EXTREMELY WORRIED ABOUT NEIGHBOUR! What to do???!

[BabyBentleyBlonde]

so this lady lived in my building for years, we’d say hi to each other

then she started acting very strange.

she for a year now

1. knocks/touches my door and leaves
2. has this like weird/crazy/scared/confused look in her face. sometimes, I walk outside and she stands and stares at me
3. she is everyday wearing nothing but tank top and short shorts in this freezing cold weather
4. is digging through rubbish bins for hours everyday. Or Checking bin like 30 times a day
5. Walks out at 3am and also digs through rubbish bins
6. keeps asking people for cigarette despite never smoking

she looks older than 50 and always walked with cane

is it possible this is like dementia? I’m worried about her. Should I report her and try to get her help?? I’m worried she is not getting the help/care she needs?

I mean she is outside is very cold weather in tiny shorts and tank top. Digging through rubbish

we live in this big building and I don’t know what flat she lives in.

my question is should I report, and who do I report to? And how do I find out which building she lives in?

Oh and her voice is like all mumbly, weak, slow and like gone. You cannot really understand what she is saying

her movements kinda slow too

Poor woman! I thought it sounds like my mum for a moment but she doesn't dig in rubbish or ask for cigarettes. I'd absolutely report it, it definitely sounds like she needs some support or even if it's known that she's unwell they need to know that she's not coping alone

Is it possible she’s a crack addict? They often spend a lot of time looking for discarded cigarettes and picking up things from the ground thinking they’re cigarettes

perhaps she has stopped taking her medication
you have been given numbers to call so hope that will work

I’d follow her back to her flat and try to get her name. Agree with pp offer her something to eat or warm clothing.

I wouldn’t report her to social services yet in case she works this out and then doesn’t trust you.

I agree with pps, this sounds more like an untreated mental health condition rather than dementia. She needs in patient psychiatric help and sooner rather than later.

It is good you’re looking out for her. The world needs more people like you.

Be prepared fir nobody official to do anything straight away if you do report, things need to be checked and repeated.

There was increasing concern about my retired Oxbridge professor neighbour, culminating in the vicar needing to rugby tackle her as she tried to break into the primary school. She was then sectioned.

She could be going through any number of things. She sounds very unwell, like it could be a psychosis - you should definitely report the information until you're happy that the right people know about this. Poor lady.

I don't think the police do welfare checks in England any more. If you're in Scotland they will. I think it would need to be social work in the first instance.

I have a neighbour like this, she has worse episodes from time to time.

Every time it gets worse I contact the police, who then tell me it’s the local mental health team job, who the tell me it’s the police job unless I know her personal details (name, DOB). Last time it took 12 hours for anyone to show up.

I also contacted our HA but was told they can’t disclose anything due to GDPR.

Personally I wouldn't be following her anywhere, especially not back to her flat where she most likely has household knives, scissors, a hammer etc. If she is mentally unwell she could well believe OP 'is after' her and it may not end well.

Just report to the professionals (adult social care/police etc) and let them deal with it.

I would suggest contacting adult social services to do a welfare check. My dad presented like this and he has dementia and Alzheimer's

@HarlanPepper I was told if they refuse to do a welfare check then I should insist on having an occurrence number. Initially they essentially told me to piss off in nicer words.

Hrft but yes my elderly neighbour with dementia (not sure what sort) started the exact same behaviour, but just in pj's bottoms not shorts.

I started to wonder bc he kept banging the bin lid for hours on end. Eventually became too much for wife to cope with and lived in residential home for about 5 years before he died. Wife visited nearly every day. It was very sad for them both.

I would contact adult social work (known as care management in Scotland).
If there is a situation where you feel she is at risk in any way I would call police for a welfare check. (Although reading above it sounds like police may no longer do this in England).
Sounds like my in-laws neighbour who has dementia. They kept reporting concerns to social work and carers were eventually put in place.

?adult safeguarding team or welfare check from police.

She needs help. She sounds just like a couple of the ladies in my dads care home with dementia. Others must have noticed. See if you can find out where she lives and ring social care. Or even police when she is out there inadequately dressed sorting through the bins. They might send a PCSO to do a welfare check

Sounds like some significant mental health needs are not met here

And sadly I doubt the police will do a thing

This plus adult social services in your local authority. Usually an option to report an adult at risk on their landing page.

Go on your local council website and make a referral to adult social services

Poor soul, she does sound ill. I don't think there is anything you can do except keep an eye on her in case she has an accident, or raise an alarm if she doesn't appear for days on end.

That is terribly sad. There's no point in speculating about diagnosis but it is almost certainly neurological.

Does the lady have any family that you know of?

How many flats in your building ? Ask your neighbours if they know which one she lives in.

It's good of you to care 😊

This is a job for your county multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) to coordinate - you can start at Adult Social Care or the police and the idea is that they then open a file available to all the relevant services who can get a fuller picture of the person who is the subject of concern.

Speak to adult social care. There may be mental health issues. We have a couple of ladies like this in our village. One goes round tescos with no trousers on ( just a long shirt and coat ) in bitterly cold weather. She sits in the tesco aisle and puts items in and out of the basket repeatedly( some kind of ocd ritual ? ). She does have family locally though. It's really sad to see. You need to ring adult social care and raise it as urgent but as others have said they will likely need at least a name and address.

Are the flats all privately owned or are they a housing association? Housing associations will have welfare and support officers, neighbourhood officers, customer support teams, called something along those lines. You could give them a ring and report your concerns.

Local adult social services may already be involved, but in case they are not call them give name and address and that you are really concerned for welfare, they won’t be able to tell you much but they can confirm if she’s known to them, if not known they can send someone to do a welfare check