Constantine, or Costa as he was known, used to be a gardener. He lived alone in Barnes in a sheltered housing development. He was referred to FiSH by Richmond Rehabilitation after suffering a stroke which affected his mobility. Thanks to the FiSH bus he was able to do his shopping at Sainsbury’s twice a month.

He was also provided with door-to-door transport from his home to the Barnes Green Centre where he regularly able to join in with exercise classes and the dance group as well as attend our Tuesday Talks. FiSH transport enabled Costa to get out to meet up with others in a social setting and helped improve his mobility and reduce his feelings of isolation.

During the pandemic FiSH supported Costa by organising helpline shopping, linking him with a telephone befriender and delivering home cooked meals along with our celebrated cream teas.

Costa made a will to ensure that the bulk of his estate went to charity. He was guided through this process by a friend who said, ‘Costa valued the support he received from FiSH and wanted to give something back so that people like him would continue to benefit from their support’.

Costa’s legacy has meant that instead of trading-in our oldest bus, we were able to retain it. We now operate a fleet of three buses, which are less crowded with reduced journey times. During the pandemic this helped keep people safe on board the buses by limiting close contact.