High Street trend, with more advice/leisure/experiential facilities rather than purely transactional and acquisitive businesses."