Latest Carers News
Carers Champions is now on Facebook!!!
We have now set up a Facebook page so that you can keep up to date with us. Simply click on the link and you will be taken to our page.
Opportunity Knocks opens it's doors with carers being the first to exchange time.......
By helping to record the audio version of the Carers newsletter two carers have now banked themselves time which can be used when they have need of it...one lady said she would love to have some help in her garden so we will find someone who can help with this for her.
Read on below to find out more about Opportunity Knocks and what Timebanking could do for you......
Welcome to Opportunity Knocks Timebank
volunteering with a difference
Do you have some time on your hands?
Would you like to help others?
Would you like to get something in return?
Do you enjoy your community and want to be more involved?
Are you new to the area?
Do you need help with tasks in daily life but can't get help from other sources?
If you have answered 'Yes' to any of these questions then Timebanking could be for you....
Timebanking is all about swapping your time, skills and knowledge with others. You could help someone else with a task that you enjoy doing and are good at, then in exchange you could get help with the things you don't like or can't do.
Opportunity Knocks Timebank will link people with each other; it's a way of meeting people, being part of a community and exchanging time and talents.
How does it work?
You take part in the Timebank by giving and receiving time. For each hour that you help someone out you earn one time credit. Your Time Credits go on your Timebank record, which you can then use for receiving help from someone else. One hour is swapped for one hour regardless of what is being done. So the more you do, the more you can have done for you and you don't have to swap with the same person.
What can be swapped?
Through Timebanking you can swap time on gardening, cooking, baking cakes, simple DIY, languages, computer skills, dog walking, driving, sewing, knitting, card making, photography, or even playing a musical instrument. The list is endless...if you have a skill you want to share you simply have to let us know.
Click here to see what people in St Austell think of Timebanking.
Who is Opportunity Knocks Timebank open to?
We welcome members from the Plymouth area who are over the age of 18 and community groups or organisations who would like to help and benefit from Timebanking.
How do you join?
To be part of the Timebank simply complete the joining form which can be downloaded here and the Interest form here and return them to:
Opportunity Knocks Timebank
Colebrook Housing Society
3 Woodland Terrace
Greenbank
Plymouth
PL4 8NL
or email them to timebank@colebrookhousing.co.uk
Work Club Comes to Colebrook
Funding was gained from Santander and The Gibbons Foundation to launch a user led Work Club and this was launched at the end of October and will soon be up and running on a regular basis. The Work Club will help people seeking employment to write CVs, prepare for interviews, search for jobs and build confidence.
It's here.....
Colebrook Work Club will be meeting on a weekly basis and will support members seeking employment to improve their job prospects. The first work club will take place every Friday starting on Friday 3rd February, 1pm – 4pm, Onward House, 55 Greenbank Road, Plymouth.
The work club has now joined forces with our neighbours Open Doors who already operate a work club from Onward House.
The first 6 weeks of the work club will focus on the following:
Date |
What we will be looking at |
Week 1 |
Getting to know each other (meet staff and steering group members)
The work club schedule
The advantages of getting back into work |
Week 2 |
Job searching – How? Where? When?
Time to search for jobs |
Week 3 |
Filling out an application form – the Do’s and Don’ts
Guest speaker |
Week 4 |
CV writing with NextStep |
Week 5 |
Interview skills
Guest speaker |
Week 6 |
Volunteering Opportunities
Plymouth Guild |
The work club sessions are open to anyone looking to get back into work.
Tea and coffee will be available at the work club sessions.
If you would like more information please call Katie (Community Development Coordinator) on 211249 or email kost@colebrookhousing.co.uk
If you would like to pass on the message about Access for All Work Club please downloaded This Flyer
Check, Switch, Insulate to save money this winter : Directgov - Newsroom
After the last 2 winters, many people are concerned about fuel bills, particularly those with health problems and the elderly. Please follow this link
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_199725 for some helpful advice and information about saving money on your fuel bills and keeping warm this winter.
Also, there may be discounts on energy available. Follow this link
http://http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/whats_new_oct11_warm_home_discount__whd to see whether you may qualify.
Carers News
Contract Extension
Subject to necessary approvals, Plymouth City Council (PCC) has agreed to extend the Plymouth Carer Support Service provided by Carers Champions for a minimum of six months from 1st March 2012, whilst PCC continue to finalise their future commissioning plans. We will update you with further details when they are made available to us.
Please feel free to download our latest newsletter and diary dates for November 2011 to January 2012 to view on your computer
Our newsletters are in PDF format which can be viewed using Adobe's Acrobat Reader
Carers Feedback
Carers Champions service needs feedback from the people who use it in order to make sure that what is delivered is useful for carers.
Service Improvement
Each year we have sent out a survey to get people’s views. Although this has been useful, the numbers of people responding to the survey have always been low. We are therefore asking for feedback in different ways:
At all the outreach events we do we are asking the people we meet whether the information we are giving is useful.
Twice a year we are asking people we speak to e.g. for emotional support or benefits advice the same question. We also ask whether the member of Carers Champions staff was helpfu and the answers we get are fed back into our feedback reports so we can see if we are getting things right and if not where we can improve.
Plymouth Carers Strategy
Plymouth City Council has produced a Carers Strategy for the estimated 23,000 carers in Plymouth.
The Government has recognised that carers save the country a substantial amount of money and, therefore, give the NHS and Social Care services funding to support them. The strategy is a plan of action for Plymouth for the next three years.
Plymouth City Council’s Carers Strategy can be found at http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/carers_strategy_2010_2013.pdf
‘Caring about Carers’
A national strategy for carers was published in 1999. This was then reviewed in 2010 after consultation; please follow link to this:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_122077
Carers’ Ambassadors
WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN JOINING A GROUP OF CARERS TO INFLUENCE HOW SERVICES FOR CARERS IN PLYMOUTH ARE DELIVERED?
- 4 meetings a year
- The support of the co-ordinator from Carers Champions
- Support will be provided to carers if required, who have not been part of a forum/group
- The opportunity, when confident, to represent carers at the Carers Strategic Partnership Board
- The chance to represent carers in Plymouth
- The opportunity to have an input regarding how services for carers in Plymouth are developed.
Please contact Mary Partridge for further details on 01752 211348
or email carers@colebrookhousing.co.uk
Explore the new POD
A new online directory of social care and health services has been launched by Plymouth City Council. The idea of the Plymouth Online Directory (POD) is to make information more accessible and give people more choice and control over the services they want to use.
You can access POD at www.plymouthonlinedirectory.com
Calling All Carers Interested in Photography
If you have an interest in photography and would like to meet up with other carers sharing this interest please get in touch. A carer enjoys going out walking and enjoying his photography hobby when he has chance and would like to get in contact with others who share his enjoyment of both these activities. For more information please contact us on 01752 211348 or at carers@colebrookhousing.co.uk