arer news - hi-hope.org · 2017-07-12 · arer news. support line: 01463 723560 email:...
TRANSCRIPT
Carer News
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected]
June 2017
Local people, communities, organisations and businesses came together for Carers Week 2017 to support
unpaid carers and celebrate the vital contribution they make in Highland.
The idea behind WALK500 was to raise awareness of unpaid carers in their local communities. The aim was to
walk 500 miles in 5 days in Highland but the target was reached on day two, an amazing achievement, which
goes to show what high regard carers are held. The final total was a whopping 2,591 miles, five times the
original total.
Walks took place from Thurso in the North to Fort William and Arisaig in the south with people registering
online to take part. Carers counted their steps each day to reach 1 million steps or 500. A group of 18 Young
Carers started the week off by each walking 3.5 miles, a total of 63 miles.
Highlights included a Beach to Bothy walk along Nairn west beach where dolphins put in an appearance to
keep the walkers company, a riverside walk by the Inverness Carers Group, a circular walk around Arisaig and
two hill walks, one to the top of Fyrish and the other to the top of Ben
Rinnes in Speyside. Teams from Sainsbury’s Nairn, one of the main
sponsors of Carers Week, actively took part in numerous walks
throughout the week.
The WALK500 campaign also addressed the challenges of isolation that
carers can experiences. Roisin Connolly, Carer Centre Manager said
“Carers Week was a fantastic way to celebrate the vital contribution
made by the 31,000 people in Highland who care, unpaid, for a disabled,
older or ill family member or friend.
It is was wonderful to see so many events taking place as part of
WALK500 to support local carers. We hope that through these events
individuals, organisations and services will be able to see just what a
positive difference they can make to the lives of carers”.
More on Pages 6 & 7
In This Issue Carers Week 2017—WALK500
Dates for Your Diary
Summer Holidays—Relaxation or
Stress?
Carer Group Update
We are Recruiting
Young Carer Positive Awards
Hopscotch Residential Break
WALK500 in pictures
Welcome to the Team
Annual Review of the Year
2016/2017
Over the next few months Connecting Carers are running a series of free events and training courses for Unpaid
Carers throughout Highland. For more information or to book your place on an event, please visit the Connecting
Carers pages on Eventbrite (www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/connecting-carers) or email car-
Forthcoming events in Caithness and Sutherland will be confirmed soon. For more information please contact
local Carer Liaison Worker, Jackie Dodds, [email protected] for more information.
16 August 2017 10.30 am - 2.00 pm Dunrobin Castle, Golspie A Tour of Dunrobin Castle Includes entry to the castle, gardens, museum, falconry display and lunch (15 tickets)
30 August 2017 10.00 am - 12.00 noon Duncansburgh Church Hall (The Parade, Fort William, PH33 6BA)
Mindfulness Taster Session Please bring an exercise mat, cushions and blankets as required. Refreshments will be provided. (20 tickets)
13 September 2017 10.45 am - 2.00 pm Kingsmills Hotel (Culcabock Rd, Inverness IV2 3LP)
Power of Attorney and Wills A workshop with Lisa Law from Innes and Mackay. Lunch and refresh-ments will be provided (20 tickets)
27 September 2017 11.00 am - 1.00 pm Anam Cara (18 Upper Leachkin, Leachkin, Inverness IV3 8PN)
Mindfulness Taster Session Please bring blankets as required Meditation mats, cushions and refreshments will be provided (20 tickets)
4 October 2017 2.30 pm - 4.00 pm Duncansburgh Church Hall (The Parade, Fort William, PH33 6BA)
Self-Directed Support Good Practice Event in partnership with Highland Self Directed Support. Refreshments provided (30 tickets)
6 October 2017 10.30 am - 12.30 pm Highland Archive Centre (Bught Road, Inverness, IV3 5SS)
Tour and Talk at the Highland Archive Centre The tour will be followed by refreshments at the Inverness Floral Hall. (20 tickets)
16th of November, 10.00 am - 2.00 pm West Church Hall, Dornoch (Sutherland Road, Dornoch, IV25 3SD)
Create, Explore and Reflect Workshop A therapeutic workshop with an Art Therapist, includes all materials, refreshments and lunch (8 tickets)
15 November 2017 9.45 am - 2.00 pm Newton Hotel, (Inverness Road, Nairn, IV12 4RX)
Carer Pamper Day which includes two treatments of choice and lunch. (Sold Out)
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected] 2
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected] 3
How quickly time flies! We are already half way through the year and the summer holidays have started. For many this will be a time of excitement, looking forward to a well-earned family break but for others, particularly Parent Carers, the next 6 weeks can bring additional stress and potentially ‘burn-out’.
Providing care to our loved ones and friends can be physically and emotionally demanding and also extremely rewarding. Day after day caring with no breaks or help from others can affect your health and impact on well-being. Relationships with other family members and friends can suffer due to little or no time to spend with those close to you.
Wanting and needing time to yourself can often cause feelings of guilt. However, periods of rest or short breaks can have a very positive impact on your well-being.
A few of the many benefits of a short break include: Relaxation and renewing of energy Provides families with much needed time to
pursue their favourite activities Avoids isolation, providing an opportunity to
catch up with friends and loved ones Prevents stress that could lead to ill health or
relationship difficulties Offers the person being cared for opportunities
for new experiences with others
At Connecting Carers we acknowledge and appreciate the amount of care that carers provide but we also recognise that need for ‘time out’. One of our responsibilities is to ‘empower carers to manage their caring role and have a life outside caring’. We support carers by providing a range of options that can help make a short break happen.
A short break is a personal experience and one person’s short break will be totally different from someone else’s. Through helpful advice and guidance we support carers to ensure that their break truly meets their needs.
Currently we offer 3 different funds to help carers have a short break. Although getting time away from your caring role is something that all carers aspire to, we recognise that on occasions this is not possible.
The Wee Treat Grant is exactly that! It is a grant of £30 for you to treat yourself. It might help you to have time out by getting a haircut, massage, a round of golf or coffee and a catch up with a friend that you haven’t seen in a while.
Time 2 Be is a fund to help carers have a Short Break from their caring role. Time 2 Be is a way for you to design the break that is right for you. It may be a few days away to your favourite spa hotel, buying a licence or membership that enables you to continue with sporting hobby or a trip to a concert or show.
The team at Connecting Carers recognise that all too often one of the barriers preventing carers accessing a short break is having their loved one or friend who they care for being cared for in their absence. The term used for this is ‘backfill’ care.
To remove this barrier a fund has been made available known as the Respite Fund. Carers who have a care package in place can apply. The fund will cover a maximum of 16 hours care per year. Carers may apply twice a year for 8 hours or one application for 16 hours.
To find out more about how the team can help you to have a short break, get in touch on 01463 723575.
I wish you all a very pleasant and relaxing summer.
Roisin Connolly
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected] 4
1. Experienced Highland Carers Advocacy ManagerTo manage the day-to-day operations of Highland Carers Advocacy which provides independent advocacy for carers in Highland. To develop and promote the service in line with policy and to make input to that policy. In addition the successful candidate will provide independent advocacy in accordance with the code of practice set out by the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA). A full job description and person specification is available at www.connectingcarers.org.uk/ Hours: 35 hours per week For informal enquires please contact Rhonda McRorie, Highland Carers Advocacy Manager on 01463 723569 / 07850 794530 or [email protected] Closing date is 12.00 noon on Friday 14th July 2017 with a view to holding interviews on Wednesday 26 July 2017.
2. Finance OfficerFinance Officer to provide financial services for the contracts operated by Connecting Carers and in addition manage the organisation’s administrative team. The post holder will undertake the day to day management of the finances and financial systems within Connecting Carers and related additional projects. 21 hours per week based at Glen Orrin House, Dingwall. A full job description and person specification is available at www.connectingcarers.org.uk/ If you have any informal questions about the role please contact the office and speak to Sarah on 01463 723568. Closing date is 5.00 pm on Wednesday 19 July 2017 with a view to holding interviews on Wednesday 26 July 2017.
Have you been along to one of our Carer Groups yet?
Carer Groups are a great way to meet other carers in your local area, share experiences, get information, try out activities and have some time out from your caring role. Over the past three months we have started two new Carer Groups: Aviemore & Strathspey and Mallaig to Moidart, in addition to the ones listed below. The Aviemore Carers Group meet on the first Wednesday of the month at the British Legion, 4 Burnside Rd,
Aviemore PH22 1SQ from 10.00 am - 12.00 noon. Unpaid carers in Aviemore and Strathspey welcome.
The Mallaig to Moidart Group meets in the beautiful Arisaig Astley Hall on the last Tuesday of every second
month (25 April, 27 June, 29 August, 31st October) from 11.00 am - 1.00 pm.
Carers Group Details:
Dingwall 1st Tuesday of the month, 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm, St Clement’s Church Hall, 9 Church St, Dingwall IV15 9SB
Dornoch every 3rd Thursday, 12.30 pm - 2.30 pm, West Church Hall, Sutherland Road, Dornoch, IV253SD
Fort William 2nd Monday of the month, 11.00 am - 1.00 pm, Fort William Library, 2 High Street, Fort William
PH33 6EU
Inverness every Tuesday, 10.00 am - 12.00 noon, Inverness Library, Farraline Park, Inverness IV1 1NH
Nairn 4th Wednesday of the month, 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm, Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, Lochloy Rd, Nairn IV12 5AE
Thurso 2nd Tuesday of every month in the High Street above Cancer Research shop 1.00 pm - 3.00 pm
To find out more give the Carer Centre a call on 01463 723575 or just pop in to a support group near you. We are also setting up a drop-in session at the Carer Centre in Dingwall.
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected] 5
In May ten primary school age young carers took part in
a five day residential break with Hopscotch Children’s
Charity. The break was to let the young people have
some time out from their caring roles, learn new skills
that would build their confidence, and make lasting
friendships.
During their stay away the young carers took part in
canoeing, horse riding, visited a chocolate factory and
worked on individual and group goals. These included
feeling comfortable with being away from home
overnight, learning to share a room, how to look after
one another, and respect each other as individuals.
There was also a furious Pie Face contest (the
Connecting Young Carers team lost!).
A big thank you to the young carers and their families who took part and helped make the trip such a success.
Young Carers united at the Hopscotch Residential
We are very excited to announce the launch of our Young Carer Positive Awards. This Award will help both primary and secondary schools in Highland to identify, speak to and support young carers. This is an Award that will focus on encouraging schools, young people and families to get involved and create a supportive environment for young people in caring roles whilst in education.
With a duty placed on local authorities to prepare a Young Carer Statement that identifies and assesses what support a young carer may need, the Young Carer Positive Awards will help prepare schools to embed a culture supported by policies that are young carer positive. The Awards strive to ensure all school staff and pupils are informed and knowledgeable about young carers and the challenges they may face in education at all levels.
We want to work with schools to help them create an environment where young carers are able to thrive and fully participate in their education and leisure time. The Awards will be piloted at the start of the next school year. If you would like to find out how you can get your school involved please contact Gemma our schools worker at [email protected].
For more Young Carer updates check out our Facebook page facebook.com/ConnectingYoungCarers. Over the
summer holidays we will be hosting events for Young Carers throughout the Highlands. If you are interested in
attending future Young Carer events please get in touch with Alex at [email protected] or
telephone her on 01463 723563
From Las Vegas to Poland, from Canada to
Croatia, people were putting their best foot
forward to raise awareness of unpaid carers in
Highland—a huge Thank You to everyone who
took part or supported WALK500 in Carers
Week 2017
Dawn & Iain MacLeod sporting WALK500 in Canada
Some of the Fort William Carers Group setting out, despite a really dreich day
Dornoch Carers Group beat the rain during their walk along beautiful Little Ferry beach near Golspie
Some folk found it harder than others to scale Ben Rinnes!
Sainsbury’s team
at the top of
Ben Rinnes
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected] 6
Roisin & Liz from Connecting Carers at the top of Fyrish
Inverness Carers Group walk in beautiful weather
Liam Sutherland & Isla Hutchison
stepped out in Las Vegas
Support in Caithness & Sutherland was outstanding
with lots of walks happening throughout the week
Young Carers walked 3.5 miles around Chanonry Point
WALK500 in Poland, Kasia (one of our CLW’s) and her mum in Katowice
Connecting Carers Board Member Alan Scougal stepped out in Croatia
www.connectingcarers.org.uk Support Line: 01463 723560 Email: [email protected] 7
Contact Us Call in confidence for information
about how Connecting Carers can help
you.
Connecting Carers Glen Orrin House, High Street Dingwall, IV15 9TF T: 01463 723575 E: [email protected]
www.connectingcarers.org.uk
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please email Connecting Carers.
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Karen has worked and lived on Skye for the past 15 years. During this time Karen has been working in the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax and has also worked in a Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen and in a fashion and design bookshop in Central London. All Karen's previous jobs have involved working with people which she really enjoys. She has one grown up son and 2 dogs. My son’s love of animals has meant many family pets over the years. I enjoy the outdoors, walking and wildlife which is great on Skye. Karen also like cooking, reading, music and cinema. Karen hopes to see the development of a carers’ drop-in centre on Skye. You can reach Karen on 07760 779460 or by email on [email protected]
Rosemary completed her Nurse Training in 1986 and in the past has worked in hospital nursing, practice nursing and various roles through the nursing bank whilst raising a family of 4 children. More recently, Rosemary worked for 12 years with The Highland Council supporting people into/back to work through training, volunteering, education and childcare support. Outside work she is very family orientated, enjoys walking her wee dog and reading a good book when she has the time! You can reach Rosemary on 07458 048826 or by email on [email protected]
Connecting Carers have launched
our new, easier to use, credit card-
sized Emergency Action Card for
carers. This handy little card lets
everyone know that you are carer
and who to contact in the event of
an emergency.
To obtain your emergency action
card please get in touch at:
Our Annual Review of 2016—2017 is taking place on 13 September 2017 and will include a look at how the Carers Act 2016 will be implemented in Highland once it becomes law in April 2018. The event is taking place at the Highland Archive Centre, Inverness and everyone is welcome. Registration is at 9.30 am. More information will be available closer to the date.