Cross Gates & District Good Neighbours Scheme Celebrating ten years Annual Report

Transcription

1 Cross Gates & District Good Neighbours Scheme Celebrating ten years Annual Report

2 Celebrating ten years Cross Gates & District Good Neighbours Scheme exists for older people in the area. In our volunteers words we aim to be: An oasis in the desert that old age sometimes is. A reason to go on getting out of bed in the morning. A place of new beginnings. Thank you to the funders for continued investment during a time of uncertainty. Our service users, volunteers, local councillors and our MP George Mudie for ongoing support. Voluntary Action Leeds, WYCAS and Pay & Employment Rights Service for expert advice. Carole Gosden for consultancy work on the lottery application and tender submission and to St Theresa s Parish for continued hospitality in the Newman Centre. 2 Everyone is welcome at Cross Gates Good Neighbours. It does not matter if you can hear, see, walk or remember where you come from. Everyone gets a warm welcome. Maureen Burroughs, Service User

3 A word from... Thank you to all our volunteers, members and funders for continuing to support us through difficult times. The new funding from Leeds City Council and our successful lottery application will give us extra capacity and a stable foundation to develop our services over the next three years. Thank you too, to Doug Chadwick and Anita Smith for writing the story of how it all began - available from the office. Ten years on there is a lot to celebrate! On all our behalf I say Thank You to all of the people past and present who helped to make such a good thing happen for older people in the area. William Hyde Chair We are still growing and still working hard to make life less lonely and more enjoyable, for as many older people in the area as possible. That is our challenge for the next ten years, to reach out to more of the older people in the area, especially the housebound. Thank you as always, from both Claire and myself for your great support. Moira Flynn Manager 3

4 4 Of the 650 plus people on our mailing list, a quarter attend our weekly activities on a regular basis. Of those regular attenders more than half are aged eighty or over.

5 Reducing loneliness and isolation Fifty per cent of people over the age of 80 report that they feel lonely, according to a review of the evidence by Age UK. To reduce loneliness and isolation: We send a volunteer driver to transport in those people who could not make it otherwise. We send a volunteer befriender to visit once a week for an hour or so, to those people who can t come out. We call people from the office during illness when they can t come in. We make an extra effort to include people with memory loss and dementia, as these increase loneliness for both the person with the illness and their carer, if they have one. Our star team of volunteer drivers are experienced and able to support people who need extra help, to access the opportunities we offer. They provide a regular friendly face and oversight, as well as transport, so this is a very important role We need more people with the patience and skill it takes, so do get in touch if that sounds like you! Leeds Convalescent Society have repeat funded this vital service enabling us to keep costs low, which is an important part of our making our activities as accessible as possible. We transport 37 different people into our activities on a weekly basis giving an average of 50 return journeys each week. 5

6 6 The one-to-one work we do increased in the second half of the year when we secured funding to increase Claire s hours, from Jimbo s and the Allen Lane Foundation. Increasingly as we work with frailer people this part of our work becomes more vital and time consuming.

7 Supporting independence We run an Information and Advice Service from our Centre which is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Call us on Visit us to browse our leaflet library and talk to staff Sign up for our quarterly newsletter where we advertise talks and services visiting the Drop-In Visit We keep information on cleaning, gardening, specialist equipment, winter warmth, housing options, home security, finance and healthy lifestyle and will always research an issue for you, or signpost you to the most appropriate service if we can t help you ourselves. We help with form filling and understanding letters, and support you if you need help in communicating with other services - and don t have family to help. We provide a listening ear and confidential space to talk things through, when that is all you need to enable you to go on managing independently. 1,956 telephone enquiries received during the year. It has helped her to make many friends... and provided her with invaluable practical advice and support. Richard Breen, family member, sums up the value of our service for his mother since his father s death. 7

8 8 Some of our Out and About short walks group at Abbey House Gardens

9 Keeping healthy Keeping active and involved is the key to staying physically and mentally well and independent for as long as possible so we try to make it as much fun as possible! Our weekly EXTEND exercise group and Cross Country Walking group both offer the chance of company and friendship, as well as exercise, which we think is why you keep coming! We regularly focus on health themes at the Drop-In and in our newsletter, as well as sometimes more intensively at a major event like the well attended one we held in April 2011 with information stalls, blood pressure checks and a healthy lunch. Stroke Association and Church View Surgery gave us welcome support by providing staff for the blood pressure checks and Ison Harrison Solicitors, kindly funded the event. Taking responsibility for health and well being becomes even more important in the face of the challenges that getting older brings. Four of our over 90s attend the exercise class regularly setting us all a very encouraging example. It is never too early or too late to start! Cross Gates Good Neighbours provides an essential service for older people in the vicinity. It helps to prevent the physical and mental decline of older people. Local Community Mental Health Nurse 9

10 10 75% of our volunteer team are aged 60 plus 30% are male 90% are from the area

11 Lifelong learning Getting older is not all about memories and looking back. One of the benefits it brings is increased time to: Try out new things, just for the fun of it! We offer creative writing, arts and crafts, painting and drawing and cryptic crossword groups - all of which are flourishing. This is thanks to people who are happy to share their enthusiasm for an interest or hobby. We would love to extend this list further, so if there is something you could offer, do please get in touch. Get more involved in the community! Volunteer with a group you think does good work. Support their fundraising or contribute in kind. Give your opinion on local services. Consider taking responsibility as a trustee or forum member, perhaps on a citywide group. If you would like to get more involved with us or be put in touch with other groups that could use your skills do please get in touch. So much happens at Cross Gates & District Good Neighbours Scheme because so many of you choose to get involved here, giving your time, skills, ideas and energies. A mentor who has helped you to learn something you have always wanted to do. Fella Yashpon, Cryptic Crossword class member 11

12 Cross Gates & District Good Neighbours Funders for the year April 2011 March 2012 Leeds City Council Adult Social Care and NHS Leeds, Lloyds TSB, The Allen Lane Foundation, Jimbo s Fund (formerly Hesco Bastion Fund), Ison Harrison, Leeds Convalescent Society, Wades, local Councillors, Age UK, Digital Outreach, Comic Relief, Cross Gates Methodist Church and last but not least, our service users for regular donations. Trustees Cllr Pauleen Grahame Brenda Hunn [resigned October 2011] William Hyde Jacki Lawrence Michael Lister Harry Midgley Irene Midgley Gill Patrick Jack Robertson Anita Smith Alan Wakefield Contact us Cross Gates & District Good Neighbours Scheme, Station Road, Leeds LS15 7JY admin@crossgatesgns.org.uk Registered Charity Number: