Ableworld helps homeless elderly customers after care home blaze

Ableworld stepped in to help following a devastating fire at a retirement property in an area of Crewe.

Ableworld made sure that elderly people forced from their homes following a serious fire had everything they needed by charitably donating its products.

Around 150 people were forced to leave without vital belongings from the Beechmere residential apartments in Crewe, close to Nantwich where the senior care franchise has its headquarters. More than 70 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze, which has now left many of the residents temporarily homeless and Ableworld was one of the first local businesses to offer its help.

Immediately after the incident, it ensured that wheelchairs, commodes, continence products and walking aids were sent to a collection centre for any residents who were forced to leave without vital belongings. It also used its local stores as a collection point, where people could drop off donations if they were unable to reach the main collection point at the leisure centre. Finally, it offered vans to distribute donations to people who were in desperate need of supplies.

Ableworld’s spokesperson said that the company was ‘devastated’ about the tragic blaze.

“We have a lot of customers who lived there and who have lost everything and our thoughts are with them all at this very difficult time. The least we could do was to offer help on Thursday evening by donating some wheelchairs, walking frames and commodes, as we appreciate many of them were frail or living with mobility issues and being evacuated with nothing was very distressing.”

She praised the reaction of the local community and said that Ableworld was committed to continuing to help those affected.

“The local community has been fantastic and immediately wanted to help where possible so donation points were arranged, of which our Crewe and Nantwich stores became. We offered some vans over the weekend to help with collating and distributing donations to those who need them. We are continuing to work with the local authorities to ensure prescription items, and urgent aids are sourced and delivered as quickly as we can.”