Our frontline support staff have been superhero’s throughout the last year and a half hear first hand from a family member how the housing care and support workers have managed to continued to give the best support to Angela regardless of the circumstance.
“I just wanted to write to ask you to pass on to the team that work with my Auntie my thanks for everything that they have done for Angela during this past year. It has been a great comfort to my family and I that Angela’s entire team has gone above and beyond in their care for her during the pandemic.
Aisha was really quick to ensure that Angela was safe at home and not going out unless it was essential right from last February before we were in any kind of lockdown. She has been instrumental in getting Angela the vaccine as soon as was possible and her and Karyl worked to make sure that Angela had her vaccine at home – repeatedly chasing up the Dr’s until Angela was put on the home visit list.
I would like to particularly extend my thanks to the staff for the speed with which they organised for Angela and myself to Skype as we could not visit. It has been incredible to be able to see Angela each week and see how well looked after she is. For someone who we almost lost last year to infections and a mini stroke she looks absolutely amazing.
Aisha, Karyl, Rama and Solange are doing a fantastic job looking after Angela under some very difficult circumstances and to see how Angela has improved each week makes us very happy. The dedication of the whole team to Angela’s care is something I will be forever grateful for. I was very pleased to hear how quickly the staff were vaccinated and how they are not taking Angela out until she has her second vaccine and we are looking forward to visiting Angela as soon as we have all been fully vaccinated too.
Once again, thank you to the entire team at Midland Mencap for taking such fantastic care during such trying times.”
If you would like to learn more about how our housing, care and support services can support you or a loved one call us on 0121 442 2944 or email HCS@midlandmencap.org.uk.
In April, community coordinators Kay and Tess gave an online presentation to students from Queen Alexandra College , giving a talk about life after college. Students were able to watch the presentation on zoom and it was also streamed on youtube so that people all across Birmingham and potentially the world could see the opportunities and activities on offer to school leavers. We hope to see new people joining the adult community hub at our activities after September!
After a long covid-lockdown break, the Coventry Wayfarers group has started back in the centre of Coventry. To make sure we are still safe, the members have been welcomed back in groups of 5 each week. It’s been fantastic to see members come back to the session and a chance for covid-safe socialising after spending so much time away from each other. We hope to increase the group sizes even more in the coming weeks as the club gets up and running.
In May we sadly said goodbye to a much loved staff member and football coach Abdul Kenewa as he moves onto another career path. He has spent many years going the extra mile to support and engage citizens across our sporting activities and will be greatly missed by staff, players and families alike!
Luckily we have a brand new football coach – Isaac, who we have all welcomed to the team. He has already supported the team at the Birmingham Ability Counts League, which is a tournament of local disability football teams held once a month in Moseley. Join Isaac and the football team every Wednesday evening at training!
In May community coordinator Tess started a 3 week course for citizens – A Healthier Me.
Part funded by Mencap, citizens have been learning about the impact of different eating choices and what the differences are between being healthy and unhealthy. So far we have learned about the 5 food groups, portion sizes, what happens to the body when we make unhealthy food choices, oral hygiene, sugar, fats, healthy food swaps, shopping tips and food labels! A weekly 2 hour session includes one hour of learning and one hour of helping to prepare a healthy lunch or snack, such as chicken salads wraps, fruit salad and cous cous and roasted vegetables!
We hope to run the course again, so if you want to join us please get in touch to go on our waiting list! #ahealthierme
Group sizes at the Weoley Castle Community Centre are steadily increasing in line with Government guidelines – now hosting up to 10 people during seated and tabletop activities.Call us on 0121 427 6404 to see whats on and booking options!
We celebrated community coordinator Kay Franklins 60th birthday!
Our sailing and paddleboarding sessions have been enjoyed by a growing number of citizens and carers over the past few weeks. Join us on thursdays at Edgbaston Reservoir at the Midlands Sailing Club to try your hand on the water!
Want to get involved in our community activities?
Call 0121 427 6404 or email communityhub@midlandmencap.org.uk
Andrew has severe Autism and was not leaving his room. His Mother Glenys was very worried about him.
We met Andrew and created a relationship with him. We helped him created a CV for him and supported Andrew to do Volunteering at Moseley Private Park. This opportunity was so beneficial Andrew has really enjoyed going to the beautiful park where he is benefiting from the physical and mental health benefits and being in the fresh air. This has uplifted his spirits as he was feeling very depressed.
The Manager of Moseley Private Park Roweena greatly appreciates Andrew’s contribution she commented ‘ Andrew is such a hard worker and never misses a session it’s not just a token role to get the clients out of the house he loves the work and is now interacting with others. The Volunteers are currently laying down bark chippings from the dead trees which have been chopped down on the muddy paths making them safer to walk on.
Andrew’s Mom also saw how it had impacted her son by saying
“I am amazed that in less than a year you have encouraged and moved him on so far. Who would have imagined he would not only take part in his weekly volunteering at Moseley Park, but join a computer course and now even agree to attend the residential part of the course?! With his social anxiety, and being almost non-verbal and so wary with people, you have won his trust with your warmth and care.
I’m so happy at how he listens and responds to you, and I know he is encouraged and acts on your advice. I’m amazed that he will talk with you on his mobile, that is real proof of trust, as he usually only communicates via email or messages! Although he still feels anxious he has been able to overcome his fears with your support.
For me, you’ve moved a mountain! I was despairing and so worried about what will happen to Andrew when I’m not around to support him. I spend many a sleepless night wondering what to do, and you have eased that burden.
So, I want to say a huge thank you for all you are doing to help, support and encourage Andrew – and also me!”
Andrew’s confidence and motivation have greatly increased his Mum Glenys said the change in Andrew is unbelievable she cannot praise the support Andrew has received enough. Andrew has just applied to do the IT Users Level 3 Certificate at Fircroft College George Cadburys old home set in 8 acres. Andrew now wants to start work and believes the IT course will help him achieve this aspiration.
Want to get involved in the PURE project? Click here!
My name is Ashleigh Jones, and I’m the ‘Citizens Network Connector’ at Midland Mencap. I’d like to introduce a new project we’re working on alongside the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Activity Alliance called ‘Include Me’, that I’d love you to be part of!
The aim of the project is ultimately to enable people with a disability or long term health condition to develop a lifelong enjoyment and participation of physical activity and sport in a way that is fully accessible and inclusive for them, regardless of age, ability level or additional needs.
As well as this, we also want to look at accessibility issues as a whole so we can help encourage the necessary changes that are needed in order to diminish the difficulties we have to face and endure on a daily basis due to limited accessibility.
For that reason, as part of the Include Me project, we have recently set up a Citizens Network, which is designed to be a user-led voice for people with a disability or long term health condition, as well as parents, carers and other family members or support to provide them a safe space to communicate their issues and concerns surrounding accessibility in their local area in a way that will be heard.
Becoming involved with the Citizens Network is the very first step in allowing us to unite and develop a louder voice to encourage the changes needed to make the West Midlands the best it can possibly be for accessibility, and what better time to start taking action than in the midst of a pandemic, when everyone is planning and preparing for a new normal? Let’s make that new normal more accessible for us together!
For more information about the project, and to find out how you can get involved, you can contact me at Ashleigh.Jones@midlandmencap.org.uk or call 07912 269035.
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What Benefits Are There to Volunteering?
Have you ever considered the benefits of volunteering? It can be a regular time slot in your week that allows you to develop new skills, connect with others and meet new people, and it can improve your mental health significantly. Plus, above all, it’s fun!
As Midland Mencap celebrates Volunteer Week, we’re sharing why you should become a volunteer!
Benefit 1: Connects with Others
Throughout Lockdown one area that many people struggled with is the issue of loneliness. By being unable to see friends and family, some people felt more alone. Now that restrictions are easing again, the opportunity to connect with people again can be offered.
By volunteering with an organisation or charity, you can meet new people and work on projects with them. Shared experiences are fantastic tools to build friendships with other volunteers and staff.
Jenny loves volunteering with us, at Midland Mencap. Find out more about her experience:
Benefit 2: Improves Mental Health
Volunteering can greatly improve your mental health. It can impact your self-confidence and esteem as you engage in new situations.
Having a regular slot to volunteer, potentially with the same time or task every week, for example, will give you a sense of purpose. Your focus can improve, as you work towards a specific goal in mind. Having a routine can reduce stress and anxiety, offering a calm, steady event in your social calendar.
In addition, volunteering can offer a chance to get outside and moving, which helps you stay physically active. From gardening to supporting large events such as Marathons or live sporting events, being a volunteer often means you’re on your feet and never standing still.
Benefit 3: Skill Development
Whether you’re in a job you’ve been in for years, or you are still in school or even are not employed at all, it is always worth developing your skills. Volunteering is the perfect opportunity to do this.
You can see the behind-the-scenes of projects and events, providing you with very valuable experiences. From going into the archive of a museum to working on projects for charities to handing out water bottles at live sporting events – all bring a unique skill set that you can learn and develop over time.
Often these skills are things that employers look for in interviews, too:
• Communication
• Organisation
• Being able to think on your feet in new situations
• Meeting new people regularly
Benefit 4: It’s Fun!
Overall, one of the best reasons to volunteer with a charity is because it is SUCH FUN!
You can dedicate a period of your life to doing something completely unique. You can make friends for life, from all over the country or even the world, just by spending some time volunteering!
Our volunteer, Noureen, says, “I am always enthusiastic to volunteer, and leave feeling like I’ve had a great evening!” Find out about her volunteering experience with Midland Mencap here:
If you would like to become a volunteer at Midland Mencap, you can enquire on our website. Or, you can visit Do It for more volunteering opportunities across the UK.
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To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the team at Midland Mencap have rustled up our Top 5 Parks in the West Midlands. From beautiful parks and playgrounds, to riverside walks; the West Midlands has beautiful locations to give you the space to breathe, take a minute and enjoy all that nature has to offer.
1. Sutton Park
Located in Sutton Coldfield, Sutton Park is where the majority of our Parkride sessions happen. This large park has plenty of space to cycle, with children’s playgrounds and open fields to enjoy a leisurely stroll around.
From a visitor centre to a golf course, to seven different lakes, you are sure to have a relaxing day at Sutton Park. The centre offers toilets, baby changing facilities, a gift shop, interpretive displays and maps.
There are many different entrances to the park, increasing accessibility from across the area of Sutton Coldfield and wider Birmingham.
Join in with our Parkride sessions and visit Sutton Park!
2. Walsall Arboretum
Based in Walsall’s town centre, this park has a lot to offer! Reaching over 170 acres of land, there is plenty of wildlife and gardens to explore. There are also sport facilities, a mini golf activity and children play areas for a range ages.
Whether you enjoy fishing, walking, running or simply soaking up the sunny rays, Walsall Arboretum has so much to offer the West Midlands. You can even take a ride on pedalos or try out their free skate park.
Majority of the park is wheelchair accessible, and the pathways are flat, increasing ease for everyone.
3. Edgbaston Reservoir
IIf sailing or rowing are more up your street, Edgbaston Reservoir might be the park for you. You can also fish, if you apply for a permit.
With just under a 2-mile path around the reservoir, the area brings a sense of calmness located just outside Birmingham City Centre.
It can be accessed by foot or there is local parking nearby and is well-worth a visit during the summer.
4. Sandwell Valley Country Park
From farms, to parks, to playgrounds – Sandwell Valley Country Park has it all! Offering a fantastic experience for families, this area offers a huge range of activities to get involved with.
Enjoy the beautiful scenery whilst cycling through one of their many cycle routes throughout the park on either your own bike or you can choose to hire a selection of their bikes for a small fee.
If you have children from the ages of 5 – 13, their extensive playground allows children to run free in this brilliant area. Not only is there a sandpit and designated picnic area for families, but the playground also offers climbing nets, a rope bridge, an eight-metre-high tower with a slide, swings, a double zip wire, a dragon roundabout, a suspension bridge, a play tractor and trailer and timber sculptures, too.
In addition, there are weekly wellbeing and health walks available to book. They are a great way to boost your mental health and enjoy all that nature has to offer.
5. Coombe Abbey Park
Lastly, Coombe Abbey Park is based near Coventry, with 500 acres to explore. The park itself is home to Deer, with stunning lakeside walks available to wander along, too. From countryside to woodland, you’ll find a whole range of wildlife to watch and enjoy.
If you enjoy bird feeding, there are spots around the park that you can purchase bird feed from. Experience nature firsthand! There is also a small gift shop based in their Discovery Centre, where you can find all your accessibility information and interactive displays.
Children can enjoy the play area, too, but if you fancy something more on the adventurous side, the park offers axe-throwing, a zip line and a climbing forest!
Return of Adult Community Activities
We are very pleased to be able to share our road map for the start of re-opening our adult community services over spring and look forward to seeing old and new friends coming back. For more information call 0121 427 6404
Dry Ski Slope Skiing for adults!
We will be running a new skiing course in conjunction with Ackers Adventure Centre in Birmingham. Learn how to downhill ski and try a new sport! Dates and times to be confirmed, 6 week course £75 – Register your interest now! communityhub@midlandmencap.org.uk 0121 427 6404
‘A Healthier Me’
Take part in a new range of sessions designed to help you make healthy eating choices! Learn about different types of foods, nutrition and what makes a healthy varied diet. Work in group based learning across zoom, facebook, paper worksheets and physical food prep and cooking at our venues across the West Midlands.
Dates and times to be confirmed. Register your interest in this course now! communityhub@midlandmencap.org.uk 0121 427 6404
New kitchen at Weoley Castle Community Centre!
We’ve been busy during the most recent lockdown getting our kitchen refurbished ready for re-opening. This new modern kitchen will benefit our plans for more cooking and healthy eating courses, as well as continuing our work to support local families effected by food poverty and finally, our aspirations to develop a volunteer led community café!
Celebrating 1 year of online activities
We have recently celebrated 1 full year of our ‘Keeping In Touch’ promise we made to you all at the start of the first national lockdown. We want to say a big thank you to you for engaging with this and making this a truly amazing success story. In the past 52 weeks we have;
o Made 77,743 Safe and Well Calls
o Delivered 452,000 hours of Face to Face Support (This includes HCS, CYP and Adult community)
o Produced 750 Hours of online content
o Reaching over 2 million social media profiles
o Over 150,000 individuals that engaged with the content
o People viewed 260,300 minutes of content (or 4333 hours, or 180 days of viewing!)
o We sent 5067 Activity Packs sent out to people who couldn’t access online content.
We are looking forward to producing more fun content in year ahead! Keep watching our social media accounts for more online activities!
The Family Carers team continue with their delivery of virtual sessions, wellbeing calls, Statutory Carers Assessments and 1:1 work with carers. The GOLDD service also continues to support carers who care for individuals with Learning Disabilities and Dementia.
GOLDD:
The GOLDD service is a unique service to Midland Mencap where carers can be supported in various ways to suit them. Lara who runs the GOLDD service is currently providing regular wellbeing calls, carrying out Statutory Carers Assessment to identify any unmet needs, hosting virtual support groups on Zoom and sending out activity packs, which have been a huge success. There are lots of plans for the GOLDD service when we return face to face including: Horse Therapy, Sailing lessons and singing groups. Although we may not be face to face yet, you can still contact Lara to be registered with the service and receive the virtual benefits if needed. You contact Lara on: 07912268248 or email lara.carter@midlandmencap.org.uk
Parent Carer Workshops:
The Parent Carer Workshops are a 3 week course for Parent Carers to identify unmet needs to their wellbeing and learn coping strategies on a day to day basis to improve and meet these needs. In the sessions you will cover confidence and self-esteem, stress management techniques, self-care practises and much more. We have 3 of these courses running to ensure we offer different days and times of the week to suit as many carers as possible. These sessions are delivered via Zoom, if you would like more information or to book onto the sessions you can email: families@midlandmencap.org.uk
1:1 Casework with a Family Project Worker:
Although we have lots of group sessions available for carers, some may feel they need more in-depth support and referrals to external organisations. With casework, you will be allocated a Family Project Worker who will complete either a wellbeing assessment or Statutory Carers Assessment, from the assessment, the FPW will then identify where referrals need to be put in to meet any identified unmet needs. This may include referrals to Social Services, counselling services, or any service the FPW feels appropriate. You will work with the FPW for anything up to around 15 weeks. Once all referrals have been completed, your case can be closed but we will continue supporting you through wellbeing calls, group activities or support groups. To receive 1:1 casework, please email: families@midlandmencap.org.uk
General Support:
The Family Carers Team are currently completing regular wellbeing calls to carers, hosting fortnightly Coffee Mornings and Wednesday Wisdom groups on Zoom. We are also going to be delivering the Carers Wellbeing Workshops again with dates being released very soon.
For any further information regarding how the FCT can support you, please email: families@midlandmencap.org.uk
The Family Carers Team is very excited to enter 2021 with 3 new Family Project Workers, Sarah Lynch, Martin Hawthorne and Rebecca Bankole. Each bring years of knowledge regarding support for carers, emotional wellbeing and safeguarding.
The Families team continue to deliver Wellbeing Workshops every Monday via Zoom for Family Carers to learn coping strategies to use on a day to day basis and improve overall wellbeing. The sessions include: Sleep Well and Relaxation, Mindfulness, Building Emotional Resilience, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Awareness in Children and Young People, Building Confidence and Self-Esteem and Healthy Relationships for Parent Carers. From January until March, we have also secured First Aid Training and Moving and Assisting Training for Family Carers too. This is also delivered via Zoom with certificate of attendance given after course completion.
The Carer’s Coffee Morning ‘s on a Thursday continue to run every fortnight, this is a chance for Carers to virtually meet one another and provide peer to peer support. It also gives carers the chance to meet the team and gain knowledge of what support can be provided for them and their family. So grab a coffee and join us in the comfort of your own home!
Last year the Family Carers Team also joined with the Mac to launch the ‘Hidden Voices’ project. This is a very exciting project for female carers to join together and improve their wellbeing through music. No music experience is needed, just an open mind to having fun and meeting new people. They have been running successfully so far, so if you would like to join a new group for 2021 and music is something you enjoy; join one of our Hidden Voices groups.
The team also continue their 1:1 work with carers who may need support in specific areas of their caring roles. The team can complete Wellbeing Assessments or Statutory Carers Assessments to identify any unmet needs and support you to ensure they are met in a timely manner. You can also apply for a Max Card through the Carers Team and be supported when applying for a Carers Card.
The Family Carers Team also provide a service for GOLDD Carers, this is for someone who cares for an individual with a Learning Disability and Dementia. Through the GOLDD project you can receive weekly support 1:1 via telephone, receive Wellbeing and Carers Assessments to identify and meet unmet needs, join weekly Zoom’s for peer to peer support and get information and advice. The GOLDD project also has it’s own Hidden Voices group, which is currently delivered via Zoom, to improve wellbeing through song writing and music making. To learn more about the GOLDD project, email: lara.carter@midlandmencap.org.uk
For more information regarding any of the services on the Families Team email: families@midlandmencap.org.uk
