Derbyshire Voluntary Action are delighted to be showing our support this Loneliness Awareness Week, which is organised by the Marmalade Trust

To celebrate, we’ll be showcasing some of the organisations who have benefitted from funding through the Feeling Connected project, which aims to break down the barriers around ‘social connectedness’ to stop people from feeling lonely and isolated.

It’s amazing to hear about all the things people have done with our funding and how much our support means to them – https://dva.org.uk/feeling-connected/

Get your nominations in for The Voluntary Sector Awards 2021. This year the awards will take place on Wednesday, October 13^th at The Pomegranate Theatre.

A list of Awards and sponsors are as follows:
 
Young Volunteer of the Year – Derby University (TBC)
Volunteer Long Service Award – DCC Public Health
CEO/Manager of the Year – TBC
Volunteer Team Of The Year – Brampton Brewery
Most Innovative Project – Inspec Solutions Ltd
Employee Of The Year –  TBC
Volunteer Of The Year – Chesterfield Borough Council
Trustee / MC Member of the Year – TBC
Organisation Of The Year (Income under 25k) – Chesterfield Borough Council
Organisation Of The Year (Income up to 100k) – NEDDC 
Organisation Of The Year – (Income over 100k) – Chesterfield College
 

Nominate now! Click here>>

As part of its response to the Covid-19 crisis, Rural Action Derbyshire launched its own Rural Hardship Fund. The fund has been supported by monies from the Prince’s Trust and Derbyshire County Council and provides one-off small grants of up £250 to people in rural areas who have suffered hardship because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The grants are provided to improve the health and well-being of the rural community in cases where circumstances have led or are leading to a significant deterioration in an individual’s health and well-being.

We appreciate that Derbyshire is a large rural county, with lots of small towns and villages with rural peripheries. The Hardship Fund does not exclude partner referrals for residents living in the small and medium sized Derbyshire towns and villages, but does exclude the larger urban areas of Chesterfield and Derby City.  However, we are particularly interested to hear from people who are living and working in isolated rural locations and have little support.

We are happy to take referrals from the following agencies / partners. This list is not exhaustive, so if you are working with someone who needs some financial support please get in touch.

Please be aware, we are not able to accept self-referrals.

• Citizen’s Advice
• A Derbyshire Food Bank, Community Café, School Holiday Club or Community Pantry.
• Derbyshire Rural Chaplaincy
• Farming Life Centre
• The Farming Community Network
• Social Prescribers

For more information contact:

Jo Peck, Project Coordinator, Rural Action Derbyshire

Telephone Direct: 01629 592978

Mobile: 07738 107072

Email: j.peck@ruralactionderbyshire.org.uk

Kakou is an engineering social enterprise based in Chesterfield who design ‘tech for good’. The organisation creates technologies that support and empower the masses. The word “Kakou” is Hawaiian for their value of inclusiveness. It means “all of us” and “we are in this together.”  They received Feeling Connected Funding to support a number of projects to connect people and reduce isolation.

Ann Fomukong-Boden, Co-Founder and Director, said: “Over the past year, through our community programme SocialFuse, we produced free online music, art and wellbeing sessions to help people connect and reduce isolation, whilst also teaching new digital connectivity skills.

“We were delighted to be chosen as a recipient of Feeling Connected funding as the grant has enabled us to continue providing our free activities within the community.

“We are currently running Re-Start Art for mental wellbeing workshops online led by the wonderful Lucie Maycock, and soon we will be resuming our Fusion Music sessions featuring singing, instrument learning and British Sign Language sign-singing.

“Being part of the Feeling Connected project has also enabled collaborative projects with other organisations, maximising the usage of the grant. We have been working with the Derbyshire Education Business Partnership on their Let’s Get Creative project, from which the outcomes will be featured within the Don Catchment Rivers Trust “Hidden Heritage Secret Streams” project and Chesterfield Borough Council’s “Best Foot Forward” campaign.”

Battle Scars support people affected by self-harm and provide the following services (unless specified, these are available UK-wide):

• Virtual peer support groups for adults – no referral, no waiting lists, just a quick form to join our invite list. “Battle scars is like a family, so welcoming, friendly and inviting with no judgement and I love going to the groups. They’ve changed my life for the better and I always look forward to attending the sessions. I would be truly lost without them”.
• Virtual peer support for parents/families of people who self-harm (of any age). “Me and my husband joined the Battle Scars support group this year. From just a few meetings, we have gained a lot of knowledge and also ideas of how to help our son”.
• Private, closely moderated Facebook group (all ages, worldwide) “This group is a safe place for me to open up about how I am feeling, full of supportive people who actually understand, care and can challenge my negative thoughts”.
• Training for professionals on self-harm or eating disorders delivered by survivors “This has been really informative and I appreciate the sharing of your personal life, it gives a whole different perspective than that of a therapist/psychologist – I’ve got a lot to take away from this session”.
• Various online and printed resources “so simple – a great idea! [crisis card]”

 You can read the latest Battle Scars bulletin HERE

Battle Scars are happy to hold short virtual introductory sessions to explain what they do and how they operate, if you are interested please contact Jenny Groves, CEO, trainer, volunteer manager & group facilitator, on info@battle-scars-self-harm.org.uk

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don’t think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support.

The theme of Carers Week this year is Making Carers Visible and Valued, Derbyshire Carers Association have put together a video of some of the carers they support to help make them visible, they also have a full schedule of of activities for the week that you can view HERE.

Please follow the link below to take part in an important survey about Befriending and Social Connectedness activities in Derbyshire. The survey is being carried out by IsLAND (Isolation and Loneliness Action Networks Derbyshire) and is intended for workers and volunteers who support people to access 1:1 befriending services and/or group social activities.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BefriendingDerbyshireREFERRERS

The survey will help to shape the future of Befriending and Social Connectedness activities and your views on the current position and what might be needed in the future are vitally important to making sure the right services are in the right place for Derbyshire people helping to reduce loneliness and social isolation.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey.

If you would like more information please contact Pam Wood at pamw@sdcvs.org.uk or via South Derbyshire CVS main reception on 07458 304 316.

St Thomas’ Church in Brampton has benefitted from support from the Feeling Connected Fund, which has enabled them to deliver the ‘Time Together @thedoor’ project to give people the opportunity to meet up with others face to face to help avoid feelings of loneliness during the pandemic.

Jane Simmonds from St Thomas’ Church said: “In brief, Time Together @thedoor is designed to help people through 2021.  At a mutually agreed time (flexible and weather permitting), our volunteers visit for a chat, with ‘take-away’ teas or coffee for both themselves and those they are visiting. 

“Like so many other organisations, churches have also been affected financially as a result of the pandemic and having to close our buildings.  Receiving this Feeling Connected funding has meant that we could continue to offer support within our community and, whilst our wonderful volunteers give so generously of their time, it was important that we are able to fund takeaway teas and coffee. 

“The scheme is bridging a gap for those not yet happy or able to leave their homes, and continues to give a positive message and reminder between visits, through our ‘postcard ponders’ and small gifts, which we would not be able to provide were it not for the funding. 

“It is hoped that Time Together@thedoor, will soon evolve to Time Togther@thecafe, where our volunteers might well be able to accompany those who feel a little nervous about going to a café alone, making the benefits far more than a simple chat at the doorstep, but building confidence and working to minimise further isolation.”

Derbyshire Education Business Partnership (DEBP), which specialises in supporting the aspirational decision making of young people to shape their future helping them to fulfil their potential, received more than £4,000 from the Feeling Connected Fund.

Thanks to the funding, the ‘Let’s Get Creative’ project was set up to support young people with learning difficulties and disabilities.  It provides the opportunity to link up with businesses and organisations in the creative sector, giving them an insight into what it’s like to work in that environment and meet other young people with shared interests. 

Clare Talati, director of DEBP, said: “During the pandemic, we saw a huge increase in young people with additional needs feeling isolated because they are often not catered for by mainstream provision. Most of their peer network and social interaction is at school, so when the schools closed last year it had a huge impact.

“We recognised an opportunity to provide young people with the chance to utilise, develop and showcase their skills, allowing them to progress positively and enhance their experiences – people with SEND are often an unrecognised talent pool. Thanks to the funding from the Feeling Connected project, we have been able to collaborate with Kakou, a local organisation specialising in inclusive technologies and Chesterfield College’s Digital, Media and Graphics department, to deliver ‘Let’s Get Creative’, which is achieving just that.

“It’s been such a fantastic experience for the young people involved and what is clear is that participants are getting a huge level of satisfaction from this initiative. It is enabling each of the young people to create a bigger peer network and giving them the opportunity to interact with new people in different ways, which is proving extremely beneficial.

“Without the funding this project wouldn’t have been possible, so a huge thank you to DVA for all their support, as well as all the other partner organisations we’ve worked with who have supported us in delivering it.”

EMH Care and Support received help from the Feeling Connected Fund to provide additional support for adults with learning difficulties to gain independence by teaching skills about connecting with others online.

Michelle Drain, inclusion and engagement co-ordinator at EMH Care and Support, said: “We work with adults with a range of needs, some who live independently and some who live in supported accommodation. For those who live on their own, their only social connection during the pandemic might be with their support workers for a couple of hours a week, which can easily lead to isolation and feeling lonely.

“However, many of our service users experience barriers when it comes to online usage and they feel anxious and need reassurance to help and encourage them. Thanks to the funding from the Feeling Connected project, we have been able teach them how to use technology and online platforms, such as emails and Zoom. This has enabled them to engage with others in order to create a wider network and make them feel part of a community – something they have missed out on hugely.

“We have been able to spend time teaching them how to use the technology, create easy-read information packs for them to refer to and organise weekly sessions with other service users to help them engage and socialise. We have seen an increase their confidence, giving them a greater sense of independence and a new way to socialise, which can be a vital lifeline during these difficult times.”