You’re invited to our “Keep in touch with 25 years event during your local Carers Carers Week Helpline” Carers Interview 2 Bolton Carers Support Contents Bolton Carers Support, a registered charity (no 1082166), News Items Pages provides information and support Notice-board 4/5 to carers aged 18+. Time For You Project 8 What we do Volunteering at BCS 9 Helpline Money Matters 16 Sitting service Zoe - Outreach Worker 17 Connected and Informed 18 - 19 Breaks & Courses 25 years of BCS 21 Benefits advice Health Matters Your Health 6/7 Volunteering Real Life How to contact us Poem - Another Celebration Write to us at Bolton Carers 20 Support, FREEPOST RSJT-KAJH- Carers Interview 22 URRR, Thicketford Centre, Donations and Fundraising 23 Thicketford Road, Bolton, BL2 2LW (no stamp required) Outings & Courses .. Give us a call 01204 363056 BCS 25 Years event 10 Visit our website Breaks for Carers 11 www.boltoncarers.org.uk Carer and Cared For event 12 or email us [email protected] Carers Learning Days 13 Other Carers Activity Groups 14 - 15 Carers Helpline - 24/7 Call 9am - 5pm weekdays for any caring related query or to talk to someone in confidence. Call evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays if an emergency. 01204 363056 3 Welcome Welcome to our Summer issue of ‘Carers Contact’, celebrating our 25th year of supporting carers. We have been asking many of you how you have benefitted from the support and advice we have been able to offer you – if you have access to the internet, why not take a look at the celebratory films we have Georgette Kay made (details in the box below). The impact and evaluation Chief Officer work which we have been undertaking since Carers Rights day in November 2018 is still ongoing, and we are looking at how we can develop our services to keep you as carers ‘connected and informed’ – see pages 18 and 19 for more information on how you can be involved. Carers Week runs from Monday 10th until Sunday 16th June this year, and the theme is getting ‘Carers connected in their communities’ – which fits in nicely with the work we are doing in Bolton. Turn to page 17 to see the range of opportunities available to meet carers in your local community, and to pages 10 - 12 for other events being held during Carers Week. Our five-year Big Lottery funding (which is now called the National Lottery Community Fund) comes to an end later this year. It currently funds our outings, events, courses, benefits advice, and outreach work including carers coffee mornings and information points. Alison, our Fundraising Development Officer, is working hard to identify further funding for us to apply for to enable us to continue to offer a range of valuable services for our carers. Responding to feedback from our members we are also in the process of making it much easier for our very generous supporters to raise money or donate to us, please see page 23 for more details. As always, please continue to contact our helpline with any caring related query, or to talk to someone in confidence. We wish you a warm and bright summer, and hope to see you at one of our events. Best wishes, Georgette Follow the links on You Tube to view the videos Bolton Carers Support - ‘Filling the empty Water Jug’ Bolton Carers Support - ‘About us’ 4 Notice-board Tonge Moor - Men in Sheds Are you interested in computers, model making, joinery, radio controlled vehicles, bike mechanics, darts, going on trips or fixing things? The group meet every Friday from 10am at the Tonge Moor UCAN Centre, The Old Tonge Moor Library, 269 Tonge Moor Rd, Bolton BL2 2LE. If you require any further information about the group, please contact (01204) 329563. Smithills Estate Dementia Friendly Walks and Activities Join the Woodland Trust and City of Trees for a monthly activity at Smithills Estate/Smithills Hall, designed to be accessible for anyone living with a diagnosis of dementia, their families and carers. Join them for indoor and outdoor nature-based activities that may improve health and wellbeing. Activities include walking, low-level practical conservation, and woodland crafts. All abilities are welcome to join in and have a go. If you would like to find out more about the activities please call 0330 333 5314 or email [email protected] 5 Notice-board Stroke Association Cafe - offering a fortnightly opportunity for stroke survivors and their carers to go along, grab a brew and chat with each other about life after stroke in a friendly social environment. The café will be held at Asda Burnden Park, Manchester Road, Bolton BL3 2QS - 11am to 12pm - Wednesdays 1st, 15th and 29th May, 12th and 26th June, 10th and 24th July then continuing fortnightly. For further details about the café, please contact Kathryn or Pamela (01204) 895940 or just go along! Halliwell Befriending Service CARERS LUNCH A safe and happy place to attend with the person you care for or time out for yourself to chat with others who understand. The Lunch group meets Mondays Monthly (phone for next date) 12 - 1pm at St Pauls Community Centre, Halliwell Road, Bolton BL1 8BP Free entry and lunch free for Carers. If you would like to find out more, please phone Halliwell Befriending Service (01204) 840808 6 Managing Stress Be active – exercise can help reduce stress and can help you to tackle any problems calmly. You don’t Melissa Taylor have to do a workout - a brisk walk in the park can Health Linkworker be just as good. Take control – no matter how difficult your problem may be, take control by breaking it down into manageable chunks and ask for help if you need it. For example, if you have times when you feel overwhelmed and unable to cope, think about what action you could take e.g. finding out about help in the home, taking action to manage debt, arranging a break. When you take control you will begin to feel more positive because you are doing something to address the problem. Talk things through – we all need a support network and when you are caring for someone it becomes even more important to talk things through regularly. Give our Helpline a call on 01204 363056 for a listening ear or to arrange a one to one appointment to discuss your caring role. It really is ‘good to talk’. Extend yourself – learning something new gives you a new interest and enthusiasm. There are lots of interesting courses at :- Bolton Community College www.boltoncollege.ac.uk Bolton University www.bolton.ac.uk Enjoy Learning www.enjoy-learning.org.uk University of the Third Age, www.u3asites.org.uk/bolton/welcome and local history and other groups. Alternatively, why not consider coming along to one of our short courses – meet new friends and relax in a supportive environment (please see page 13). 7 Take a ‘glass half full’ approach – at the end of each day take a few minutes to reflect on 3 things that you feel grateful for or that went well. By making a conscious effort to appreciate the good things in your life you can feel more positive. Yes, it’s very hard sometimes to focus on the good things but life is not a dress rehearsal and each day is precious. Accept the things you cannot change – changing a difficult situation isn’t always possible. If this proves to be the case, recognise this and accept things as they are and concentrate on everything that you do have control over. Mental Health Practitioners (MHP) Based within GP practices, MHPs are experienced, qualified mental health specialists employed by the Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust and commissioned by Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group. They are working as part of a neighbourhood of practices and run clinics for patients across Bolton. MHPs can be your first point of contact at your GP practice for any mental health issue such as anxiety, depression or low mood. You do not have to see a doctor first. MHPs are experts in managing symptoms of mental health. They can offer a longer appointment than the 10 minute appointment with a GP so spend more time exploring your symptoms/problems, help develop management plans and provide specialist advice/ongoing referrals where required. If you feel you need someone to talk to about mental health please call your GP practice and a member of the reception staff can arrange an appointment with the most appropriate person. Melissa Taylor, Health Linkworker post funded by: Bolton Carers Support/NHS Bolton CCG Email: [email protected] Tel: 01204 363056/462157 www.boltoncarers.org.uk 8 Time for You Sitting Service Project “The Sitting Service for Carers has been an interesting challenge so far. What started out as a blank piece of paper to develop a totally new service has grown slowly since last August to support 7 carers on a regular basis. I quickly realised that this role was, in effect, two roles. I had two hats - project co-ordinator and volunteer co-ordinator. To make this service a success then having a volunteer Laurent - service running alongside was paramount. Time For You As we speak, thanks mainly to the carers contact magazine Project Worker and family members who have felt inspired to offer their time and support, we have a growing number of volunteers who are happy to give up their free time. Initially during the setting up of the service, I envisaged that a carer would want a sitter for an hour or two on a weekly basis.