The Carers Trust Carers Centre will be running a telephone service during the Christmas period on the following days:

• 23 December 2020: 10am - 4pm
• 24 December 2020: 10am - 2pm
• 29 December 2020: 10am - 4pm
• 30 December 2020: 10am - 4pm
• 31 December 2020: 10am - 2pm

 Normal opening hours will resume on Monday 4 January 2021.  

You can access the service by calling 024 7663 2972 

Remember if you are registered with CRESS, the service will continue to run over the festive period.  

We are delighted to offer a new free online course for Coventry carers to help you cope with life in ‘lockdown’. Places are limited! The next one starts 11 January 2021.

Carers Trust Heart of England have partnered with Hope For The Community CIC to offer an online Hope Programme to carers in Coventry. This free, six-week online course will help you to cope better, feel more in control and more resilient.

The course starts on 11 January 2021 and you can complete it at your own pace, with support from trained facilitators. Later dates will be available in 2021.

Find out more about the online course or sign up.

This course will be facilitated by Dr Liz Sparkes and supports grieving to explore difficult emotions cultivating self- compassion and includes support materials. This will take place via Zoom. We are now taking bookings for the next block of workshops starting 27 January 2021.

Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust has launched ‘Letters From Loved Ones’ to help families and friends share messages and photographs with inpatients within the trust during the ongoing pandemic.

Due to current visitor restrictions, the Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) acknowledged how difficult it can be not being able to see loved ones, and how important it is to stay in touch. PALS will help families and friends get their messages to our inpatients.

Please send your messages and photos to: Patient.Experience@covwarkpt.nhs.uk. 

Alternatively, a dedicated number has been set up: 024 7653 6804 which is open from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Please include the recipient’s full name, date of birth and ward name, so it goes to the right person, and you will also need to include your name.

In response to COVID-19 the winter grant scheme is available to support families and individuals to access food, support with their energy, water bills and other essential items. The aim is to give vulnerable households peace of mind in the run-up to Christmas and over the winter months during the pandemic by helping those who need it, to have food on the table and other essentials, so every child will be warm and well-fed this winter.

The Coventry Food Network consists of nine social supermarkets across Coventry that people can access to get food help. If you or your family are struggling and require any of this support please contact us on 08085 834333 where you will receive help with making an application. More information on the different types of support available.

The Act On Energy service has been commissioned by Coventry City Council to reduce fuel poverty in Coventry and protect those who are most vulnerable to the health effects of living in cold homes. Keeping warm is an important part of keeping well in the winter, particularly for the very old or very young, and those with chronic illness affected by the cold, as more people get ill and may need to be admitted to hospital or see their GP. It is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic that we keep our at risk communities safe and well at home.

As part of the Keeping Coventry Warm scheme we can help you register to be on the list for the Priority Services Register (PSR). This is a FREE service provided by energy supply and network operators.

If you:

• struggle to read your meters
• rely on electricity for a stair lift or oxygen
• have communication issues
• are on any benefit

You can benefit from registering for the PSR so you can receive large print fuel bills, regular meter readings taken by the supplier and receive assistance during power cuts from The Red Cross to provide assistance when needed.

For further information please call Act on Energy on the Free phone Advice Line: 0800 988 2881.

This year, in particular, it is important to protect yourself against the flu. If you are in receipt of carers allowance or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick, you are entitled to a free flu vaccination. You can access this via your GP surgery or at a local participating pharmacy.

If you employ a personal assistant, they are also entitled to a free flu vaccination. To access this they need to attend their GP surgery or pharmacy and explain they are a personal assistant. You may need to complete a letter of entitlement as proof of employment on their behalf.  

Mobilise are an organisation that is run by carers for carers to provide support. They have regular “virtual cuppas” and have arranged a special one on Christmas day. If you’ve not been on a cuppa before you just need to sign up. You'll then get an email from Suzanne which will include the link to the cuppa you signed up for (you can sign up for more than one too!)

You may know us from our work getting Chatter & Natter tables into venues up and down the UK. In case you don’t know what we do, Chatter & Natter tables are where customers can sit if they are happy to talk to other customers. We are trying to kickstart conversations, get people chatting and reduce loneliness along the way. Unfortunately most of our lovely venues are temporarily closed and Chatter & Natter tables are having to wait until social distancing is a thing of the past. 

Since March we have been running online zoom virtual chatty cafes. We do them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 1pm and everyone is welcome. They last 30 minutes and a lot of people who join tell us we are the only faces they will see that day. These zoom sessions are for anyone age 18 and over, there is no agenda – just chat and company and interactions. We have people join from all over the UK. We are even doing ones on Christmas eve and Christmas day at 1pm! To join all anyone needs to do is email jenny@thechattycafescheme.co.uk for the zoom link. The link remains the same so you can join any session you wish. We look forward to meeting you!

Are you worried about the risks of domestic abuse for yourself or someone you know?

We understand that staying at home might be particularly difficult for some people. 

Home is supposed to be the safest place for us all right now, but if you are experiencing domestic abuse then the advice to stay at home could be frightening.

If you or someone you know, whose family or partner is threatening them, controlling their behaviour or being violent, this is domestic abuse. If you need support or know someone who does visit our website or call 0800 111 4998.

Thanks to the Belgrade you can still enjoy a festive favourite with an online panto - oh yes you can!

​Filmed following the latest government guidelines on social distancing, Jack and the Beanstalk online is full to brim with slapstick silliness, crazy costumes and lots of magical make-believe.​

To see details of how to watch, visit the Belgrade website.