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Grants For Carers & Families |
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Local Emergency Fund For Carers
A fund of £200,000 is being made available to unpaid carers in Manchester who need additional support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be used for a range of purposes including transport costs (including taxis) or fuel, furniture, emergency delivery of food and one-off practical costs to help with the caring role at this time. See here for more information and how to apply.
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Family Fund - Grants For Families
The Government has announced that the Family Fund will receive funding of £37.3m in 2020-21. This includes £10m for grants to help low income families in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Families with children that have complex needs and disabilities can apply for grants for vital equipment - such as computers, specialist equipment and educational toys - to make their lives easier while maintaining social distancing measures. It can also help with the cost of goods or services, like washing machines and refrigerators.
The grants are typically worth £400 to £500 per family but vary depending on need. See the Family Fund website for how to apply.
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Mental Health Awareness Week
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The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is kindness. Being kind to yourself is an important part of this. Here are some tips around self-care during the pandemic from Manchester Mind.
Manchester Mind offers several weekly Zoom events to support self-care - Calming the Nervous System (every Monday), Lunchtime Meditation (every Wednesday, suitable for beginners) and Morning Meditation (every Friday). See their events page for more information.
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Completely free for all children and families, this extraordinary new collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children’s writers and illustrators.The Book of Hopes aims to comfort, inspire and encourage children during lockdown through delight, new ideas, ridiculous jokes and heroic tales.
The collection, published by Bloomsbury, is dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers, porters, cleaners and everyone currently working in hospitals.
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Support From Local Organisations |
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Caribbean & African Health Network
The Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN) have launched a number of online activities via Zoom in response to community requests. This includes Single Mothers Peer Support Group, Afrobeats & Reggae Bash, and Health Hour. See their COVID-19 page for information. They also offer a Bereavement Service for people affected by the loss of a loved one to COVID-19.
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Citizens Advice – Out Of Hours
Citizens Advice Greater Manchester have an Out Of Hours Advice Service by telephone, SMS, and Facebook Messenger between 7pm and 10pm, 7 days a week. Call or SMS to 0161 850 5053.
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Down’s Syndrome Support Group
The South Manchester Down’s Syndrome Support Group have produced a packed newsletter, covering their virtual AGM on May 28th, online training, coronavirus guidance and much more. There are also things to do, like their online Chatterbox Club, including ‘Sing and Sign with Jen’ and ‘Yoga with Sandra’.
Lifted – Supporting Parent Carers
Lifted works to improve the health and well-being of parent carers using their service. Based in Manchester, they offer one to one support, guidance and advocacy, and assistance with completing forms. They are currently offering support over the phone, Facebook and email. See their website for further details.
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The Government has published information for parents and carers to help prepare for the wider opening of nurseries, schools and colleges from 1st June.
This Council for Disabled Children (CDC) news article highlights issues relevant to SEND families.
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New Easy Read Coronavirus Posters |
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Keep Safe have published new easy read posters explaining the Government's updated lockdown guidance. This is the latest addition to their coronavirus series. Other posters include If You Get Ill, Getting Tested and Food Banks.
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Writer Stephanie Nimmo has created a free audio version of her book ‘Goodbye Daisy’ on You Tube. She hopes it will help children, particularly those with learning disabilities, with their emotions around the death of a loved one at this time. The book was published as a paperback in 2018 to honour her daughter Daisy.
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Ramadan & Social Distancing |
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As Ramadan is being observed quite differently this year, videos have been produced in Urdu and English with Manchester Imam, Maulana Mohammed Akeel, explaining why social distancing is important, providing options for what people can do instead (eg. virtual Iftar) and how people can access help if they need it.
https://vimeo.com/414000156 - Urdu
https://vimeo.com/413995713 - English (Press CC on the taskbar in the video for subtitles)
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Our Covid Voices wants to share with the world how people with long-term conditions, disabilities and other health and care needs are living during the pandemic in the UK.
Our Covid Voices aims to be a first draft of history, with people across the country sharing their experiences of the UK under lockdown as they happen.
National Voices will use the insights to influence national and local decision-makers. The experiences shared on the website will help them get a clearer picture of what is happening now and help National Voices make a better case for what needs to happen once this crisis ends. See the Frequently Asked Questions and here’s a link to easy read information about the project.
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