Staff and volunteers at Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust are celebrating Hospice Care Week from the 9^th to 15^th October 2023.
 
The special awareness week is facilitated by Hospice UK, the national charity for hospice and end of life care, and this year’s theme is ‘We are Hospice Care,’ commemorating hospice staff and volunteers.
 
Everyone is welcome to attend an open afternoon from 1 to 5pm on Wednesday 11^th October at Blythe House Hospice on Eccles Fold, Chapel-en-le-Frith, to meet staff, enjoy a hot drink and find out more about care and services.
 
Teacher, Kelly Collinge accessed counselling and support at Blythe House in spring 2023 after her diagnosis with breast cancer in January.
 
The mum-of-two from New Mills explained: ‘I met a friend and former colleague for a catch up who’d retired from my school. She’d had breast cancer previously and she asked me if I’d been in touch with Blythe House. I queried her question; I thought hospices were places that people go to die. She told me absolutely not; that the hospice provided so many different services, and levels of support.

‘When you’re first diagnosed with cancer, you feel so isolated. Despite the adverts that we all see, about one in two of us being diagnosed in a lifetime, I didn’t know anyone that I was really close to, and there was no one in my family. I felt totally on my own and plunged into a whole new world; one that I did not want to be a part of, but I had no choice. The hospice gave me the opportunity to be with people in similar situations, who understand a little more about this world. The hospice made me feel a little bit less scared and worried.’
 
Staff and volunteers at the hospice have also commemorated Hospice Care Week with a special video posted on social media: www.facebook.com/blythehousehospicecare
 
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the hospice or open afternoon, call: 01298 815 388 or visit the hospice’s website: www.blythehousehospice.org.uk

Let’s Chat Derbyshire pilot episode 1. is now LIVE.

Listen on Spotify or follow the link. In our first episode, we discuss what was happening in Derbyshire for World Suicide Prevention Day, how you can support World Mental Health Day and Anxiety, how you can support others and also look after yourself. Episode 2, we look forward to Speaking with Jo from Mentell about Men’s Mental Health. 

Remember to like and subscribe to be notified of new episodes and to follow us on social media @DCCMHSP 

Follow this link to listen to our first pilot episode

A note from Professor Daniel King, Director of the VCSE Observatory at Nottingham Trent University

Can you believe it’s 15 weeks since our last VCSE Barometer? In May we received over 1,100 responses and learnt that:

• Despite more than half of charities of all sizes expecting to meet demand over the summer months, 47% of large and medium-sized charities did not think they would do so, compared to 31% of small charities.
• Almost six in 10 (56%) charities said that volunteer recruitment over the past year had been difficult. Since November 2022 the proportion of small charities ranking it as a main organisational concern grew from four in 10 (45%) to six in 10 (63%).  

Every quarter findings such as these are fed back to national policy-makers to enable them to better understand what’s happening in the VCSE sector right now.

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of our next survey on 13 September. Your voice matters, and by participating, you play a crucial role in shaping data-driven decisions that will create positive change within the UK’s Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.

Complete the survey here anytime between 13 and 27 September

The VCSE Barometer aims to create a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the sector’s challenges, trends, and opportunities and we’re proud and delighted to be working closely with many of the major UK national and regional infrastructure organisations to achieve this goal.

Why Participate?

By joining the survey, you’re contributing to a new ‘heartbeat’ of valuable data that informs policies, strategies, and decisions affecting the sector. Our recent Wave 2 survey was pivotal in securing £100 million in funding for VCSE organisations in the Spring Budget. Together, we can drive change and secure support for our sector’s growth and sustainability.

What’s Topical Now?

Our May Barometer uncovered that charities of all sizes believe that volunteer wellbeing has worsened over the last 12 months, so we have decided to take a closer look at this in September, with a topical question set that explores wellbeing as an organisational purpose, wellbeing impact measurement, and changes in indicators of staff and volunteer wellbeing over the last year.  We thank What Works Wellbeing for their invaluable help in developing these questions.

What’s new?

With the support of Lloyds Bank Foundation, we’ve been working on maximising the usefulness of the survey and making it easier to complete.  New features for September include the ability to view the whole question set before beginning the survey, and an option to request a copy of responses, which will be emailed as soon as the survey is submitted.  We know that some organisations like to use the survey as a tool to reflect on their own situation within staff and leadership teams, and we hope that having a copy of responses will make this easier.

Don’t miss out:

The survey closes at midnight on Wednesday 27 September.

Your participation is essential in supporting a thriving VCSE community. We’re grateful for your support and excited to work together to drive meaningful change.

Complete the survey here anytime between 13 and 27 September

With thanks.

Warm regards
Professor Daniel King
Director, VCSE Data and Insights National Observatory
Daniel.king@ntu.ac.uk / @DanielKing76 / @VCSEObservatory

The Derbyshire Community Perinatal Mental Health Team can offer an assessment, and information about the help that mums can access from the 12th week of pregnancy up until their baby is two years old.

If you know someone who could benefit, and they have a GP in Derbyshire, they can self-refer to the perinatal service either by:

Phone: 01332 623911
Email: dhcft.perinatalcmht@nhs.net

Derbyshire Voluntary Action’s Helen Corcoran and James Starky feature in an uplifting Derbyshire Times article talking about The Hub in Chesterfield town centre.

Helen describes The Hub as “A space where people can come and have an opportunity to connect with somebody else, in one way or another. Either by chat, or through an activity.”

“This is where the magic of community work happens. When you try new things, where you experiment and you open the doors and see who comes in. When you ask them to contribute, whatever they have, things happen that you wouldn’t imagine. And that’s what makes it magical.”

The article includes contributions from the volunteers and people that visit the Hub, all talking about what The Hub means to them.

Jackie Allsopp is part of a “Knit and natter” group here. “It’s very relaxing. It calms you. You’re busy doing something, and you’re producing something at the same time. And of course, if you’re in a group you’re having a good old natter as well. We don’t run the group. Nobody runs the group. We’re all just here. And we all help one another out.”

“There’s no need to be on your own. There’s no need to be lonely. Because there’s plenty going on outside your own front door. You’ve got to go out and help yourself. That’s how you make friends. At my age now, I could just be sitting indoors. Getting up in the morning and sitting in my chair. But, no. I get out and meet friends.”

The Hub’s open door can be found at Low Pavement in Chesterfield.

Read the full article here.
Find out what the Hub has to offer here.