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CLAN Issue 55 published April 2008
Welcome to the Summer Edition of CLAN Hello and a very warm welcome to all of our readers. What a successful and may I add busy year 2008 is proving to be at North Staffs Carers Association. Celebration is most certainly on the agenda! So where shall I begin………? After a very successful launch of our Carers ‘Prize Draw’ club, our first winner was a very delighted Mrs Lowe from Stoke. Mrs Lowe cares for her husband and mother, and was overjoyed to say the least, at being North Staffs Carers very first ‘Prize Draw’ club winner. Mrs Lowe informed me that a holiday is now on the agenda thanks to her recent win. More fantastic news to share with you; North Staffs Carers Association has been awarded a phenomenal amount of funding from the Big Lottery Fund to run a five year project. This is exciting news for both the Association and Carers within North Staffordshire. On a final note and as a reminder to all of our readers; Carers Week takes place from 9th-13th June. To celebrate we will be holding a series of events throughout the week, including Carer of the Year Award Evening, Carers Wellbeing Fair and much more. Lisa Denney
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Carers 'PRIZE DRAW' Club is now up and running
The first Draw was made at the Potteries Shopping Centre on Friday 28th March during a special day to promote the Lottery. The day was a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness of Carers; how North Staffs Carers can help; and our quest to create a Carers Centre. The day saw the stage debut of our new staff member – the Carer Bear. The bear was a fantastic attraction for the children and their parents, and will become the recognised mascot of North Staffs Carers Association. Carer of the Year Barry Jones, ably assisted by his wife Vera, made the Draw. 256 numbers were entered into the Draw, which placed the Prize Fund at £128 – being 50p for every pound in the months fund. The winning number was 121, which was bought by Carer Mrs Lowe of Stoke who cares for her husband and mother. When told of her good fortune Mrs Lowe said, “ This must be a wind up, I never win anything, not even an argument” – well Mrs Lowe a cheque for £128 is proof that you won this argument! We sincerely hope you enjoy spending your winnings. The Carers “Prize Draw” Club is your opportunity to help create the Carers Centre; and all for as little as £12 a year.
FANTASTIC NEWS FOR CARERS
You may well have seen in the Sentinel recently that we have won a major grant from The Big Lottery fund of £445,735. The grant from The Big Lottery will pay for three full time Carer Development Workers over the next five years. The Project will focus on and support those Carers who provide regular and substantial care, but who have complex or urgent issues that are seriously affecting their ability to continue with their caring responsibilities. The second phase of the Project will be to provide the Carer with a longer term befriending support structure to try and ensure that they avoid going into crisis situations. John Connor Carers Week 2008 Get set for an action packed week of activities as North Staffs Carers Association celebrates National Carers Week 2008. The theme for this years Carers Week is ’ Carers can’t afford to be ill’. This is a very real issue for many Carers and a comment that we at North Staffs Carers Association are so used to hearing from the many Carers that we are in touch with. Carers Week is a valuable opportunity to highlight the role that Carers play within our society and to celebrate the commitment and dedication that so many people give to others each and every day. To open the week of celebration, North Staffs Carers Association will be opening its doors to Carers during a special ‘open evening’ on Monday 9th June. This will provide the perfect opportunity for Carers, who may have work commitments, to come along and find out about our services. During Carers Week, North Staffs Carers Association will also be hosting the 2008 ’Carer of the Year’ Award Evening, which has been kindly sponsored by Ableworld. This will be taking place on the evening of the 11th June at Port Vale Football Club and is a night not to be missed! Carers Week will then culminate in a Carers Wellbeing fair on Friday 13th June at Cobridge Community Centre. Please spread the word. We look forward to seeing you there. Programme of Events Monday 9th June Tuesday 10th June Wednesday 11th June Thursday 12th June Friday 13th June Carer of the Year The ‘Carer of the Year’ will be announced at a special celebration evening which will take place at Port Vale Football Club on Wednesday 11th June. The evening will consist of a Bucks Fizz Reception, Entertainment and Buffet - culminating in the Award for the ‘Carer of the Year’ Tickets are free to Carers and representatives from the Health and Social Care Sector who support or assist Carers. Tickets will only be issued on receipt of the application form (in CLAN) and will be on a first come first served basis. So come and join us for a celebration of the invaluable work that Carers do. This evening has been made possible by the generosity of ‘Ableworld’ and we thank them for their support for Carers. Carers News and Holidays The Ellwood Centre Unwind in the perfect rural retreat where comfort, cleanliness and relaxation are top priorities. Discover the breathtaking beauty of Dorset’s countryside and the stunning Jurassic coastline. You will be staying in superbly equipped and tastefully furnished 4 star self-catering cottages which are in a courtyard setting in lovingly restored single storey former farm buildings full of character and charm. The shower rooms are ‘wet-room’ style, everywhere is fully wheelchair accessible and ideally suitable for the less able bodied. Enjoy a dip in the heated splash pool; be ‘pampered’ by one of our visiting therapists, with no journey home afterwards! Utter bliss! Or relax and unwind in the recreation room, or landscaped gardens, with comfortable seating areas. The views over farmland are just beautiful and you will be tempted to remain there for hours. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that your stay with us will be as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. See our website www.ellwoodcottages.co.uk or call Ann Heath on 01258 - 818 - 196
A Week In The Life Of....Nicky Willis
Tuesday. It’s an early start for me today (but a nice one) because I’m picking up 4 of our 5-8 year old Young Carers for their Easter outing. I join my colleagues and approximately 36 Young Carers at the Cinema. Having got them all together and sat down the film begins. Myself and other staff members make many trips to the toilet with those Young Carers who drank their water a little too fast! The hard work really starts when we reach McDonalds and have to find enough seats for everyone and give them their correct order. When I’ve taken the Young Carers home I then return to the office to make some phone calls and complete some paperwork. The quiet is wonderful! Wednesday.A very busy day for me today. It’s a bowling trip for 40 Young Carers aged between 9-11 years. It’s a hectic few hours but all the Young Carers seemed to have a nice time. When I get back to the office I keep myself busy sending out ‘pick-up’ details to Play Workers and make more phone calls to parents with details of up-coming trips. In the afternoon I facilitate the Headway Group. This is a relatively new group so the first priority is to allow people to get to know one another. I try to encourage Carers to lead what they want in any of the groups, after all it is their group. Thursday. In the morning I visit a parent who has concerns about her son. It’s very important that we support the whole family, especially during difficult times. In the afternoon, I take two Young Carers out separately on one-to-one visits. Friday. A day of arranging for me today. I make the final phone calls to parents to provide them with details of when their child will be picked up in the morning. I then have to pack all the equipment that we need. This usually means arts and crafts, sports, kitchen equipment etc. Today however it’s Easter Eggs, drinks, sweets and money because the Saturday Club are having their Easter Trip to the Cinema and McDonalds. When I’m sure I’ve got everything and everyone has been contacted, it’s off to the cinema to buy all the tickets. Saturday. I pick up 4 Young Carers from their home. Then it’s off to the Cinema to meet with the others. We get everyone sat down to enjoy the film. There’s only a few toilet trips today! Then the hard work starts again, trying to find seats in a very busy McDonalds. I then wait for all the staff to call me when they’ve dropped off their Young Carers and with a quick call to the person who is ‘on-call’, the trip and my week is finished.
Link Team Update
The Link Team would like to introduce you to three new members of the Team. We now have Lisa Denney as our Line Manager, Lisa Burrows as the City Link Co-ordinator, and our new support worker Jayne Hurst. As a Team our ultimate aim is to support professionals to support you the Carer, and we strive to do this in all aspects of our job. We hope you benefit from the information we provide in all GP Surgeries and Hospital Wards. Both Liz Ilderton and myself (Anna Dunn) will take great pleasure in helping our new staff to fit in and will soon be introducing them in person. We wish you all the best, Local News Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service A Few Simple Rules For Staying Safe
For information on Home Fire Risk Checks at your convenience visit www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk or telephone 08451 221155 Do you CARE for somebody who accesses the services of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust? If so, we would like to hear about your Carer experience within the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust. Your views are important to us as they will help to improve future services. Please call the PPI Team on FREEPHONE 0800 3899676 to request a copy of the Carers Survey. North Staffs Combined Healthcare Services include: Adult Mental Health, Older Persons, Older Persons Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Psychology. Celebrating Forty Years at North Staffs MS Society The North Staffs Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society is this year celebrating its 40th year. The branch has continued to evolve in that time to meet the needs of its members. At present the branch runs a social group for people aged under 40 years with MS; an activities and "fitness" group each Monday; the Musketeers carers group; information and awareness events; evening socials; and also has a telephone helpline. The branch is very active and new members are always made welcome. A number of events are planned for the coming months including: For information about the services available contact Lin Hulme on 01782 503855 New Dial-a-Ride Launched by City Council People in Stoke-on-Trent who have mobility problems can now use a new Dial-a-Ride service provided by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The door to door service has been designed for disabled, elderly or vulnerable residents who cannot use conventional bus services. Local company Scraggs Motors has won the contract to operate the new service for the next three years using a fleet of eight wheelchair accessible minibuses and licensed taxis. A team of dedicated drivers are now undertaking the ‘Passenger Assistant Training Scheme’ course approved by the Community Transport Association so Dial-a-Ride users can be assured of a first class service. In addition all staff have had Criminal Records Bureau checks. People interested in using the service must first register their details with the Passenger Transport team at the City Council on 01782 234500. They can then book journeys from anywhere to anywhere in Stoke-on-Trent for a flat fare of £3 each way. Longer distance journeys outside of the city to Newcastle-under-Lyme and Leek town centres are also allowed for £5 each way. Passengers may need to share with other Dial-a-Ride members if they are travelling to a similar destination. The fares charged go towards the costs of funding the service. The new service will be available from 8am to 10 pm Monday to Saturday and 9 am to 6 pm on Sundays. To access the scheme all members must be unable to access conventional bus services due to their disability and either:
Warmer Homes and Lower Bills for North Staffordshire North Staffordshire Warm Zone is a not for profit organisation, funded by Stoke on Trent City Council, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council, Scottish Power and National Grid along with other charity organisations. The primary aim of the scheme is to help local residents cut their bills and reduce their impact on climate change. Our Services What’s new Benefits for Carers Income Support, Income Support Mortgage Interest, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, Income Support with Disability Premium, Housing Benefit with Disability Premium, Council Tax Credit with Disability Premium, Working Tax Credit with Disability Premium, Council Tax Benefit (excluding 25% discount) Income Based Job Seeker’s Allowance, Working Tax Credit (If income is less than £15,592), Child Tax Credit (If income is less than £15,592), Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, War Disablement Pension with Constant Attendance Allowance/Mobility Support. For further information contact Warm Zone on 01782 238561 Emotional Wellbeing Project Hello Carers!! My name is Steve Parker and I will be taking over from Nicola as the Well-Being Worker for North Staffs Carers Association. My background is based around Holistic Therapies as I teach Indian Head Massage, Aromatherapy Massage and Reflexology at Newcastle under Lyme College. As you may be aware, Nicola has offered therapies to Carers either at our head office in Burslem or at The Retreat in Leek. This has been very successful so I hope that I will be able to work with many more of you who have yet to access this facility. During my first few weeks with North Staffs Carers Association I have been meeting with Carers’ groups throughout Newcastle and Staffs Moorlands, my main purpose of doing so was to chat to Carers and to ask which activities would encourage them to use the Carers’ groups and access the ‘Well-Being Project’ as a means of helping to de-stress them in their role as a Carer. Many interesting possibilities were put forward from meditation, yoga and tai chi to theatre trips and organised country walks. So if you have any other ideas which you think may be of interest to yourself and other Carers then please let me know. A few Carers meetings that have been arranged to date are as follows : Wednesday 7th May Wednesday 14th May Monday 2nd June And finally, I am sure you will all join me in wishing Nicola good luck and best wishes for the future. For further information on the Well-Being Project you can contact Steve Parker on 01782 831617 News from NSCA
Many of you may know me already, as I have been the Older People’s Support Worker for the last 3 years. This has given me a lot of experience in supporting carers. I am dedicated to ensuring that Carers in North Staffordshire receive all the help that they deserve, therefore this new post is just the job for me. Part of my new role will be getting out into the community at various locations throughout the city and county to meet Carers old and new and to ensure that they are receiving the correct information, support and help with accessing benefits. As we all know, sometimes this still doesn’t happen, so I have set up benefit information surgeries to help solve this problem, and to make it as easy as possible for busy Carers to access the help that they need to enable them to carry on caring. Also I offer confidential home visits to discuss any problems that you may be having or to help you to fill in a benefit form. The other side of my role is to attend Carers locality board meetings. I now sit on six, covering: Learning Disability, Older People, and Parents of a Child with a Physical/Learning Disability. These are important meetings as they will be instrumental in setting the standards of Carers services for the future. It is important to know what is happening and to be able to give you well informed, up to date information about what changes will be effecting you and your cared for, and to support you all along the way. All you need to access my service is to be a Carer and able to phone me- that’s it! You can call me on 01782 831626 or if you need to book an appointment with me for a home visit you can contact me on 07772370859 between office hours. You are welcome to come along to a surgery for a chat and a cuppa!! Bye for now
County Chat Line Update
We would like to take this opportunity to thank landlords Neil Crisp and Neil Fox for their generous hospitality at a recent visit to The Leopard Inn, Burslem. As you are aware we rely on funds to take our Carers on trips for much needed respite. On this occasion ‘the two Neil’s’ kindly funded this treat. Names went into a hat and a party of 20 Carers enjoyed a superb three-course lunch finished off with Port and Stilton! Many of you probably know the story of The Leopard but for those of you not familiar with the history here’s a few facts. Known to have been a public house since at least 1765 and we know this from an extract in Josiah Wedgwood’s diary date 11th March of that year. He dined with the Duke of Bridgewater’s engineer Thomas Brindley to discuss the cutting of the Trent and Mersey Canal. In mid-Victorian times the Leopard was in a shabby state and a wealthy widow by the name of Mary Lees took over and raised its profile. In the 1870’s under new ownership the original Georgian block acquired 57 additional bedrooms at the rear of the premises. Standards were so high that the Leopard became known as the ‘Savoy of the Midlands’. By the 1950’s the bedrooms were closed off and forgotten about until recently when the new landlords discovered this amazing accommodation behind wood panelling. The venue has been featured on televisions Most Haunted so the possibility of viewing the odd ghost or two is highly likely! The trip included a tour around the whole building including the Georgian cellar vaults, which had also previously been closed off for many years. Our sincere thanks to everyone at the Leopard Inn who made our Carers welcome and feel so special. – Which is exactly what you are! Take Care
SOS Team Update The SOS Team has been really busy over the last few months and have continued to facilitate the Carers Cafe which have been attend by Carers. On Monday 12th May, we are hosting the launch of the Newcastle Cares Cafe at St Wulstans Community Centre, Church Lane, Wolstanton from 10:00am-12:00pm, and we would like to invite Carers within the Newcastle area to attend. Sharon will continue to roll out the Carer Cafes this year; and we are also looking to facilitate a craft group and a walking Group for Carers. If you are interested in joining Sharon for some light exercise and would like to meet other Carers, then please get in contact with a member of the outreach Team. We are very lucky in the SOS Team to have a fabulous bank of volunteers who have helped over the last couple of months to organise and facilitate the Carers Cafes. If you think this is something that interests you then please get in touch we are always looking for help…. We are all looking forward to the new Carers Development Workers coming into post, and we are excited about the numbers of Carers we will be able to support…So if you are in need of a chat; need help form filling; or liaising with Social Care or health, then please give us a call.
Liaison Update Liaison is as busy as ever. I have been present at lots of events for Carers and over the coming months will be hoping to attend some regional events. If you are interested in coming along then please feel free to get in touch with me. I have joined a Panel that will be consulted on issues relating to working Carers and I am also hoping to meet with representatives from the City and County Council to discuss the Aiming High Agenda and what this will mean for Parent Carers. The “Working Families “ has a newsletter, if you would like to receive this please contact me and I will forward this on to you it is very interesting…. I am currently waiting for The National Carers Strategy to be released and then I will be working closely with Partners to look at the Carers Strategy for Carers in North Staffordshire. I would urge Carers to make sure that your voices are heard either through our networks here at North Staffs Carers Association or any events that will be held locally…. Carry On Caring News from The Young Carers Department Hi Everyone!! Hope you all had a nice Easter break and ate lots of Easter eggs! A BIG thank you to all those Young Carers who entered our competition on Sport and Leisure. As always we received lots of great entries, and here are the lucky winners: 1st Sophie Franklin 2nd Ella Cuss 3rd Leah Cooper
Age 9-12
Age 13+
Well Done to all of the winners, hope you like your prizes! Don’t worry if you didn’t win this time, it could be you next time so keep the entries coming in! The Young Carers Forum Group have applied for more funding for this year, and are now waiting to hear if they have been successful. So fingers crossed and we’ll let you know how it goes! Some Staff News for you now – We give a warm welcome to Jean and Megan who have joined the Team as Play Workers at some of our Saturday clubs and groups. I’m sure you will help them to settle in very quickly. Finally, we hope you all have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you all soon. Take Care, Holly.
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Monday. I start the morning making calls to parents to invite Young Carers to a Saturday Club that I will be leading this weekend. Mid morning I have to do supervision with one of our Play Leaders to ensure that her clubs are running smoothly. I begin the afternoon with a visit to a young Carer who needs a little extra support during his Easter break from school. It’s a late finish today as I have inductions with two new members of the team who will be working at our Saturday Clubs/Groups.
My name is Sharon and I am the new Outreach Coordinator.
