Category: In Your Community

Rotherham Deaf Futures

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By Rob Gooding and Rachel Cole, the Tenant Involvement team

RotherFed have supported Rotherham Deaf Futures for over 10 years now.  They meet at Springwell Gardens Community Centre every Friday where they get together for social purposes as well as having an interpreter present who helps with day-to-day issues and their correspondence.  Being profoundly deaf, this community struggles with daily issues and they are very isolated, which is why this group and the support we offer is very important to them. RotherFed have secured funding for the group to enable this to happen.

We now hold regular engagement session with the group, once every 6 weeks and at the last session RotherFed staff identified a housing issue faced by one of their members. The member, a longstanding participant in the Rotherham Deaf Futures group, was experiencing significant challenges in obtaining repairs to their home which were required immediately. This situation was exacerbated by a range of health conditions, that necessitated a warm living environment.

Recognizing the urgency of the matter, RotherFed staff immediately liaised with the local ward councillors to get the resident the help and support they needed with the repair process. This approach ensured that the tenants housing needs were met promptly.

In addition to addressing the immediate repair requirements, RotherFed and Its partners explored opportunities to enhance the property’s energy efficiency. By collaborating with RotherFed’s Energy Project, we arranged for The Green Doctors, to conduct a thorough assessment of the property. The aims of this assessment were to identify potential upgrades and recommended cost-effective solutions to reduce energy consumption and lower utility bills, this could be simple things like installing LED light bulbs and radiator tinfoil’s, thereby improving the member’s overall quality of life.

We will continue to support the group as and when required/needed.

More Energy Know How

Laura/ / Energy Know How, Good News Stories, In Your Community

By Sharon Smith, Lynn Clarkson and Madiya Shokat, the Energy Know How Team

A Client got in touch with Madiya from the energy team. Madiya previously met the Ms J* at the Eastwood Village Primary School who wanted some energy advice and she chose to meet at Clifton Learning Partnership as it’s close by to where she lives. She recently moved here to the UK, and she is struggling to understand how her bills work. Ms J bought her bills with her and one of the letters that she was struggling to understand was the breakdown of her bill. Madiya explained to her how much is going towards her electric and how much is going towards her gas. Ms J didn’t realise it will be one bill for both gas and electric in total as a direct debit. Ms J also realised that so far, her gas has been higher than her electric and didn’t understand why. She was asked if she is using her gas more than electric and mentioned she is cooking every day and using her gas for that as well as using the gas to make tea. Ms J was advised to lower this and try to make her tea using the kettle and when making food, see if she can make food that can last a couple of days, to save her using her gas every day. Ms J was also advised of some energy saving tips around the household to help her save on her energy annually. She was offered a green doctor as well which Madiya filled out with them. So, she is aware of the minor draught proofing that will be set out in her property. Ms J was very pleased with the amount of help offered to her.

*name has been changed.

White Bear Estate

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By Rachel Cole and Rob Gooding, The Tenant Involvement team

As part of our new contract with RMBC, RotherFed must deliver two pop-up events across the brough.  Our first one was held on the Fitzwilliam Estate in Swinton, and this was a huge success.  We thought of the White Bear Estate at Wath for our second one and after agreement from RMBC staff we started to plan this.  The White Bear Estate is a disengaged area where we have struggled to get residents involved, despite many years of trying! FLUX have recently been putting some activities on the estate which residents have become involved with and have enjoyed.

Prior to the event we produced and delivered over 250 leaflets around the estate as well as promoting it on social media platforms.

Our event took place on Wednesday 28 August from 12pm until 4pm and luckily the sun was shining.  DB Entertainment brought a bouncy castle and slide and provided free hot dogs for the children to enjoy.  Early Years Help attended with activities along with our Energy Know How Stall and Tenant Involvement.  The face painter was kept extremely busy over the 4 hours, painting lots of different faces.  It was a great event with a fabulous turnout.  We had approximately 250 people attend the event, with around 60% being children and the rest parents or guardians.  90% of residents attending were council tenants.  We signed 12 residents up to the Connectors Pool who expressed an interest in becoming involved in council’s services/meetings.  We also spoke to 3 residents who are very interested in forming a TARA on the estate, which is amazing news.  Rachel will organise a meeting with these tenants very soon and move things forward.  RMBC Housing and Neighbourhoods staff also supported on the day.  It was a great day and hopefully the start more activities to happen on this estate.

An update from the Energy Know How team – one of the attendees who spoke with the energy team whilst at the event has been awarded 6 x prepayment vouchers worth a total of £294.00 because of their application to the Centre for Sustainable energy.

Quotes from a couple of residents.

“It’s so nice to see the field full of activity and children enjoying themselves”.

“Would like to see activities like this happen more often on this estate, it been a lovely day”.

Heart of the Community

Laura/ / Good News Stories, Heart of the Community, In Your Community

By Dan Barron and Sam Dixon, The Heat of the Community Project

On a warm summers evening in August, Clifton Park saw 9 volunteers come together with project workers from Rotherfeds Heart of the Community project to help to create a new forum. The planned activity for the day was to litter pick and discuss what groups thought Rotherham needed to support litter pickers better and how that could be achieved.

The forum was well attended by seasoned Litter pickers from the S61 litter pickers, Rawmarsh & Parkgate Friends of Green Spaces, Rotherham’s Older Peoples forum and the Rotherham Inter faith group. Whilst picking in the centre of the park 9 bags of litter were picked to provide a safe and clean area for families to enjoy at the height of the summer.

The rubbish that was collected by the group was quickly collected by the rangers in the park with further reports of where sharps were discovered being made to the relevant council department. A good haul for 45 minutes work on a refreshing summer afternoon.

Once we had regrouped, we asked what groups thought Rotherham needed to support litter pickers better and how that could be achieved. There were lots of conversation and ideas It was agreed that it would be a good start to create an online forum on social media where all litter pickers from the borough can come together to share their events, achievements and stories. There is interested in creating a committee which will continue to be explored.

After our discussion we all enjoyed a share of sandwiches, crisps and cake.

So far, the group has managed to increase its online membership to 90 individuals. The group is already seeing lots of members posting about litter picks across Rotherham. The next plan is to create another event that will engage with more members and will have a positive impact on more green spaces in Rotherham.

Fitzwilliam Estate, Swinton

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By Rob Gooding and Rachel Cole, the Tenant Involvement team

Lots of good work continues on this estate with lots more planned.  At the end of July two community skips were held on the estate, and these were both filled within a couple of hours.  The caretakers helped with this by collecting large bulky items from residents’ home.  An additional skip maybe held later in the year. On Monday 19 August we held a community litter pick on the field off Calladine Way ready for an activity day the following day, we then continued to pick litter from around the estate. It was nice to see that the estate had been kept in a reasonable tidy condition. Rachel organised with Wayne Munroe Smith to get the equipment required, he also arranged to have the rubbish we collected picked up.

The following day FLUX provided arts and crafts on the green space opposite the shops along with parkour for the children to enjoy.  The libraries also attended, and children sat and read/listened to stories.  It was a lovely afternoon; the sun was shining, and everyone enjoyed themselves. 

Also, for the first time in a long time this year the residents enjoyed a coach trip to Cleethorpes in August.  This was organised and subsidised through the TARA on the estate.  The TARA had raised funds through tombola’s etc which when towards the cost of the coach making it more affordable for residents to attend.  Residents of all ages had a lovely day and asked if they could sort another day trip out soon!  As the TARA progresses it is hoped they can investigate funding towards this and other activities/trips.

A drop-in event for tenants for RMBC Housing Services and partners i.e. Mears, Equans etc is to be organised for later this year as well as a Halloween event in the October half term holidays.

Kimberworth Park Over 50s

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By Rob Gooding and Rachel Cole, the Tenant Involvement team

The Kimberworth Park Over 50s Community Group, has been a vital social hub for many local people for over 10 years now. The group offers bingo, a brick a brac sales and daytrips to over 50 members a week, many of whom don’t get out other than to the group sessions. This has nurtured long lasting friendships throughout the community between both younger and older members.

RotherFed staff have stepped in to support the Kimberworth Park Over 50s Community Group after the unexpected closure of their regular meeting place, The Black Hut. The group’s usual venue was shut down which sent a shockwave through the community, leaving the groups’ members without a venue to get together. RotherFed staff were quick to respond to the groups needs by offering support and advice when the group needed it the most. Although the group had to close for a week, I am happy to report that the group have now reopened and are continuing to enjoy each other’s company and their usual activities.

The group has relocated to a new home at St Thomas’ Church, Kimberworth.  Although they have had to change the day the group meets, they have worked tirelessly to ensure that their members can maintain their social connections in the new venue, hopefully for many years to come. This demonstrates the groups resilience and the importance of the support that is offered to the community groups of Rotherham.  We will continue to support this group lightly, should they require any further help/advice.

Talk n Train

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Tenant Involvement

By Rachel Cole and Rob Gooding, The Tenant Involvement team

Rob first met Jordan at Talk n Train; Jordan is an active member of this group. Talk n Train is a boxing group who meet at Millennium Boxing in Rotherham. The aim of the group is to support the local community through their emotional and physical wellbeing. They have a team of highly qualified coaches and volunteers who offer free training, coaching, one to one support and peer support groups where members can share the offload without judgement. The group has been supported by RotherFed for the past three years now. Jordan has thrived and become a key member of the group, helping deliver sessions and supporting members as well as his local community.

Rob spoke to Jordan about RotherFed, its services and the involved they have with RMBC. As Jordan is a council tenant, he expressed an interest in becoming involved in council services.

Jordan first attended the Housing Involvement Panel (HIP) a few months ago now, bringing with him a strong passion for making positive changes for tenants, particularly younger tenants not just in his area but across Rotherham as a whole.

Jordan’s first involvement in the HIP meetings was to showcase the amazing work of Talk n Train in the Rotherham area. With the support from RotherFed staff, the group produced a video interview which was presented at the HIP meeting, in the section dedicated to highlighting one Rotherham’s wealth of community groups. Jordan attended this meeting in person to answer any questions afterwards, marking the beginning of his commitment to the panel. From attending that initial meeting, Jordan knew he wanted to deepen his involvement and contribute significantly to the panel’s efforts in making a difference to council services for everybody in Rotherham.

As well as attending the HIP meetings, Jordan is keen to get involved with our volunteer get-togethers where he can learn and gain experience from other volunteers and in time will then be able to pass on his own skills to new volunteers.

It is great to have Jordan onboard and be involved, especially as he is a younger council tenant and has different ideas/views. We will continue to support Jordan where needed.

SEND Peer Support Group

Laura/ / Good News Stories, Heart of the Community, In Your Community

By Dan Barron and Sam Dixon, The Heat of the Community Project

Heart of the Community Project workers supported Jo and the SEND youth group apply to Voluntary Action Rotherham’s Mental Health Fund at the end of 2022. This fund was to finance new activity to produce activity that supports Adult Mental Health and wellbeing within Rotherham.

Jo, who could now be considered a veteran at supporting SEND families given her community project history, designed this project to be a space for parents and carers to be able to get together and share their experiences of living with a young person with additional needs. The group wanted to deliver a weekly coffee morning for parents and carers to support each other and talk about their experiences to break the stigmas attached to parents/ carers and the pressures that come with having a SEN family.

“I know I’m talking to others who understand what I’m going through and will listen to me, and I feel listened to.”

Raising a young person with additional needs is a journey that most parents never imagine that they will have to go through. It is a journey filled with constant learning and a whole multitude of emotions including denial, anxiety, sleep deprivation, depression, loneliness, and isolation. It magnifies the importance of community groups like Jo’s Peer Support that provide a small respite for parents and carers that they would not otherwise have. Sessions bring them together so that they can vent from turbulent emotions, have access to likeminded peer support such as sharing individuals’ journeys and activities to bring participants together.

“People don’t try to fix my situation with suggestions because they know there are no fixes.”

The group is run by volunteers who are parents and carers of children with disabilities/additional needs, so everyone has lived experience when navigating through the process of diagnosis and life with a child with additional needs. Parents in these situations very often feel isolated, this could be the result of others not understanding the pressures being faced, or even the individual isolating themselves because they are struggling to process the situation, they now find themselves in.

“People don’t always get what I’m talking about…… Other parents in the playground they listen, but they don’t get it.”

The sessions have made huge leaps in creating a peer support network that is helping members resilience and have a place to go to where their “constant battles are being understood.” They have recently employed the services of Jane from Luna Spirit who offer Holistic Therapies to attendees and is paid for by the funding. The addition of Holistic Therapy has been a real hit with everyone giving everyone a small pamper for themselves or just some well-deserved “me time.” The group is slowly growing its membership and people are gaining proper friendships from being involved with the group. Long may it continue.

“In this group, I know that I’m talking to other parents that have real experience of the things I worry about for my child’s, and my family’s future.”

“We get a cuppa and biscuits, and we don’t have to jump through hoops for it. Hahaha”

“The people here are a real fountain of Knowledge.”

Open Arms

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Open Arms

By Janet Malsch and Lee Lazenby, the Open Arms team

In a recent session at Open Arms, a brave client visited us, visibly distressed and struggling to hold back tears. She revealed that she had fled her home due to domestic abuse by her husband. Our team immediately ensured her safety, offering her a comforting cup of tea before she met with our Citizen Adviser.

During her session, the client sought guidance on navigating the process of divorce and accessing support as a victim of domestic abuse. She also expressed concerns about her immigration status, as her husband had previously threatened her with deportation. Fortunately, it was discovered that she held indefinite leave to remain status, alleviating this fear.

With the support of our Citizen Adviser, the client was introduced to Rotherham Rise and together, they discussed the next steps and devised a plan to address her situation.

When leaving our session, we noticed a change in our client’s overall demeanour. She radiated a newfound sense of empowerment and determination to take control of her future. Our Citizen Adviser was deeply impressed by her bravery and resilience, feeling privileged to support her on her journey.

This story highlights the strength and courage of a survivor of domestic abuse. It also highlights the importance of providing safe spaces and access to resources for individuals seeking to break free from abusive situations. At Open Arms, we are committed to offering compassionate support and assisting individuals like our brave client to reclaim their lives.

Making Our Money Go Further

Laura/ / Good News Stories, In Your Community, Making Our Money Go Further

By The Making Our Money Go Further team

Rachel from the Tenant Involvement team was first contacted by Paul* in June 2023 to ask if she knew anyone who could help with his ongoing PIP issues.  She had worked with Paul for many years on a different project and Paul was aware of RotherFed and the services that we have to offer.  She explained to Paul about our Making Our Money Go Further who work in partnership with Citizens Advice and forwarded Paul’s details to the team with a brief description of his query, she also made the team aware that Paul suffers from hearing problems.  A member of our Making Our Money Go Further team picked up query and contacted Paul.

We explained to Paul that one of the services the project offers is a priority referral to Citizens Advice.  Citizens Advice offers an Advocacy service for people who wish to request a mandatory review of their PIP decision or help with a PIP appeal.  We asked Paul if he would like him to refer him to Citizens Advice and if so, could he provide details about his concern, along with his address and date of birth.

Paul explained that in June 2022 he applied for PIP, fast forward to June 2023 and he has only just received a response to the mandatory reconsideration, after they misplaced the original one send, which he also sent again in October 2022 and resent again in April 2023.

Paul explained that he feels that his case has been based on the spreadsheet mentality of the DWP, where incorrect assumptions and their basic manipulation of fact has conspired to come up with another rejection and feels that his only cause of action now is tribunal.  We referred Paul, as mentally Paul felt he was not able to do this himself. Paul also asked for it to be done via email due to his hearing problems.

Paul contacted Rachel 3 weeks later to say thank you again for putting him onto the Making Our Money Go Further team at RotherFed, he explained that he has followed the advice of the Citizens Advice and was now in the process of requesting a tribunal.

Recently Paul sent the following email to us.

“Many moons ago you directed me to the services of Citizens Advice, as per the help in my claim for PIP and after 14 days short of 2 years the system has succumbed and done the right thing.  The referral to the Citizens Advice generated from your team at RotherFed to adopt me onto their case portfolio has enabled me to move forward in my struggles both mentally and physically.  The supportive emails sent by you provided a timely tonic and ultimately the resource of the solicitor won the day.  I dread the other outcome having endured nigh on 2 years of doubt and thinking that various people were casting a doubt on my character, which sent me close to the edge.  However, the service of listening to what I said which ensued all that time to go enabled me and my family unit to whether the storm and now try to move on.

With the visit to the tribunal now over and the award into the post its about thank those that helped so we wish to donate a very small insignificant sum of £200 to do with as you decide I was thinking of vouchers to act as prizes for raffles etc.  More importantly is the offer to email persons to support the service you undertake just direct me and I will gladly type.

Thank you is a rubbish reward for what you have done but it’s all I have.

Paul and Family”.

It is so nice to hear that our Making Our Money Go Further Team and the service they offer, was able to help Paul and his family which will now enable them to move forward much more positively.  Paul’s offer of £200 to RotherFed was a very kind gesture, however, we will not be accepting this and suggested to him to support something in his community if he wishes.

*name has been changed.