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Gloucestershire's Partnership Board Bulletin
Welcome to the 3rd edition of our Partnership Board bulletin. We hope that you, your family and friends continue to keep safe and well during this difficult and uncertain time. Please check out our last bulletin for other useful resources.
This bulletin aims to offer support, provide guidance and update you on some of the work Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as well as what local and national initiatives are doing to protect vulnerable adults. It's interactive, so make sure you click the pictures and links to get the most out of it.
An easy-read version of this update will be circulated next week.
Have you got something to share?
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We would love to hear your feedback or contributions, so if you have anything which you want to share, or have a question to ask us, email us here.
If you were emailed this bulletin by someone else, and wish to receive it directly to your inbox, click here to subscribe.
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Government clarifies guidance on exercise
The Government has published new guidance making clear that, if you are autistic or have a learning disability, you can leave your home more than once a day and travel beyond your local area if this is important to your health. If you need carers with you, they don’t have to stay the two metres apart from you that is usually required by social distancing. However, it is still important to be careful and only go out when you really need to, to reduce the chance of getting ill or infecting other people.
Otherwise, the rules remain the same.
- Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
- If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
- Wash your hands as soon as you get home
- Do not meet others, even friends or family
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Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters platform has launched new advice focused on looking after people’s mental wellbeing during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Local health experts are also encouraging people across Gloucestershire to look after their mental health and wellbeing during the current lockdown. To watch advice from local health colleagues about mental health support, click here.
There is also a useful mental health signposting sheet which you can find here.
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There has been great concern raised, particularly though social media reports, over the use of blanket DNACPR orders. Please click here to read the letter that has been shared from NHS England and Improvement clarifying that DNACPR orders should only ever be made on an individual basis and in consultation with the individual or their family.
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#FeedGloucester is now LIVE!!
COVID-19 means low income families in Gloucester are already finding life tough, so we’re proud to be supporting the #FeedGloucester campaign to help feed those in need. The campaign works by allowing people to make donations from the safety of their own homes, which will then be turned into food vouchers for those that need it most. If you’re able to, the team are asking if you can donate whatever you can afford.
For more information about the campaign, pop over to the #FeedGloucester page and watch the short video which explains how it works - you might even see a familiar face or two, including Tweedy the Clown and Tom Kerridge!
If you, or someone you know, are in urgent need of help, please click here to get in touch.
There is also a #FeedCheltenham campaign which follows the same principle, supporting those most in need in the Cheltenham area. For more information and to donate to #FeedCheltenham click here.
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Some key updates and changes from the DWP.
- Everyone is encouraged to make new claims, and change existing claims, via the online system, as phone lines are really busy. The verification process has changed and claimants will get a call back rather than waiting on the phone for a long time.
- People who are receiving benefits do not have to attend Jobcentre appointments for at least 3 months since 19th March. Staff are also not checking if people are looking for work for the next 3 months, therefore no sanctions will be applied. People are however still encouraged to look for work.
- Benefit payments will be paid as normal.
- All face to face assessments for health and disability benefits have been suspended. Face to face services at Job Centres are only for people who would not otherwise receive support.
- All reviews/reassessments for existing health and disability benefit claimants will be suspended except where a change in circumstance will result in an increase in award
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Employment and Support Allowance [New Style] can now be claimed online if you’re not getting Universal Credit. If you are receiving Universal Credit you can log on to your account and leave a message in your journal for you case manager or work coach who will start this process for you. Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims can be made from day 1 instead of day 8.
- The standard rate of Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit has been increased by approximately £1000 per year.
- Statutory Sick Pay will be available from day 1 not day 4 for people who are sick or self isolating.
- Local housing allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants has also been increased, so it covers the cheapest third of local rents meaning on average an extra £600 in people’s pockets.
- DWP are temporarily relaxing the application of the minimum income floor (MIF) for all self employed claimants affected by Covid-19 economic impact to ensure they can access Universal Credit at a more generous rate.
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Video Relay Service (VRS) - Extended Service Availability
From Monday 20 April, the DWP are extending the availability of VRS into all DWP services. They will extend VRS to customers claiming Universal Credit first, and then over the coming months will further extend to all DWP services. VRS is already available for BSL users who claim DWP disability benefits as well as Access to Work.
VRS enables British Sign Language (BSL) users to contact DWP via a BSL interpreter. The customer uses a video link accessed through their own computer, smartphone or tablet. The interpreter will then speak to a DWP agent relaying the conversation by phone. There is no need for anyone to be in the same location and the customer does not have to book the service in advance. This means that the customer and DWP agent can have a telephone conversation in real time.
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The following FAQ information has been created in response to questions received from local Carers in Gloucestershire. This will be a changing resource available online at Your Circle where it will be updated regularly. If you have any questions you would like to raise please email the team.
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Your Circle is constantly being updated with regular additions during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. If you have something you want added to the site, please contact the team here.
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This is issue 2 of a FAQ sheet on all things COVID-19 for parents and carers. This was co-produced with the Parent Carer Forum. Click here to read more. |
Telephone Support Service for Vulnerable People
A Vulnerable People Telephone Support service has been established by Gloucestershire CCG with Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. The service, which launched on 15 April, is also working with Gloucestershire County Council and the district councils, who are running the Help Hub.
The key function for the service is to provide welfare checks, support and advice for all patients registered with GPs who have been identified as vulnerable for one of the following reasons:
- Patients who are shielding (as identified nationally, by hospital specialists and by General Practitioners. All of these patients will have received correspondence to advise them of their shielding status). The welfare check for this group also includes shielding advice.
- Patients who are vulnerable and therefore practising social distancing (This is a large number of people and therefore GP practices are helping to identify those patients on their list that they are most worried about and would benefit from a welfare check).
The service does not replace or duplicate clinical contact with our service users and patients. People with care packages or those with additional vulnerabilities, such as those with dementia, learning disabilities, autism or who lack mental capacity should have contact maintained with teams and services where they already have relationships with those patients.
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Local Gloucestershire Services |
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Age UK Gloucestershire are working to provide support for people in 3 main ways.
1) Supporting Older People to resolve specific issues: The Help Team are available Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm to help older people resolve specific problems.
2) Supporting Older People to stay connected: Details of their Freephone Telephone Friendship Line, Gloucestershire Springboard which is a new Facebook group and stay connected with Greet Your Street.
3) Support for Communities who want to help: Details of the Gloucestershire County Council Community Help Hub and the opportunity to share your information and ideas for your community
There is also a resource pack for staff to use when supporting older people. It contains a summary of local information and services throughout Gloucestershire with separate lists for each district. They will be updating and sharing this resource weekly.
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The Alexandra Wellbeing House will be temporarily closed until further notice for Guest stays. We are still accepting referrals for when we re-open. Although we are currently unable to provide in-person or face to face support we are offering a variety of telephone support from our wellbeing teams across our services.
As an alternative, Alexandra Wellbeing House will be offering the following:
- Telephone Wellbeing Support to all previous Guests during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak period across the UK.
- Accepting new referrals from NHS Teams and Third Sector Organisations for service users who would be interested in Telephone Wellbeing Support.
Telephone Wellbeing Support will provide:
- 6-8 Telephone Sessions with the Gloucestershire Wellbeing Team.
- Safety and Support Planning via Five Ways to Wellbeing Model
If you are interested in referring somebody on their behalf for either Alexandra Wellbeing House (2 Week Package) and/or Telephone Wellbeing Support please complete a referral, available here, alongside an internal risk assessment from your organisation within the last month.
- The team will respond to you and the person being referred with 4 working days to provide an outcome on the referral made.
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Assessments will no longer take place at the service but will take place via telephone.
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Referrers will no longer be required to attend/support assessments with the person being referred. However, staff may contact the referrer following an assessment for additional information.
- An outcome of the assessment will be provided to both the person being referred and the referrer within 2 working days from the assessment taking place.
If you would like further information, please contact alexwellbeing@sgmind.org.uk or Services Manager, Gloucestershire ieuanedwards@sgmind.org.uk
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Barnwood want to support people and their families, community spaces and voluntary organisations across Gloucestershire during this time. That’s why we have launched ‘Keeping Strong’ – four ways that we are here to help. To read more about Barnwood’s response visit www.barnwoodtrust.org/keepingstrong
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Where to find support: Places to access the help you need to keep you and your family strong during this time. barnwoodtrust.org/covid19support
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Grants for you: If you or someone you live with has a disability, a mental health challenge, or is experiencing significant mental distress at this time, the Keeping Strong Fund is a new grant to buy what you need to keep you and your family strong. To apply go to barnwoodtrust.org/keepingstrong or call freephone 0800 4220404
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Community spaces: Keep your inclusive community space strong and sustain connections now, and after COVID-19. We are in touch with community spaces and organisations to find out what’s needed. barnwoodtrust.org/spaces
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Organisation grants: Fund your COVID-19 response project and keep your voluntary organisation strong. A new Gloucestershire Funders group is taking a coordinated approach to funding and, together with the VCS Alliance, we will provide mentoring and support through this challenging time. barnwoodtrust.org/org_grants
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To get in touch with us please email keepingstrong@barnwoodtrust.org or call us on freephone 0800 4220404 or 01242 539935.
After a first few successful weeks of #GEMonline; GEM bring you another week of online activities to support GEM participants and the wider community; including family and friends, partners and supporters, organisations and colleagues... #GEMonline is open to everyone.
#GEMonline is here to support you with your employability journey, develop new skills or simply help your mental health and well-being with various activities. It's also worth noting that you can join these sessions and be fairly anonymous too, not sharing yourself on camera or even speaking. GEM have had people join activities without having to comment or speak, just simply to enjoy the session.
Click here to see the programme of activity planned for the week commencing 27th April. If you would like to share any activities or services that you are providing in our new GEM bulletin: Support during Covid-19, email the team here.
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The Gloucestershire Young Carers office has now closed with staff working remotely from home. Contact can now be made on 07773 331889, 07592 794504 or 07773 331654.
The phones are staffed 9.00am – 4.00pm, Monday to Friday, with an answerphone facility.
- All face to face services postponed until further notice.
- Assessments are continuing via video or telephone. Referral form and criteria available on the website or call 07592 794504.
- Contact has been made with all families on database (email/post) offering support and information of sources of local support.
- Digital solutions are rapidly emerging to continue group support for young carers.
- Young adult carers (16 -24) are already well connected through social media and staff are helping to relieve the stress of the situation by doing Facebook live cook offs, Pub-style quizzes and pet shares!
- Group sessions are being piloted for young carers through Zoom (with parental permission).
- Closed family Facebook has been developed offering advice, ideas for activities, tips for surviving the lockdown and peer support. They will be offering live workshops and activities through this group.
- Lockdown survey is being developed to identify the impact on young carers and their families
As we get deeper into the lockdown, telephone contact is planned across the database using well-being screening questionnaire to identify any families in need of additional support. Information, advice and guidance is available for families via all their social media channels: Facebook and Twitter.
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Headway Gloucestershire promote understanding of all aspects of brain injury and provide information, support and services to survivors, their families and carers. Due to the risks that COVID-19 poses and following government guidelines, Headway House has been temporarily closed to survivors since Monday the 23rd March. Although the centre is closed to survivors, staff are still working hard to provide support.
The helpline (01452 312713) is open between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday so survivors and their families can call anytime they need help to solve any problems or difficulties they experience in this time. They can also email here.
They will also be in touch with clients each week, to check how they are getting on and explore what they can do to support them; and will be sending activities to help keep themselves active and challenged. They'll also be inviting them to join in on virtual online meetings and activities.
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Healthy Lifestyles (HLS) Glos is Gloucestershire County Council’s official provider of healthy lifestyles services. If you live in Gloucestershire get FREE help from our friendly coaches to stop smoking, lose weight, get moving or cut down on alcohol. HLS Glos is no longer delivering face-to-face support. However, they are still offering support on alcohol, smoking, physical activity and weight management. This can either be via telephone or virtual video calls, emails or instant/text messages. Slimming World is no running groups but the Healthy Lifestyles team will support in the interim. If you want their support, contact them here. You can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
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Inclusion Gloucestershire (and MHELO [Mental Health Experience Led Opportunities]) continue to work hard to support disabled people and people with mental ill health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff are working from home and supporting members remotely.
Free services that they are offering include:
- Connecting with all existing and new followers on social media, sharing information, signposting to specific support, and sharing fun things that everyone can do to keep busy, or just help cope in the current situation:
- Providing remote support and contact to members who would normally attend the Hubs, MHELO, BME Friendship Hub, drama group, or who are part of the wider networks. They are doing this through:
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Regular phone calls to check in, have a chat, provide advice and share updates or information
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WhatsApp messages to some members who prefer this method of communication
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Activities that can be done at home, such as games, quizzes, guided meditation
- For those with IT, exploring options to connect online through small video chats, online forums etc.
- Offering 1 to 1 employment support via GEM, with all participants and contact currently via phone or email. They are open to referrals – please contact their Navigator Developer, Emily Ashman.
If you have a disability or mental health condition and would like any of the support above, but are not currently a member, Inclusion Gloucestershire are taking new members on. You can sign up to become a member and request a service here or phone 01452 234003. Please note that there may be a waiting list for new members to access services, depending on demand but you will get an initial contact from a member of the team within 5 working days of the request.
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Leonard Cheshire have linked up with Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) and Inclusion Gloucetershire to put together a timetable of interactive online activities for people to access remotely. This timetable will be regularly updated, as they work with other partners to put more on. They want to offer a variety of different things for people to be able to interact with and will be introducing music with Chaos Music and also the Wildlife Trust with creative sessions using household items.
They are also working to pair people who would like to have social interactivity or well-being checks. These can be done via Skype, telephone calls and video calling, and the team are working on the encryptions to ensure safety and safeguarding. All volunteers are DBS and reference checked with relevant training.
They are also working with Can Do (volunteering for young people with disabilities) to create online sessions where they can interact and keep busy – more information will follow in a future bulletin.
Finally, Leonard Cheshire have been approached by Buddi UK to pilot their scheme. This is normally used through a device but to make things more accessible and user friendly they are trying to use an app on a smart device instead.
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A free 7-day taster Reframe Your Now mindful photography programme - with focus on nature - for improving mental health and building resilience at this uncertain time.
The activities help people to stay calm, connected and get creative, and deal with fear, anxiety and low mood. The programme is endorsed by Arts and Health South West, the University of Gloucestershire, Create Gloucestershire and Gloucester Cathedral. The resource has been written in a way that is accessible to most people to do in their homes and on their daily walk. All people need is a smartphone or camera.
People can sign up using this form or via the website.
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Creative Sustainability are responding to the COVID-19 situation day-by-day to support the local community, working with volunteers to identify how they can support grass roots action, connectivity and street by street knowledge. Three key services requested that they are now delivering are:
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DBS Checks for volunteers supporting their communities. Find out more from Coryn.
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Fiscal Hosting for community led volunteer groups. Find out more from Anna.
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Bikes for workers - donating fully refurbished bikes to local key workers. If you want to find out more, contact the team.
They have adapted their existing services to help build local resilience and combat loneliness:
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Bike Skills Hub - sharing bike advice and stories online. Find out more.
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Phone Befriending for people with long term conditions. They are still taking referrals - For more information, email Coryn.
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Pen Pals - bringing people together through postcards and letters. Children, young people and older people are writing to each other to share their stories. If you would like a penpal, contact Louise.
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Keeping Creative - sending art supplies and ideas, shared wild photography walks and posting on an online gallery on social media. For more information, contact Reeves.
Contact the team by email or call 01453 798363. For general enquiries, email Anna.
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Are you visually impaired, over the age of 18 and passionate about making a difference?
The Gloucestershire Sight Loss Council raises awareness of the issues faced by blind and partially sighted people and is looking for enthusiastic visually impaired volunteers. To find out more about becoming a Sight Loss Council member, download the volunteer role description and contact Alun Davies by email or calling 07779 169 019.
Please also find guidance the RNIB have produced here about supporting people with visual impairments using supermarkets.
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Stroke Association in Gloucestershire support people to rebuild their lives after stroke.
For information on Coronavirus for stroke survivors, click here.
For all Stroke Association publications, click here.
My Stroke Guide: An online tool for stroke survivors and carers. Free access to trusted advice and information, social forums and discussions, links to videos and further support. It's easy to register and navigate, with an aphasia-friendly area.
Life After Stroke Grants: One-off payment of £300 to fund vital home or personal equipment, or funding to support to help you become active. See more on how to apply here.
Stroke Association are currently working at increased capacity due to the COVID-19 situation
Helpline: 0303 3033 100 || Email: helpline@stroke.org.uk
Textphone: 18001 0303 3033 100
Regular opening hours:
- Monday, Thursday and Friday: 9.00am – 5.00pm
- Tuesday and Wednesday: 8.00am – 6.00pm
- Saturday: 10.00am – 1.00pm
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TIC+ has switched its counselling services to telephone, video chat and online text chat and is able to deliver up to 400 sessions a week of vital support to children and young people throughout the county during the COVID-19 crisis. It is also continuing to provide the Parent Support Advice Line (online text-chat service) for parents or carers worried about their child’s mental health, emotional well-being or behaviour.
Judith Bell, Director of Counselling Services said:
“With helplines seeing a huge spike in calls from children and young people, particularly since schools have closed and they are isolated from friends, TIC+ is committed to continuing our counselling sessions for existing clients, as well as taking new referrals from anyone needing help in such trying times. The ability to use technology to enable us to do this, coupled with the immediate funding from our supporters to purchase the necessary equipment, is truly wonderful and allows us to do so. We are already hearing from our counsellors the positive response and relief being felt by young people.
One counsellor reported:
“I have just had one of the most touching sessions with one of my primary school clients who burst into tears saying he is so happy he can continue to talk about all that is going on!”
To find out more about the work of TIC+ visit their website.
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CGL are still available to support with drug and alcohol recovery. If you're worried about something, please get in touch, either by telephone on 01452 223 014 or email.
Updates to the service:
- To help you stay safe, CLG are changing the way they prescribe medication for a while. Please take a look at their prescriptions info page to see what’s happening.
- For now, all appointments are over the phone.
- CGL team are running smart recovery groups online on zoom. If you'd like to join, please contact Lester Evans.
- You can still come to the hub for needle exchange and naloxone.
You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.
Visit their national coronavirus pages for the latest information, advice and support:
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Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) is a county-wide service designed to reduce the level of domestic abuse and improve the safety of victims and their families. Due to COVID-19, their office is closed until further notice. The helpdesk line has been redirected and will be extremely busy, so contact the team by completing their online referral form.
Always call 999 if it's an emergency or you're in immediate danger.
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Kingfisher Treasure Seekers (KFTS) have launched a webchat, accessible through their website that anybody can click on and chat with a member of the team (button is in the bottom left corner). This is manned from 10.00am through to 6.00pm everyday for general enquiries but also just a friendly chat for anyone that wants to interact but is struggling to make connections with people.
In addition to this, KFTS have also set up an online community forum, with chat topics about different activities. People can sign in and start conversations in an open forum, manned by staff.
In the evenings, Support at The Cavern service has become phone based for the time being. This means that all staff in that department remain working as normal (from home), manning the phones and webchat from 6.00pm to 11.00pm every night, taking calls from people that use the service, as well as calling up some users that may not initially make the call to check in on them.
All of this is in addition to existing social media channels, which the team are working on posting daily with positive and upbeat content, encouraging participation wherever possible.
Email: info@kftseekers.org.uk
Telephone: 01452 307201
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecaverngloucester
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Let's Talk can offer you support and guidance on how to manage your wellbeing. For more information, visit their website or call 0800 073 2200. There is also a useful page of resources on their website, here.
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Listening Post Counselling Service remains open at this time and continues to offer an affordable donation based counselling service to anyone over the age of 18 via telephone or video link.
To register for counselling support call 01452 383820 (For Gloucester and Cheltenham) and 01453 750123 (For Stroud).
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Young Gloucestershire (YG) has changed 80% of their face to face services to be delivered online/remote by their team including: delivering counselling, one-to-one youth work sessions, short qualifications one-to-one support of those furthest from the job market, providing one-to-one support for their link clients
New services – Covid response:
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Detached youth work - Working in partnership with the police, YG have developed a detached offer, ensuring young people are educated, provided with contacts for support and offered ongoing support for young people who are vulnerable such as their regular missing young people
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Link Chat – YG have launched this service to ensure that vulnerable young people, those who are finding it tough or those who need a friendly voice are allocated a key worker and called at regular intervals (as agreed with them) to provide a friendly contact discuss coping mechanisms and get support
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Care packages and food – YG have partnered with the long table and have committed to provide and deliver a meal (cooked by professional chefs – and frozen) to young people so they have 7 good meals a week for the next 12 weeks. In addition to these meals they are providing care packages of essential items. This is to young people who are existing clients, plus lots of new referrals including a lot of supported housing young people
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Online activities – The team have launched a range of new range of zoom activities such as fitness sessions, mindfulness and one to one delivery of qualifications to NEET young people. These programmes are being developed and the team hope to increase their offer in the next couple of weeks.
For more information, call 01452 501008 or email.
If you are a young person already working with YG and want to contact your Youth Worker or Programme Leader please visit their staff page where you will find their contact numbers. Please note that staff phones will only be switched on during working hours of 9.00am-5.00pm Monday – Friday. If you need urgent support then please contact emergency services.
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Other useful links and updates |
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