Just Ask was accredited with The Social Enterprise Mark in February 2014.
The Social Enterprise Mark CIC is the social enterprise accreditation authority that exists to recognise and build the capabilities of social enterprises as competitive, sustainable businesses, dedicated to maximising social impact above shareholder profit.
They are responsible for assessing applications for the internationally recognised Social Enterprise Mark and Social Enterprise Gold Mark. Their accreditation services provide clear standards for the social enterprise sector, which is currently unregulated, and define what it means to be a genuine social enterprise.
The Social Enterprise Mark criteria includes a requirement for all applicants and renewing Mark Holders to answer a set of social impact questions, which illustrate how they are striving to meet their social/environmental objectives.
Below explains how Just Ask is striving to create a positive impact on people and planet.
Social Impact Statement
Just Ask’s service user portfolio is varied, covering a wide range of social needs for local residents of all age groups. Our primary focus is to provide support to our elderly and most vulnerable service user group by providing personal care support to help them live safely and independently in their own homes. We achieve this by providing person-centred services at affordable prices, delivered by a team of support workers dedicated to making a difference to the lives of others. As Just Ask is a community interest company and therefore non-profit making, we offer a more flexible and person-centred approach to the services we provide that isn’t constrained by the need to make profit.
We have introduced a subsidised service for our home care service users. Our home care subsidy means that qualifying service users benefit from a half hour visit for the cost of a normal 15-minute visit. We introduced this subsidy to improve the quality of home care services provided and reduce social isolation by giving the support worker more time with the service user for social interaction.
We offer subsidised services because we use the profits that we make from service users who pay our normal fees towards the subsidies that we offer.
Just Ask prides itself on the positive impact that we have on our service users by providing personalised services to meet the needs and expectations of a largely elderly service user portfolio. More importantly, we give them the time and support that they need to improve the quality of their lives. We deliver this support through a dedicated and caring team of support workers. Just Ask is committed to the employment of local people and offers a flexible, supportive and ethical working environment.
Our Future Goal
Our ultimate aim is to reduce the effects of social isolation and improve the well-being in the elderly community by creating a charitable organisation that would be linked to our existing community interest company. The new charity that we hope to create would use volunteers to provide a befriending service to elderly people. By developing relationships and building trust, the volunteers could outline the benefits that they could experience by having regular home help or home care services.
We are confident that by introducing the support services an elderly person might need coupled with a befriending service, would have a significant impact in reducing social isolation and improving well-being. It would also result in a reduction in the likelihood that that individual might have an accident in their home by attempting tasks that are unsafe for them to do.