Author: Laura

Friendship Call Case Study – Sharon & Vanessa

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Sharon and I were on the phone for 51mins! We talked about the weather the state of the country and covid and how it’s affecting our lives in general. We talked about families and how she feels bereft about what has happened with her cousins since she moved north and their parents have died. They use to be really close but now nobody keeps in touch. She said all through her cancer treatment none of them contacted her, not even a card. The reason they use it is the distance even though they drive. I felt sad for her particularly when she said what really hurt was knowing that a cousin and her partner travelled to Leeds to visit his son and soon after her treatment she suggested they meet up in Leeds and her cousin refused.  We ended the call on a happier note laughing and joking about an incident that had really made her laugh!

Friendship Call Participant – Katie

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Katie, a 54 year old lady was a self-referral to the friendship calls. When she first made contact on 13th July, she was very tearful on the phone and extremely nervous. Katie is a victim of rape and domestic abuse, she had recently lost her father to cancer and was now dealing with the news that her mother was end of life with cancer as well. Although Katie informed that she is receiving counselling she admitted that it would take for her to come to terms with what has happened to her during the course of her life. She was very open and honest about the affect everything had had on her and how she was really struggling to cope. I asked her if she was getting any other support or help and she advised that she was not. It was decided that due to Katie been in an extremely vulnerable state, she would receive a call from Jane every Friday until one of our top volunteers was back off leave. This volunteer was chosen for Katie because of her expertise in this field and we strongly felt that Katie would get a lot of benefit from the support of this volunteer. In the interim, Katie was advised to contact her GP and request a referral to her GP’s link worker at social prescribing who would be able to assist her in moving forward. A direct link was also given to Katie to enable her to contact the link worker directly who would then ring her back. Katie has her first call with her new volunteer week commencing 26th July.

Leverton Way TARA

Laura/ / Good News Stories

By Rachel Cole, Projects Officer

The Centres reopened on Monday 19 July and the following week I popped to see Peter at the Dorothy Taylor Centre on Leverton Way, Dalton.  It was lovely to meet Peter and the other members of the group.  I have been speaking to Peter on a regular basis for the past 8 months so it was lovely to put a face to his name. The group currently has 6 very active members, however, they are hoping the numbers will grow now that restrictions are being lifted. Peter has been doing a fish and chip run every Friday for the local residents, this will continue but the residents will now enjoy them in the Centre. The group meet every Tuesday and Friday and do various activities. From my budget I purchased a slow cooker for this group as theirs has recently failed its PAT test. They were so grateful as it will enable them to do their monthly cooking sessions. I look forward to working with Leverton Way Tara and all the other groups in my area.

Welcome Back Packs

Laura/ / In Your Community

By Rachel Cole, Projects Officer

At the beginning of June, we decided it would be a nice gesture to make up some welcome back packs to give to groups ready for when the Neighbourhood Centres reopen on 21st June.  We included all the essentials including tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits as well as some hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes.  We also put in some posters/information which can be displayed around the Centres to help to keep people safe.  Unfortunately, the opening of the Centres got delayed until Monday 19 July, however, we decided to go out and deliver the packs to the Chair of the group at their homes.  The packs were very well received, and the groups were very grateful for them, they were also very pleased to see us and have a chat. They all said how much they are looking forward to the Centres reopening and to start and use them again. They have missed getting together over the past 16 months. 

“Carol and I had a really lovely surprise this morning, when Rachel and Rob called from RotherFed and brought Coffee, Sugar and Biscuits etc in readiness of the opening of the Centre which is hoped to be re-opened in the near future.

This was a very kind gesture from RotherFed which is much appreciated”.  Quote from Keith Stringer after we dropped off a welcome back pack.

Bevan Crescent Coffee Morning

Laura/ / In Your Community

By Rob Gooding, Community Organiser

Rob was invited to join the Bevan Crescent coffee morning on Tuesday 20th July where he met residents and members of the TARA. The group was really pleased at the prospect of getting back into the centre after all this time and the easing of restrictions but had decided to hold the event on Keith’s Garden due to the ages of the members and the fact that it was a glorious day. During the coffee morning the group decided to re-open the centre on the 27th July unless it was as hot again. The group said that they would like to keep wearing masks when in the centre except when seated and that they would have a designated tea maker to minimise contact, this was a unanimous vote. Keith and the group were over the moon with the ‘Welcome Back’ pack provided by RotherFed and couldn’t thank me enough for the help and support he has received through lockdown. Keith was especially happy with the CCTV Rob supported them to get for the centre through the housing hub suggestions last year.

Dinosaur Walks

Laura/ / In Your Community

By Sam Dixon, Community Organiser

Crème Eggs, Dinosaur costumes and two schools with lots of very excited children!

Dan and Sam had originally planned to do community walks in East Dene and East Herringthorpe with the support of the Canklow Dinosaur group. They were to take place at Easter when the COVID-19 restrictions were supposed to be eased.

The restrictions stayed in place and we ended up with a cupboard full of crème eggs that couldn’t go anywhere. We struggled to effectively work out in our communities and have had to find new ways to engage with people.

One of our latest projects has been to engage with schools on a literacy based project and as a result of this we have discovered from the staff point of view how difficult it has been for schools to engage with children and their families so that young people can achieve their full potential. Young people are struggling to be enthusiastic about attending school, the rules for them are continually changing and for some of the youngest children in school, they haven’t attended school in a non COVID environment.

We proposed to two of the schools that we are working with that we could go into school, as dinosaurs, as a bit of a treat for the youngsters as they have come to the end of this school year. Both schools said that the Key Stage 2 children are “too cool for dinosaurs” but they would appreciate the gift of the eggs.

So in baking heat, we made two visits to lots of excited children. It was so good to be able to provide a fun activity for the schools and we know that it was really enjoyed by the children as they flocked round us and made comments like “You’re my favourite Dinosaur”.

Ferham Bin Amnesty

Laura/ / In Your Community

By Dan Barron, Community Organiser

Dan had worked with Andrea Mason Vardy (RMBC) on creating a promotion day for the Bin Amnesty happening in Ferham to gather information from residents about their bins and when they needed to put them onto the street.

On the day we all met outside the Ferham community space, and the team consisted of staff and volunteers from Rotherfed, RMBC, Clifton Learning Partnership, Ferham Community Group as well as being supported by Cllr Ben Aveyard. Armed with translated leaflets, pen and paper we went into Ferham for a bin Door knock to listen and engage with residents.

Continue reading “Ferham Bin Amnesty”

Social Supermarket Engagement

Laura/ / Good News Stories

By Claire Stinson, Community Support Worker & Karen Jay, Community Support Worker

One of the guys has got a job, albeit on agency but the guys from Good Work have contacted him and are going to support him to get a full-time job. He’s worried about buying boots etc. for going back into work so we gave him the contact details for Access to Work to see if they can help. He’s so happy with what we’ve done that he’s told his ex-wife to come and see us, along with her ex-partner. He’s chuffed to bits and said thanks to talking to us, it gave him the kick he needed to get things done.

Unfortunately, his job with the agency didn’t work out, because it didn’t suit him and the barriers he faces daily but he’s still being supported by Good Work and his job hunt is going well. With the support of Good Work, they will ensure the next job will be more suitable to his needs. Until then, he will still be getting the support from Social Supermarket to make sure he can still feed himself and his daughter.

We also had a conversation about his TV license, he’d been paying £25 since 2018. He said he was going to leave it, until I calculated that it would be nearly £500, they owe him. His eyes lit up and he said he’s going to call them back. TV licensing investigated it for him and they’ve agreed he’s paid too much. He’s now got his TV license free until the end of next year and will be getting a cheque for two hundred pounds.

Friendship Call Participant – Susan

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Susan came to us as a referral in February. Susan is a young Asian lady who had escaped a very abusive marriage. Susan was ostracised by her family and her community because of proceeding with ending the marriage. She lives on her own, does not go out and wishes to keep to herself, although she does work, she does this from home. Susan had suffered a tremendous amount of abuse and found it very hard to trust people.

She was paired with a volunteer and she has started to regain her confidence, and because of the continued friendship calls that have built up her confidence, she has now started studying again. She has now accepted counselling , which she previously refused. Susan now sees the counciling as the way forward for her to be able to deal with what has happened and she has been referred to an Asian counselling service that specialises in cases like Susan. She attributes her ability to move forward from the confidence she has obtained since receiving the friendship calls.

Friendship Call Participant – Leanne

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Leanne came to us in February from Social Prescribing. She suffers with multiple sclerosis and had refused any help. She was also caring for her poorly mum. Her mum recently passed away and Leanne was unable to attend the funeral as she had to isolate waiting for a hip operation. She has a high risk of falls but still drives. She was out and about one day and her leg froze and she had a small accident and because of this her hip operation was brought forward. Leanne was due to have her second Covid jab and as she was going into hospital she was not be able to attend the jab and was really panicked about it.

The volunteer, who also volunteers as a vaccine clinic got her booked in where she volunteers, arranged transport to get her there and volunteer and participant got to meet face to face and Leanne managed to get her second jab thanks to the extended work her volunteer. Leanne got her hip operation, and is home recovering well and has now also accepted that she needs some care.