 Welcome to the January edition of the Healthy Telford newsletter
Hello and happy New Year! We hope you got chance to relax and unwind over the Christmas break. January is a time to regroup and plan for the year ahead, but it's important to be kind to ourselves too during these darkest, coldest months. In this month's newsletter we have social groups and training opportunities galore for you to start 2024 off on the right track.
So, take a few minutes for yourself, get a warm drink and find out what's going on to support your health and wellbeing in Telford and Wrekin this January.
And don't forget this month's quiz about how best to stay warm and well for winter.
 Together let's make real changes, not New Year resolutions!
RED January is a nationwide public health movement that empowers us all to overcome barriers that currently lead to higher inactivity and lower wellbeing during the winter.
The idea is to sign up to RED January for free as an individual or team, set a personal movement challenge for the month that works for you and your lifestyle, and enjoy support from the RED community every step, splash and pedal of the way.
What will you or workplace choose?
Please share your RED January movement challenges with us on @HealthyTF on X or @HealthyTelfordWrekin on Facebook using in the hashtag #MoveMoreTelford. Let’s inspire each other and move more together.
The National Academy for Social Prescribing is excited about teaming up with RED January, to encourage health workers – who work tirelessly throughout winter to keep us all healthy – to sign up to RED January to help boost their own wellbeing this winter. With activities like desk Pilates and tips to embrace active travel, there are ways for even the busiest amongst us to take part.
Why not sign up for their Workplace Wellbeing Campaign at the same time. The campaign encourages regular movement breaks throughout the working day to support employee mental wellbeing during the winter months and beyond. Make movement everybody’s business.
Visit the RED January website to find out more.
 Supporting lifestyle change
If you feel you need more structured support to make a change this January the Healthy Lifestyles Team can help you to achieve your goal, whether it's becoming more active, losing weight, eating a healthier diet, drinking less alcohol or quitting smoking, with the aim of making the change a permanent feature of your lifestyle.
The Healthy Lifestyles Service offers 6 free sessions to get you started. You can chose face-to-face, telephone or video appointments – whatever works for you. They can help dispel those myths about the food you eat, tell you about the activities available in your local area and most of all motivate and support you to take those first steps to becoming a healthier, happier you in 2024.
Contact the team by emailing healthylifestyles@telford.gov.uk, calling them on 01952 382582 or by completing the online form using the button below.
 Faye Tai Chi Friends of the Chinese Arts and Culture Centre in Telford have been awarded funding for a Tai Chi project for the residents of Brookside and Donnington.
The project, which starts this month, will give local people the opportunity to enjoy some Tai Chi sessions and come together to support each other to improve health and wellbeing. The project will be in 3 parts:
- Community consultation - for the first 4 weeks of the project Faye Tia Chi Friends will be working with partners and participant organisations to shape the project’s delivery, to ensure it meets the needs of the community and is led by them.
- Grassroots delivery - for a period of 12 weeks, Tai Chi sessions will be delivered within local community centres in response to the findings of the community consultation.
- Legacy work – to ensure sustainability of the work of the project, individual and groups participants will be supported in various ways to continue their engagement.
The project will run until the Summer 2024, and Faye Tai Chi Friends would now like to hear from key partners, clubs, groups and organisations in Brookside and Donnington who would like to take part, to listen to what local people's needs are and how the project can help them. Interested? Get in touch via fayetaichifriends@gmail.com
 Stay warm and well this winter
Thanks to the National Grid Community Fund Donnington Community Hub is supporting local residents during the colder months with Meet and Eat. Any time during January, February and early March this year you can drop into Donnington Community Hub on St Matthews Road TF2 7PR, Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 12.30pm for a chat in a warm space and free hot sandwiches, snacks and drinks.
Visit Donnington Community Hub's Facebook page for more information.
 This January Donnington Community Hub, St Matthews Road TF2 7PR will also be running a FREE 6-week Cooking on a Budget course. The course will take place on Tuesdays, between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.
Booking is essential. To sign up call the Hub on 01952 382202.
 All are welcome
Connecting Communities Telford are running a new women's group every Tuesday between 11am and 1pm at Telford Gurdwara, Whitechapel Way, Priorslee TF2 9FN.
Why not go along to meet new people and try out a variety of activities in a warm and inclusive environment.
For more information contact: Harbans Kaur Mann 07412 298638, Almas Mansurali 07814 834527 or Kuldip Kaur Sidhu 07790 813354.
 Welcoming holistic coach Angela
'Let’s talk…menopause', a group set up by Madeley Town Council, has now been operating for six months. Attendance at the group continues to grow and the Town Council are pleased that it will continue throughout 2024.
The 'Let’s talk…menopause' sessions are a place and time for people to come and chat openly and learn more about the symptoms and impact that menopause and perimenopause is having on their everyday life. These sessions are an opportunity to share tips and tricks and generally help each other through what can be a rotten time. Chatting with others in the same boat can help negate that feeling of going through it alone and make a person feel supported by those who understand.
From January the group will be joined on a bi-monthly basis by Angela from MBrace. Angela is a Menopause Holistic Coach and will be on hand to chat about different subjects and support the group in a number of ways. This is a fantastic addition and Madeley Town Council are pleased to be able to offer this to the group.
Angela will be attending the next chat on Wednesday 10 January. As usual the group will meet from 7pm to 8pm at the Park Lane Centre in Woodside and whether you’ve been to the group before, or you’re new to the group of the world of perimenopause and menopause, everyone is welcome.
 The Haven Wolverhampton is offering some free online Domestic Abuse Awareness training for community groups in Telford and Wrekin on the following dates:
- Monday 15 January 2024
- Wednesday 7 February 2024
- Wednesday 13 March 2024
- Thursday 25 April 2024
- Monday 13 May 2024
- Wednesday 17 June 2024
All the above sessions will run between 9.30am and 12.30pm via Microsoft Teams.
To book onto one of these training sessions, or to enquire about face to face sessions for groups of 20 or more people, please contact Tracey Secker via email at Tracey.Secker@havenrefuge.org.uk, or call 01952 599108.
Visit The Haven Wolverhampton’s website for more information about this organisation.
 LiveLife Project Coordinator
Would you like join a leading local charity to be a part of an exciting project to reduce the impact of cancer on people’s lives?
Are you personable, approachable with excellent communication skills? Are you motivated to increasing cancer screening uptake and to raising awareness to improve early cancer diagnosis rates in communities where this is low?
You will be responsible for delivering our LiveLife community health engagement work, with a primary focus on raising cancer awareness for early diagnosis, cancer screening and prevention. This includes:
- Our Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Cancer Champion project, working in partnership with NHS Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, and Qube, to deliver the Telford component of the NHS England funded “CORE20PLUS-5” Cancer Champions project.
- LiveLife, our community health promotion initiative, bringing cancer awareness to communities across the region.
These programmes of work are overlapping and complimentary, utilising the same community approaches and networks to engage our target audiences.
The role will ideally be full-time (37.5hours per week) although negotiable to 4 days per week (30 hours) for the right candidate. This is advertised as a permanent position.
Closing Date 19 January 2024.
Visit the Lingen Davies website for more information and how to apply.
 Would you like to make new friends while enjoying a hearty breakfast?
Age UK Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin are starting up a new Breakfast Club at Toby Cavery Telford, Shawbirch Cross Roads, TF1 3QA. Beginning on Tuesday 23 January, this club will take place on the fourth Tuesday of every month between 10am and 12noon. Specifically for men aged over 50 years, it will be a great way to meet new friends from your community and enjoy each other's company. (Pre-booking essential).
For more information please call 01743 233123 or email enquiries@ageukstw.org.uk.
Visit the Age UK Shropshire Telford and Wrekin website for further activities and events in your local area.
 A weird and wonderful webinar
Do you want to know more about the special invertebrates found in your local area? Or would you like to know what beetle larvae tricks bees into giving them a lift to their nest?
Then join Buglife and Entomologist, Nigel Jones, to find out! In this online talk on Thursday 25 January, 7pm to 8pm, Nigel will explore the weird and wonderful world of insects and introduce you to the common and rarer pollinators found in the Marches.
This webinar is part of Buglife’s Get the Marches Buzzing Project. This project is working to restore 61 hectares of wildflower-rich habitat across Shropshire and North Herefordshire, with lots of the work being in Telford. If you’d like to know more or get involved then please contact emily.hughes@buglife.org.uk.
Book your place
To book free your place please contact Emily Hughes via email: emily.hughes@buglife.org.uk. A link will be sent out to you after booking.
 Health literacy matters
Two free online workshops are available this January/February:
The first provides Health Literacy Awareness Training on Wednesday 31 January 2024 9am to 11am. In this 2 hour workshop the outcomes for attendees are to:
- Understand what health literacy is
- Appreciate what it might mean to have low levels of health literacy
- Know why it is important
- Know what others have done, and think about what you could do
- Learn about key tools, such as “Teachback” and writing for understanding
- Know how to sign up for the Health Literate Organisation journey.
Book your place on the Health Literacy Awareness Training via Eventbrite.
The second is a Health Literate Organisation Workshop on Tuesday 27 February, 9am to 12noon, in which you will receive advice, practical tools and examples, to become a ‘Health Literacy Champion’ in your team, department or organisation with the aim to:
- Improve written and verbal communication
- Increase staff health literacy knowledge and capability
- Re-evaluate the physical layout and signage within your organisation
- Establish your HLO goals and establish a baseline
- Develop a health literacy policy.
Book your place on the Health Literate Organisation Workshop via Eventbrite.
 Drop in and get your blood pressure checked
Having high blood pressure can lead to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. So knowing your blood pressure numbers can save your life. Around 1 in 4 adults in the UK have high blood pressure, and, if you're over 40, you should get your pressure checked at least every five years.
The Community Blood Pressure Project is out and about in Telford visiting local venues and events to take blood pressure readings and raise awareness of why it's important to 'know your numbers'.
Visit the Healthy Telford blog to find out where our blood pressure checkers will be next.
 Looking back, looking forward
Last summer Telford & Wrekin Council’s ‘Big Walk Week 2023’ included a range of walking trails, events and sessions, including forest schools, mindfulness walks, family-friendly trails, storytelling walks, guided walks, history and nature trails, plus a tour around an eco garden at a local factory.
The events were free and many included free refreshments, with a final walk where routes from across the area ended in Telford Town Park for an end-of-event celebration.
The events provided the opportunity for residents to discover what’s happening on their doorstep and to encourage people to get out and explore, find new activities and to get moving as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Just some of the partners involved included Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Wellington Ramblers Wellbeing Walks, Severn Gorge Countryside Trust and Travel Telford.
In the run up to last year's event, training was provided for volunteers to be walk leaders or helpers – an important legacy of the event to benefit local residents throughout the year.
Di, one of the amazing volunteer walk leaders who took part in the 2023 event, had this to say about it:
What made you want to support Telford’s Big Walk Week?
"I've always enjoyed walking but always use the same area to walk when I do and usually it's on my own. The variety of walks sounded appealing and the opportunity to discover areas of Telford I hadn't thought of before."
What was your role in the walks?
"Over the week my role was chatting to other people taking part in the event and being a back marker."
How was the experience?
"Overall it was a really enjoyable event and I crossed paths with similar minded people. I'm considering joining a walking group and I hope there are other events like this in the future. Everyone was made to feel welcome during each walk of all ages and abilities, and the variety of different walks was good."
The 2024 Walking Festival event is planned to take place from 25 May to 2 June, with the Telford Big Walk on 2 June. If you are interested in being involved as a volunteer or a walker sign up to the What's On bulletin for the latest updates.
 Crafting fun for the New Year
Keep the holiday fun alive by coming along to one of the children's craft sessions at Telford & Wrekin Libraries this January.
On Wednesday 3 January between 2pm and 3pm, Newport Library and on Friday 5 January between 2pm and 3pm at Southwater Library there will be an origami frog craft to usher in a 'hoppy' new year!
Visit the Telford & Wrekin Libraries Ticketsource page to book your place on either of these sessions.
While on Thursday 4 January, Wellington Library will be hosting a cosy 'crafternoon' - you can make an origami frog here too, along with a book hedgehog, paper gingerbread men and other delights! Drop in any time between 2pm and 4pm to join in.
All craft sessions are suitable for children aged 4 - 11 years.
 Creative Writing Club at Southwater Library
Telford & Wrekin Libraries are starting a Creative Writing Club for young people aged 14+ at Southwater Library from Thursday 11 January, between 4.30pm and 5.30pm and will then run fortnightly.
The club will be run by a member of library staff with a MA in creative writing and will help cultivate a passion for penning everything from fiction, poetry and screenplays, to songs, diary entries and articles. There is no need to book a place and no prior writing experience needed, just turn up!
For further information email libraryenquiries@telford.gov.uk
 And for the youngest library members
Don't forget Telford & Wrekin Libraries' weekly Bounce & Rhyme sessions for families with children aged under 5. These popular half hour sessions involve singing and moving along to nursery and counting rhymes.
Sessions run at the following libraries:
- Southwater Library Tuesdays 10.30am to 11am
-
Southwater Library Saturdays 10.30am to 11am (starting Saturday 6 January)
- Wellington Library Thursdays 10.30am to 11am
- Newport Library Fridays 10.30am to 11am
You can book you free place using the button below. Bookings open 7 days before for each session.
 Stop smoking and good things happen
If you count yourself among those who intend to quit smoking this year, you’ve made a great decision – turning your back on cigarettes is one of the most positive lifestyle choices you can make.
To succeed it’s important to make a plan. Think about what could help you stop smoking, such as using nicotine replacement products and speak to a Stop Smoking Advisor who can help you make the right choice and support you on the journey. Then set your quit date and let your family and friends know that you’re stopping.
The first seven to ten days are the toughest, and you may need the most help during this period. Don’t forget that a slip doesn’t mean you’re a smoker again. As long as you keep trying and remember that a mistake is just an opportunity to learn a little bit more about yourself, you can and will achieve your goal. And your advisor will be on hand to support you every step of the way.
One recent client, who had been smoking for the past 33 years, recently quit with help from the Stop Smoking Service and had this to say about his advisor:
“I found the service really helpful, and Oliver has been such a tremendous support coach throughout the whole process. I would highly recommend your team to anyone who wants to stop smoking or needs a lifestyle change. Thanks, Ollie, for all of your understanding, advice and being there to support me.”
While another client wanted to share that:
“It feels great if I’m honest, being able to just be me and not feel like I always need to depend on something to get me through the day is amazing. Also, with family life I feel now things can be normal and I won’t feel ashamed as I won’t be doing it any longer!”
So, why not make 2024 the year you improve your health, save money, and kick that habit for good?
Contact the Stop Smoking Service by calling 01952 382582 or using their online contact form via the button below.
 Winter is coming...
As we are only part way through our cold season, it's not too late to learn a few extra hints and tips on how to keep warm and well this winter. Take this short quiz to see how prepared you are for the chilly weather.
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