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Support From Your Local Offer |
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Lots of people have signed up to receive our regular newsletter. It’s really easy to do – just email Ali at ali.davenport@manchester.gov.uk and she’ll add you to the list. If you’re working with parent carers, you’re welcome to email on their behalf, as well as signing up yourself!
Information from the newsletters gets put onto our Coronavirus Information & Advice webpage. This has easy to use categories, including ‘Coronavirus Updates’, ‘Benefits, Money & Household’, ‘Emotional & Mental Wellbeing’ and ‘Stuff To Do’. You’re invited to email Ali or ring/text her on 07971 587963 if you can’t find what you’re looking for!
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Here is an updated list of what we can and cannot do during the current coronavirus restrictions, including guidance around meeting friends and family, physical activity, work and weddings.
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Transport News
If you are wondering how to get to the COVID vaccination sites in Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester have put together some useful information on how to get to each site by bus, tram, car or Ring & Ride.
Transport for Greater Manchester has information around accessibility on public transport during the pandemic. This includes the Journey Assist card for people who are exempt from wearing a face covering, which is available on request from the TfGM Customer Services Team.
Research has found that an in-built ventilation system on Metrolink’s trams constantly circulates fresh air, helping to limit the risk of aerosol transmission of viruses like COVID-19. Read more about this independent study commissioned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) here.
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Vaccinations
Dr Manisha Kumar, Medical Director of Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, and David Regan, Director of Public Health for Manchester, took part in a live Q&A with the Manchester Evening News. Check out the video or read the transcript to have some common COVID-19 vaccine questions answered.
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Sir Lenny Henry has written an open letter encouraging Black Britons to take the COVID-19 vaccine, signed by some of the most high-profile names in the UK. It has been turned into a powerful short film, supported by the NHS. You can read the letter here, which gives background information on why it was written.
The Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN) has produced a ‘COVID-19 Vaccines Report’ following a special Health Hour information session in January. Black clinicians were able to hear from and reassure people of African and Caribbean heritage so they would feel more confident about taking the vaccine. You can read the report here.
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Rapid Testing In Manchester
You can now access free regular rapid COVID-19 testing In Manchester. You can go to a local test site, collect home test kits from participating pharmacies and libraries, and order kits online. Find out more here.
Community Response Hub
The Community Response Hub offers support to help Manchester people cope with the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. The Hub is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm and can help with:
- Access to food
- Delivery of medication
- Combating loneliness
- Managing fuel top-up payments
- Getting access to services online
Call 0800 234 6123, email COVIDSupport@manchester.gov.uk, or text 078600 22876 (messages responded to by the next working day).
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Support From Carers Manchester |
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The world is opening up again but the easing of lockdown can feel overwhelming if you’re a carer. Support workers at Carers Manchester Contact Point are there to answer your queries. The phone line is open 10am-4pm Monday to Friday except Bank Holidays and 10am-6pm on Wednesdays - 0161 543 8000. You can also email contactpoint@carersmanchester.org.uk or get in touch through a contact form or Facebook.
Carers Manchester is a group of organisations working together to improve services for unpaid carers. Sign up to their fortnightly newsletter to keep up to date on events, free training, support, welfare and benefits, coronavirus guidance and news for unpaid carers in the city of Manchester. Visit www.carersmanchester.org.uk and scroll down the home page to find the subscription link.
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Would you like to find out what community health services are being delivered to Manchester children and young people? If the answer is yes, Manchester Children's Community Health Services (NHS) invite you to help plan a free online workshop. There’s a short survey with five quick questions to find out what you’d like to learn and your preferences around session length and time of day. If there’s a good level of interest from parent carers, the workshop is likely to go ahead in late May/early June. You can find the survey here. Closing date: Sunday 9th May.
Anna Kennedy Online runs free workshops for autistic individuals and their parents/ carers. The next sessions are Autism & Mindfulness, Thursday 20th May and Autism & Information Processing, Thursday 24th June, both at 11am. Find out more here.
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A new not-for-profit company in Salford - Spectrum Connection CIC - provides PACT therapy for parents. Here’s the website and Facebook page. You can find out more about PACT here.
Calibre Audio is a national charity that provides a free audiobook service for anyone with a disability that makes reading print difficult. The charity has over 3,000 audiobooks specifically for children and young people, including Key Stage 1-4, GCSE and A-Level texts to assist with studies. As well as providing a useful and free way to access school texts, the service is a fantastic tool for children to escape and unwind with unlimited borrowing.
The national living wage has increased to £8.91 per hour for people aged over 23. While this is good news for many people in low paid work, it may affect you if you are claiming Carer’s Allowance. This is because there is a maximum amount that you can earn and remain entitled to the allowance. Read more here.
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Spring has sprung and it’s the perfect time to blow away the cobwebs and meet other carers. Stepping Out are offering scenic and sociable walks for carers at venues throughout the country, with lunch included. Join them on Wednesday 5th May at Sale Water Park, Wednesday 12th May at Heaton Park and Thursday 13th May in Peel Park, Salford. See the full list of walks and then sign up.
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Spaces are still available on Starling’s free Creative Minds workshops held in Old Trafford. They’re open to young people who live in Manchester and identify as neurodivergent. They take place on Wednesdays (13-17 yr olds 4-5.30pm, 18-25 yr olds 5.45-7.15pm) but if young people can’t make the start time, they’re still welcome and can dip in and out of sessions each week as they like. Facilitated by a professional artist in a COVID-safe way, sessions can involve anything from puppet making to animation and offer a safe, friendly space for young people to discover new creative interests, develop friendships and feel valued. Free off-street parking is available around the venue and parents are more than welcome to wait in the car. There is also a bus stop nearby and the nearest tram stop is Trafford Bar or Cornbrook. If there are issues around getting to the venue, let them know when you register. You can do this by using this form. You can also find out more information on Starling’s website (they run other creative activities too!) or by emailing fionna@starlingcio.org.uk.
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The Community Media Crew is opening back up on 18th May! This alternative day service is for learning disabled and autistic people over the age of 18 and is based in St John’s Club in Wythenshawe, where it meets 3 days a week. Set up by TV film and producer John McCormack, participants can join in film-making, acting workshops and recording radio shows for Wythenshawe FM in a COVID-safe setting. It’s £25 per day or £17.50 half a day and there are some concessions. But people can go free for the first day as a taster, to see if they like it! You can find out more on the website or by contacting John on 07881 468 569 or communitymediacrew@btinternet.com.
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Spectrum Gaming, an online community for autistic young people under the age of 18, launched in June last year and now has a community of over 2,000. A common theme in the community is difficulty attending school. Many members are out of education and others struggle with school-based anxiety. The ‘School is Difficult’ project has been created to share the good and bad of the education system, with the aim of creating resources and a report with recommendations on what can be done to make the education system work for these young people who are often failed. To take part, go to the website where there are surveys for neurodivergent young people, parents, neurodivergent adults, and professionals. If you would like to know more about Spectrum Gaming, founded by Andy Smith in Bury, here is a video created by members of the community.
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Dame Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, has launched ‘The Big Ask’, the largest ever consultation with children undertaken in England. The survey is live until 19th May and the results will help identify the barriers preventing children from reaching their potential, put forward solutions and set ambitious goals for the country to achieve. Children and young people can take part in the survey here. Easy read versions available.
Steph from The Butterfly SEND Initiative is looking to develop a series of vlogs exploring disability. Vlogs are a video version of blog and you’re invited to get in touch to see what you can co-create together. It can be around any subject, including health, education, work, travel and mental health. You can contact Steph on 07572 471552 or email butterflyprincess93@outlook.com. You can see her Butterfly Princess advocacy work on Facebook (The Butterfly Princess SEND Initiative) and Instagram (The Butterfly Princess Show). Steph does all this advocacy and awareness activity for free as a hobby.
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An online survey is exploring understanding of disability activism, politics, and the resistance practices of young disabled activists across Europe. If you know any young activists aged 18-35 who would like to share their views and experiences, please share this link which includes an easy read survey.
The Pandemic - Research Results
The Special Needs Jungle conducted a detailed survey of over a thousand parents of children and young people which revealed a widespread failure to restore SEND provision at all levels, with many disabled children prevented from returning to school at all. This means some children with the greatest needs will have been out of their normal placements for more than a year.
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The Disabled Children's Partnership (DCP) found that a year out of school without essential therapy and delays to hospital checks has led to disabled children's health getting worse. The DCP are calling for an ambitious and funded COVID-recovery and catch-up plan for disabled children, covering not just education, but also health, social care and family wellbeing, Find out more here.
Ambitious About Autism has published the findings of a survey showing that 63% of autistic young people say their mental health has worsened since the start of the pandemic. Over two thirds said the change in routine was the biggest problem. Four in ten said support they were receiving stopped during lockdown. See the report here.
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NSPC has published a briefing using insight from NSPCC helpline contacts and Childline counselling sessions to highlight how the pandemic has impacted on d/Deaf and disabled children.
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