|
Hello and welcome to this month's carers' bulletin. As you can see below, Carers' Week was rather busy, with flower arranging, gardening, podcasts and outreach work at UHCW. Many carers have expressed how helpful these sessions have been and having the opportunity to meet and share experiences with other carers has been so beneficial. Carers' Trust continues to offer their regular groups, so please have a look and see what you fancy taking part in.
Young adult carers have also been out and about and by chance, met Daniel Lismore, fashion designer at the Herbert Art Gallery. They have also attended study sessions to help prepare them for their exams. We hope you all do well!
We have included information about the Alzheimer's Society Carers Peer support group and also details that the Admiral Nurses have returned to home visits as well as offering telephone and virtual appointments. There is also information about an Autism Conference for parents and carers to attend.
Coventry City Council encourages you take part in a survey around what you feel should be the priorities that they should focus on to provide and support the City of Coventry over the next few years. If you would prefer to meet face to face there is the opportunity to meet officers to discuss your thoughts in further detail. There is information below about how to take part online or in person.
With the continuing cost of living crisis, we have shared details about packages of support the Government are looking to provide as well as details about Act on Energy and information about how to keep you and your loved ones safe from scams. Please be mindful about sharing any details with people you do not know, particularly when it comes to finances and personal information.
We appreciate that there is lots of content in this bulletin, but we want to make sure that you don't feel alone and are aware of services and organisations that can support you.
Take care and thank you for all you are doing.
 During Carers' Week, Carers Trust Heart of England, hosted a flower arranging session. This was very popular, and they had some amazing feedback. They found it really relaxing and enjoyable and were supporting and chatting with each other throughout. Even if someone said they had never done this activity before or they were not very creative, they were able to create a beautiful arrangement. Carers said they would love to have this opportunity again.
Congratulations. Your displays really are beautiful!
 Our Gardening Workshop in Carers' Week was held at the Penny Collard Centre. Carers learnt how to make hanging baskets, pricking out and raising seedlings and taking cuttings from plants to name a few. All carers who attended really enjoyed the session with Chris and it was an opportunity to socialise with other carers and learn a new skill at the same time.
 The weather was on our side earlier in the week for our special Carers' Week meditation session. It was wonderful meeting everyone who came along and we hope you enjoyed a chance to relax in the beautiful sunshine in a lovely setting!
 From 17-24 June, Carers Trust Heart of England staff were busy promoting their service at UHCW. During Carers' Week, Tahira and Paul were providing information and support to carers and staff and the Trust's information was displayed on screens informing people as to how they can help. During Carers' Week, carers also had the opportunity to drop in and have a chat at their listening clinic without a prior appointment.
 On 20 June it was a combination of frailty, hydration, learning disabilities and dietic outreach week to showcase the services to the public and the professionals both at the CSB building and at the pod of the UHCW main entrance. Staff were there from 10:00am to 16:00pm to provide information and answer any questions. Carers also had an opportunity to drop-in at the listening clinic in the bereavement room. Tahira, Coventry Wellbeing Support Worker, for Carers' Trust Heart of England, who is based at UHCW, also visited wards in the hospital and met with the ward managers to further support carers and share information.
 |
|
Following on from Carers' Week, Paul and Lisa caught up with two carers, who wanted to share their experience of Carers' Week and who have taken part in the many activities that are organised by the staff at Carers' Trust Heart of England.
These podcasts are hosted by Paul Nicholls (Carer Training Coordinator) and Lisa Sergiew (Carer Senior Wellbeing Officer) for Carers Trust Heart of England. Hear their story and other podcasts.
|
 For information about any of the groups above please contact Carers' Trust Heart of England on 024 7663 2972 option 1 to discuss.
Hello from everyone at Your Future!
We have had another very busy month supporting our young adult carers with their revision and exam preparation. Our exam revision attendances have been thriving and the staff at young carers are extremely proud of the hard work and dedication our young adult carers have put in.
In April we launched a competition on our Facebook page to win tickets for the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend held in Coventry this month. Congratulations to Sophie our lucky winner, she informed us she had the best time and was grateful of a day out watching music artists such as Ed Sheeran, Anne- Marie and Calvin Harris.
After requesting feedback regarding how we deliver our sessions here at the young carers centre, our young adult carers suggested the service buy some new board games. We held a board game night to promote mental health awareness by taking time out to relax and discuss our mental health and promote mental health awareness. As it was also the Queen’s Jubilee, we enjoyed a tea party and decorated the hall.
Carers' Week
Our young adult carers celebrated this year’s theme of being “visible, valued & supported” by sharing this short video of how they are supported at Your Future. Watch the video.
Your Future Celebrates Carers Week 2022! - YouTube
|
 On Sunday 12 June our young adult carers went to visit the Daniel Lismore exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery “Be yourself everyone else is already taken”. Daniel Lismore was a Coventry school boy who is now recognised by the fashion industry as a fashion icon by wearing extravagant clothing promoting individualism especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Daniel has modelled for VOGUE, had outfits made by Vivienne Westwood and Valentino to name a few.
As June is officially Pride month this was a good opportunity to include our young adult carers in the celebration and empower them to have the confidence to be whoever they wish to be.
A great day was had by all of our 10 young adults who attended the exhibition, and you can imagine their faces when they were surprised to meet Daniel himself who was making an appearance that day!
On Thursday 16 June we took a few of our young adult carers to watch the musical Made in Dagenham at the Warwick Arts centre performed by Three Spires Guildhall. Made in Dagenham is drawn from the real-life 1968 sewing machinists strike at the Ford factory in Dagenham, Essex. This strike was influential in the passing of the Equal Pay Act of 1970. We would like to thank Three Spires Guildhall for continuing to support Your Future Carers Trust Heart of England and wish them all the best for their theatre run.
Coming up next month…
We will be celebrating with an end of year exams party and a trip to Alton Towers!
 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 quiz night. 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.
A Carers' Clinic will be held every 2nd Wednesday of the month at Earlsdon Library.
The next session is planned for 13 July 2022 at Earlsdon Library. The time slots are: 10:30am, 11:30am and 12:30pm.
To book a slot contact Rowan Preston.
 The Alzheimer's Society are offering a peer support group for carers supporting someone with dementia. They meet at St Barbara's Church, CV5 6AG, on the first Wednesday of the month, from 10:30am - 12:00pm. The next session is being held on 6th July. Please contact the local office via email or call 0333 150 3456 to book a place.
The Admiral Nurse Service is provided by Dementia UK and the Coventry and Rugby GP Alliance. They cover the following areas: Coventry, Rugby and North Warwickshire.
They are a group of specialist Dementia Nurses who help support those who support people with Dementia. They refer to these individuals as carers. They understand how difficult it can be for carers and therefore try to help when things get tough.
They have a set of criteria, essentially when the needs of carers become great enough for specialist support from qualified nurses and are always keen to have a conversation to see if you meet the criteria for your own specific Admiral Nurse. Even if you don't quite meet the criteria, they have an advice line that is manned by one of their specialist Nurses, Monday to Friday 9:00am – 13:00pm. You can call them for advice and guidance of any sort, and they will try and answer or guide you to the right place for answers.
They are now providing their usual home visits but also telephone and MS Team / Zoom sessions to carers.
For further information please see their website, send them an email or give call them on 0300 303 3131.
In recent days you may have seen fresh warnings about scams, those nasty schemes that come at us through phone calls and emails, text messages and social media, even unexpected knocks on the front door. As carers, we must heed these warnings. We have to defend ourselves from scammers, while also protecting those we care for, some of whom may be especially vulnerable.
Sadly, scammers and fraudsters are always thinking of new ways to steal our money, as well as personal information, online accounts, and access to our computers and digital devices, all of which can be used to commit further crimes. That’s why the Citizens Advice service and Trading Standards make an annual push to increase public awareness and reporting of scams.
Right now, there is deep concern that the cost-of-living crisis is driving an increase in scams, even as the crisis increases our susceptibility to fraud (who wouldn’t be tempted to provide their bank details to get a generous energy rebate offer).
Citizens Advice has already seen scams offering to help people struggling to pay bills. For example, if you see a link to a government plan to give £200,000 to randomly-selected people of pension age, disabled or on a low income, please don’t click! It sounds too good to be true because it is; it’s a scam.
In a recent survey, Citizens Advice found over 75% of UK adults had been targeted by a scammer this year, up 14% compared to last year. Which brings us to one way in which carers can fight back against scammers: talk about scams. We need to stop feeling embarrassed that someone tried to scam us. Every 15 seconds someone in the UK loses money to a scammer. We are all targets for scammers and all need to be more #ScamAware.
Let those you care for know they can ask for help deciding if something is a scam. And encourage them to contact you right away if they think they have fallen for a scam. Assure them you won’t judge them, and you will do whatever you can to help them recover.
There are several reliable ways to learn about scams and get help. You can call Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 or look up scam information on their website. Anyone who has been a victim of a scam and lost money should contact Action Fraud (UK's National Fraud Office) on 0300 123 2040. Not every case gets investigated, but that should not discourage reporting scams—your report might provide clues that help bring scammers to justice.
There is a lot of useful information on the Coventry City Council pages dedicated to scams and warnings. The West Midlands Police website has a lot of information and practical advice about fraud and online crime. The free scam alert service from Which? is another way to get notified about new scams we need to watch out for.
If you are comfortable using online search, that could be your quickest way of checking if something is a scam. Just search for key words or phrases from the suspicious email, text, or phone call, followed by the word scam. For example, if you get a text about a package delivery that needs to be rescheduled, search for: delivery reschedule scam.
By talking openly about scams and becoming more #ScamAware, we can reduce the risks to ourselves and those we care for.
|
 On Saturday 10 September, carers, parents and professionals are invited to attend the Together with Autism Conference at Whitley Academy, Coventry from 10:00am - 16:00pm. Here the autism strategy will be launched and you can participate in workshops, listen to talks and meet representatives from local services.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
For queries and further information please send them an email.
 The Adult Social Care Stakeholders group meets every other month to discuss any updates and influence improvements across Adult Social Care. The group is made up of people in receipt of care and support services, carers and third sector organisations. There is a range of interests and expertise across the group.
Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been meeting online but our aim is to move back to face to face meetings in the near future, we usually meet in the main Council House. If technology permits, we hope that people can join us virtually if they wish.
Who can attend the group?
We welcome anyone who has recent or current involvement with Adult Social Care and has a drive to see improvement in services. Please contact GetInvolvedasc@coventry.gov.uk
Are there other opportunities for people to involved in shaping Adult Social Care?
We know that a meeting doesn’t suit everyone and we’re trying to develop different ways to get feedback. If people are unable to attend the group we can still provide meeting minutes for those who want to remain informed.
What type of activity have the group been involved in?
The work of the group has been quite varied, from involvement in evaluating tenders, to providing scrutiny through peer reviews. We have also had key representatives involved in recruitment. The group also play a pivotal part in the development of our local account.
When is the next meeting?
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 23 August 2022 at 10:30am - 12:30pm
If you’d like to find out more about the group contact GetInvolvedasc@coventry.gov.uk
We want to hear from people who live, work or study in Coventry, we need your views on the city’s priorities for the next eight years.
The One Coventry Plan provides our vision until 2030. It outlines how we will work together with our partners and communities across the city to achieve our priorities.
The plan is more focused on the needs and aspirations of our communities than ever before. We have listened to, and reflected on what people have been telling us and considered the key issues facing the city. We will build on learning from our citywide response to Covid.
We describe the way that we work together with residents and partners as our One Coventry approach. The approach helps bring people and organisations from across the city together to work as one to make the biggest, positive difference to the lives of those who live and work in the city.
Visit Let’s Talk Coventry to read the draft One Coventry Plan, find out more about our priorities, give us your views by filling in our short survey and register your interest to attend one of our workshops.
This is a real chance for you to get involved and have your say on the One Coventry Plan.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
We'd also like to invite you to attend a Strategy Carousel Event on Thursday 7 July 2022, 12:00pm – 2pm, Committee room 3 in the Council House. This is a great opportunity to talk to council officers and find out more about key strategies that are being developed, alongside the One Coventry Plan. These strategies will influence the future of the city in the coming months and years. There is no need to book just come along – we would love to see to see you there.
If you’d like any more information or you have any questions, please drop us an email.
|
We understand that people are struggling with the ever increasing cost of living, with energy bills and the cost of food and other essentials increasing dramatically. The Government is offering different packages of support, including information on pension credit, help with bills and carers allowance, to mention a few. So to see what you may be entitled to please visit their website.
Well, you’re not alone. Everyone’s bills have increased and are set to rise still further in the Autumn.
The average home energy bill for a typical user paying by Direct Debit is nearly £2000 a year. And it’s even higher if you’re on a pre-payment meter. Of course there’s no such thing as typical, so many people will have a bill much higher than this.
But there is support and advice available to help you. And depending on your circumstances, you may get grants and funding to pay your energy bills, issue fuel vouchers, pay your energy debt or provide heating replacement and insulation.
We’re partnering with experts, Act on Energy – a local charity who have been helping people with their energy concerns for over 20 years.
Their team of expert advisors can give you advice over the phone and tap into a host of grants and funds and even signpost to other agencies who could help with household costs.
Simply call free on 0800 988 2881 for more information – or email them.
|
It’s simple! Just add your email address in the top right hand corner and click GO!
You can also sign up or view previous bulletins from our Carers' website.
If you have any comments or wish to contribute something to the next bulletin, please let us know by contacting us at carers@coventry.gov.uk.
|
