Carers' bulletin - April 2022

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Coventry Carers' bulletin

Welcome to April's Carers bulletin

Hello, welcome to this month's bulletin. This month there are several new groups being provided by Carers Trust Heart of England, one about gardening and one specifically for male carers. They hope that you are able to join them. The young carers team also held there family party, the first one for a few years, so an extra reason to celebrate. It sounds like they had lots of fun and even had a visit from the Hulk! (photos included below)

We have also included information regarding a coffee morning to support parents/carers of children with special needs as well as some drop in sessions for advice and support around housing and money management. Please know that there is lots of support available across the city.  Please feel free to attend any of the Carers Trusts groups and activities, you can call them for more information and learn how to register for the sessions. We hope you enjoy them. 

Future dates for your diary... Carers Week  6 to 12 June. Carers Trust Heart of England will be hosting a mixture of activities and sessions during this week, ranging from Mindfulness and nutrition to gardening and a sing along. They will be providing face to face and virtual sessions. Please keep an eye out on their website and Facebook pages over the next few weeks for further information. 

We would also like to wish you a very happy Eid Al - Fitr, and hope you enjoy celebrating this special time with your loved ones. 

Young Carers Family Party

youngcarers

On Thursday 14 April, after such a long time, we were finally able to host our much-loved event of the year, our Young Carers Family Party. We held the party in the Connaught Suite of the Britannia Hotel where we were joined by all our families for a fun filled evening. We were also joined by some special superhero and princess guests from Ash-Lee Entertainment as well as magic from Jester Styles and a beautiful butterfly stilt walker. Our families loved getting their photos taken with all the characters in our inflatable photobooth and danced the night away.

We would like to thank everyone that attended the party and hoped they had a great time!

Some of our families shared their thoughts about the evening:

“Thank you so much for an absolutely wonderful time”

“We had a lovely night, thank you very much all who organised it.”

“Thank you so much, we had a fantastic time and not laughed so much in a long time thank, you for inviting us”

“We had a fantastic evening with you all it was so much fun can I just say the entertainment was amazing, the time and effort they all put in with the children was fabulous and the dancing from Spider-Man and hulk was brilliant, even the hotel staff joining in fantastic thank you again your all doing an amazing thing and making a big difference in so many young carers lives!”

YC family party 22

Activities for Young Carers in May

YC May activities 22

The young carers team offers a mixture of activities, ranging from getting together to watch a movie to playing board games and this month, a dance party. They also run youth groups for 5 - 10 year olds and 11 - 17 year olds. Places for all activities are limited so book soon, so you're not disappointed.

They would love to see you!

For more information and to book a place please visit the Young Carers website.

Free online Hope Programme For Parents of Autistic Children

autistic child hope

Are you a parent of an autistic child?

Would you like to cope better, feel more in control of your emotions and be more resilient?

In partnership with Carers Trust Heart of England, Hope aims to teach you how to become more relaxed, improve your confidence in setting positive goals, learn stress and fatigue management skills and explore any worries you experience. The course is for 6 weeks, and it takes up to 2 hours to complete each weekly session, which you can complete at any time which is convenient to you. You can do the course on your PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone with an internet connection. The course is not delivered in a way for people to be online “at the same time”. Like a website you go through the materials each week, but you can do this at your own pace and time that suits. Some people do chunks of 20 minutes and some people do more or less whenever they can find the time. 

The next group starts on Tuesday 17 May. Sign up.

Carers Trust Heart of England - Male Carers Group

We have partnered with Ekta Unity, who are a voluntary organisation based in Coventry at St Pauls church and Sacred Heart. The organisation consists of volunteers with a wide range of experiences and skills who have come together to promote social inclusion in the city of Coventry for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded. I am pleased to invite you to the first male carers support group on Monday 9 May 2022 at 11am to 1pm at St Paul's church hall on Foleshill Rd Coventry CV6 5AJ. 

This group is for male carers to come together and share their ideas and thoughts in a safe environment. If you have any queries or would like more information, please email Lorna Thompson or call her on 0793 6357 983 

CT male group may 22

Gardening with the Carers Trust Heart of England

CT gardening May

The Carers Trust Heart of England are providing carers the opportunity to get together with like minded people for some gardening workshops. So if you fancy practising your skills for the summer ahead and stretching those green fingers, they are offering three zoom sessions and one face to face. If you would like further information or would like to book a place, please email Nicola Proom or call her on 024 7663 2972 (option 1).

Please note there are limited spaces so book early to avoid disappointment.

Carers Trust - Join us for afternoon tea

Ct afternoon tea june 22

You are invited to join us for afternoon tea, on Monday 6 June 11.30am to 3.30pm at the Penny Collard Centre, Fleet St, Coventry.

On the day there will be games, a quiz, music and karaoke and an afternoon tea buffet - it is sure to be a fantastic day!

This is a ticket only event, so please do contact us if you would like to reserve a ticket, as there is limited availability.

To book your ticket or for any queries, please contact Lorna Thompson or call her on  07936 357983.

Carers Trust Heart of England – Groups – May 22 dates

CT Groups May 22

For any information about any of the groups above please contact Carers Trust Heart of England on 024 7663 2972 option 1 to discuss. 

Annual health checks for young people with a learning disability

Do you care for someone with a Learning Disability aged 14+?

Have they had their annual health check?

If an annual health check is overdue, please contact the GP surgery to arrange an appointment. These important checks help to identify undetected health conditions early, ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments and promote health and well-being. You can access a range of easy - read resources about annual health checks in the “useful documents” section of the webpage

annual health check

Webinar - Bowel Health Awareness

Covwarkccg

Date and Time:

Thursday 5 May at 10am – 11.30am

Thursday 19 May at 1.30pm – 3pm

Sessions will be held virtually. (Please note that both sessions will contain the same content as each other) 

These sessions are open to anyone who cares for or supports a person with a learning disability and/or autism.  

The session will cover the following areas:

  • Importance of bowel health
  • Monitoring
  • Recognising differences, signs and symptoms
  • Polypharmacy & STOMP
  • Diagnostic overshadowing
  • Treatment pathways, how to help (Mental Capacity Act)
  • Evaluating and maintenance (AHCs/health screens)
  • Screening

If anyone is interested in attending either of these sessions, please email to book a place. 

Tile Hill Library Garden Project!

library workshops 22

Join our two local artists at these workshops at Tile Hill Library.  We have something for all ages to come and enjoy, aunties and uncles, grandmas and grandads, family friends, youngsters and young at heart! We'd love to see you at Tile Hill Library  

Every alternate Tuesday and Thursday at Tile Hill Library, we'll have drop in arty sessions for adults to come and get creative. 

From Tin Can Upcycling to Bottle Top Mobile Making, there's something new to come and create with every day objects 

The Tile Hill Library garden project is a social prescribing activity. Social prescribing is about helping people find ways to improve their health and wellbeing by linking them up with local services, organisation and activities. The project is co-commissioned by Culture Coventry and Coventry Libraries as part of Thriving Communities, funded by Arts Council England.   

Save these dates:  

Thursday 5 May - 1.30 - 4.30

Tuesday 10 May - 1.30 - 4.30

Thursday 19 May - 1.30 - 4.30

Tuesday 24 May - 1.30 - 4.30

They would love to see you there!

SENDiass coffee morning

SEND coffee morning may

Does your child or young person have special needs? Would you like to meet other parents in a similar situation? Then sign up for the virtual coffee morning run by SENDiass and Carers Trust Heart of England. This is an opportunity to share experiences, learn from each other and laugh together. 

The next session is Friday 20 May at 10am - 11:30am

To request an invite or for more information please email or call 024 7669 4307

SEND travel assistance session

SEND travel assistance

This drop-in session is for parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, who would like some advice and have your questions answered regarding travel assistance and the criteria. The session is taking place Central Library (Room 1).

Tuesday 10 May at 12noon - 2pm  - please note there will be an overview for ten minutes at 12noon.

For further information or to book a place please email or call 024 7669 4307.

P3 Drop in sessions - for advice around housing, money and wellbeing

P3

If you would like some advice and support about housing, money management/benefits, Health and wellbeing amongst other things, then P3 are delivering drop in sessions at Family Hubs across the city. They are offered  sessions on different dates and times to suit peoples needs. Here you can ask questions and receive support and guidance. For further information please call freephone on 08081 962660. 

Act On Energy - support and advice

act on energy

Has talk of the Energy Crisis worried you? What does the ‘price cap’ mean? More people than ever are likely to experience fuel poverty this year and, with the cost of living increasing, we are going to see those who have never worried about their bills getting into debt and really struggling.

If this is something that is playing on your mind, Act on Energy can help.

Act on Energy are a local independent charity set up to help residents who are experiencing problems with their energy bills, whether that is not being able to afford to pay the bills, issues being faced with the energy supplier, or the need for a new more efficient heating system, we can help.

Call our freephone line now on 0800 988 2881

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