Lending a Hand since 2017

FOR qualified fitter and turner Fabian Barrios, no good deed is too small.

It is the odd job requiring little time and effort that led to Mr Barrios starting his free Lend a Hand service to the senior and elderly residents of the northern Bellarine back in 2017.

A memorable job for Mr Barrios was when he completed maintenance works for an elderly woman and found there was only one functioning light out of four in her living room for eight months.

The woman could not afford the call-out fee or new lights to be installed, so Mr Barrios spent a little bit of time fixing the lighting issue, which in turn allowed the resident to see in her own home.

“Many locals along the northern coast of the Bellarine do it tough in terms of day-to-day residence maintenance, particularly among the older demographic,” Mr Barrios said.

“Some people can’t lift or move things because of their age, and it makes basic things very difficult for them, things that take no more than 10 to 15 minutes to do.”

Mr Barrios reinforced the fact that there is no ulterior motive in helping out in the community and that there are no ties between his two other business and Lend a Hand.

“We don’t want to affiliate either of our businesses with Lend a Hand because people would think we would want something for the service, but that’s not the case, we don’t charge,” Mr Barrios said.

“It is very surprising to hear that many people are still reluctant to call professionals to do jobs for them, but that is the case for many residents.”