Health, social care and voluntary sector organisations across Derbyshire and Derby are coming together during Carers Week to share the message that #CarersMatter

The COVID 19 pandemic has been hard for everyone, but it’s been especially tough if you look after a family member or friend who relies on you for support.

However, local services are still here to offer support to carers, over the phone and via online groups and events.

If the person you care for lives in Derbyshire, for information, advice and support contact Derbyshire Carers Association.

Due to the current situation Derbyshire Carers Association are unable to do their usual activities for Carers that they have done in the past, so their engement team has been working hard to come up with a host of alternative Carers week activities that can be safely done from home.

To find out more about these activities and how to join in please visit the Derbyshire Carers Association website: https://www.derbyshirecarers.co.uk/carers-week-2020

The Derbyshire Community Response Unit can offer additional help at this time.

Find out more and how to register here: bit.ly/CommunityResponseUnit

The Joined Up Care Derbyshire website provides information, resources and service updates for patients and members of the public during the Covid-19 outbreak. If you cannot locate the local health or social care information you require please contact Healthwatch Derbyshire via phone 01773 880786 or text 07957 149279, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3:30pm.

https://joinedupcarederbyshire.co.uk/public-info-covid-19

The Active at Home booklet is for those that are shielding in regards to physical activity they can do at home.

There is lots of useful information around physical activity that can be done at home safely along with telephone numbers to different services.

This booklet has been developed to support older people and those who are shielded to stay active and healthy at home.

Being active is good for our physical and mental wellbeing. This is why we should all try to move regularly, including exercises to help stay strong and steady. This particularly applies to those of us who have health conditions or are older. Due to coronavirus we are all staying home more, so it is important that we find ways to build activity into our day, every day.

We have all been asked to stay at home as much as possible. This can be frustrating and upsetting, and it can be harder to be active when you can’t do your normal daily activities. This guide will help you to find ways to build activity into your day.

Click HERE to download the booklet.

Derbyshire County Council survey to capture the impact of COVID-19 on the voluntary and community sector and other charitable organisations

Message from Derbyshire County Council:

We are aware that the voluntary and community sector (VCS) have been absolutely essential in continuing the support to the vulnerable throughout the pandemic. As economic recovery plans are being developed by the Local Enterprise Partnership and within Economic Regeneration and Employment & Skills teams at Derbyshire County Council, we are keen to try to capture some of the experiences of your organisations so that it can inform our next steps and understanding of what provision and resources might be needed moving forward.

A Survey Monkey of 10 questions has been developed, and we would be extremely thankful if you could complete it on behalf of your VCS and charitable/support organisation.

The link to the survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/XYVDLL7

We would like the survey to have been completed by Friday 26th June please.

Community Chesterfield in partnership with the University of Derby presents

A Free Online training session: Mental Health Toolkit – Wellbeing & Work

Tuesday 16th June 3.00-4.00pm

Booking Essential

A FREE online session for staff & volunteers from Community & Voluntary sector organisations or groups in Chesterfield and/or students based at St Helena’s Campus Chesterfield.

The current coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a time of uncertainty and concern that is affecting people’s mental health. It is essential that individuals have the tools to manage their mental health and wellbeing and to feel able to support others too. Therefore, the University of Derby Online Learning Department has developed a mental health toolkit webinar, to assist employers and employees.

Good health and wellbeing are highlighted in the United Nation’s sustainable development goals. However good wellbeing cannot be achieved without good self-care, as identified in the University of Derby’s research.

This course will introduce;

1. The current state of mental health in the workplace

2. Research findings

3. Importance of self-care

4. Exercises that can be practiced by busy workers in their workplace.

Yasuhiro Kotera is Academic Lead for Counselling, Psychotherapy & Psychology at University of Derby Online Learning. As an Accredited Psychotherapist, he has worked with diverse client issues in Japan, America, and the UK. His research focuses on self-care and mental health in workers and students in the healthcare settings. Currently he is exploring interventions to support self-compassion and self-care.

Dr Pauline Green is Course Director at the University of Derby Online Learning Department. She is also a registered Social Worker with Social Work England and a member of the British Association of Social Workers. Her research on emotional resilience has been published in the British Journal of Social Work and presented at conferences and seminars both nationally and internationally. Pauline delivers resilience training for health and social care sector staff.

If you’d like to book a space on the course, please click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mental-health-toolkit-wellbeing-work-tickets-106079350192

If you need any further information, do get in touch with us on community@dva.org.uk.

Our Vision Our Future is a voluntary group based in Chesterfield Derbyshire.  We have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

Our Vision Our Future is a self-advocacy, self help group run by and for adults with learning disabilities, we offer a safe place to meet 3 times a week.  We are an essential circle of support for people who otherwise have little choice or opportunity to socialise, access their community, meet and make friends or have relationships.  We have celebrated two weddings!  We access ability and aim to fulfil potential by encouraging and supporting our members to use their skills and talents to get involved in valuable and worthwhile work.  Having purpose, new experiences, learning new things results in a more active and fulfilling life.  “Without Our Vision Our Future we would be stuck at home with nothing to do, lonely, bored and isolated.”

Our members volunteer their time to help and support not only each other but also their community. We work with and support many local and national organisations and value the support they give to us.

Our Vision Our Future is one of 230 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. They include volunteer groups from across the UK, including a community shop in Cornwall, an environmental group in Swansea, a group working with refugees and vulnerable people in Stirling and a thriving community arts centre in County Down.

Representatives of Our Vision Our Future will receive the award from Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Mr William Tucker later this summer.  Furthermore two volunteers from Our Vision Our Future will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.

Maria Britland (Chair Person) and Emma Kellet (Vice Chair) wish to say a big thank you to everyone at Our Vision Our Future for their hard work, for their friendship and the way everyone supports each other.  This has continued throughout covid-19.   Receiving the Queens Award is wonderful news, it makes us proud and means a lot to us.  Having our work recognised makes us very happy and gives us much to smile about during this difficult ‘stay at home’ time.  We wish to thank Julia Cook – Derbyshire Voluntary Action for nominating us for the Queens Award, Simon Rose – Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Trust Foundation and Toby Perkins Member of Parliament for their letters of support.

Thank you to all our funders who have kept us going, (28 years!) without this our work and the joy it brings would not be possible.

If you feel unwell or have hurt yourself, you can still get the care and treatment you need.

It’s vital that if you’re having a potentially life-threatening medical emergency, such as a heart attack, stroke or really bad flare up of asthma, you contact the NHS.

You might be worrying about a mole that’s changed shape, or grown larger, and think you need to contact your GP.

Everyone in the NHS really appreciates people taking pressure off services for conditions that can be safely managed with over-the-counter medicines, and taken care of at home.

But it’s crucial that for anything else you do not risk your life or wellbeing – contact NHS 111 online or by phone, get in touch with your GP, visit an Urgent Treatment Centre, or for emergencies go to A&E or call 999.

First Steps ED is looking for Befrienders to join theirr team and support those who are struggling with mental health at this time. The current lockdown circumstances mean that it can be a very lonely time for people, so, could you spare a couple of hours a week to reach out to someone in need of support? If so, they would love to have you on the team! For details on how to become a Befriender or for further information, please email rose@firststepsed.co.uk. 

Action for Happiness create monthly calendars packed with actions you can take to help create a happier and kinder world.

This Joyful June Calendar has daily actions for June 2020 to help us look for what’s good even in difficult times.

You can sign up to receive monthly calendars and there are also other language versions available too.

https://www.actionforhappiness.org/meaningful-may