Mark recently spoke to us about his volunteering story with Deafblind UK and Learn to Love to Read. We spoke about his experience with volunteering and how he found using the Wandsworth Care Alliance Volunteering Wandsworth website.

Mark found the volunteer Wandsworth website in one of our newsletters. Later, he went back to the website looking for interesting volunteering opportunities. He found the website easy to use and was interested in face-to face volunteering and found he could easily navigate through the website to find what he was interested in doing in the local area.

He was first inspired to volunteer during lockdown, where he had more free time available. He also found inspiration from seeing his friend who has dementia, after seeing his isolation it made him think if he could just give some of his time back to someone it would make a difference even if it was an hour or so, it would be better than not doing it at all.

Him and his son carried out door to door volunteering activities during the COVID period and this led Mark wanting to do more. He realised that not many people know about support services available and he wanted to help, so people can find the support that’s out there for them.

Mark now volunteers with Deafblind UK where he does telephone befriending. He started speaking to two people and now has been speaking to one person for almost 3 and a half years. He also volunteers with Learn to Love to Read and does online reading sessions with them. He really enjoys it as it is also remote which means he can fit it into his day easily.

Mark noticed that doing online reading with children was interesting as he reads to children where English may not be their first language at home. He says it’s challenging but he enjoys it and says the charity provide him with so much fantastic support.

Mark says “giving an hour to a kid in a week where they normally wouldn’t be doing any other reading or wouldn’t be engaged in the thought of reading is great as watching the kids learn is amazing and seeing their progression each session in addition to the work in school they are doing is good to watch them grow.”

Mark described his experience with both charities as really great in terms of the way they made sure he was really supported in his volunteering and they were always available if he ever needed guidance, advice or tips.

Mark found both the charities supportive, flexible, and found they gave fantastic guidance for the volunteers. They made volunteers feel valued and appreciated by the work they are carrying out and it was nice.

We asked Mark “what encouragement would he give to somebody that’s never considered volunteering in the borough?”

Mark said: “I would say from my experience I would wholeheartedly recommend people getting involved even if they didn’t think that they can do much or spend much time on volunteering, that will be precious and valuable to not only the charity but whichever group of people or type of person they’re supporting, it ultimately adds up and makes a difference. If you as a person can lend your support even to a small degree, it will all add up and it’s going to be better than doing nothing.”

We asked Mark:

What are the three rewards you get from volunteering?

1. An opportunity to do something positive
2. Allows you to show compassion and care
3. Broaden your horizons and knowledge

Would you like to volunteer locally? Explore on Volunteering Wandsworth.

Take advantage of the South West London (SWL) NHS race and ethnicity in the work place research and get free access to the innovative online tools from Flair. The SWL Integrated Care Board (ICB) has commissioned 15,000 responses to a Flair questionnaire to really understand what staff’s experiences around racism are within health and social care work places in South West London. 

They want to open that up to voluntary sector organisations for free. You only need to submit an Expression of interest (form attached below) to susan.emina@swlondon.nhs.uk by 17th May 2024 and identify a lead person within your group who will follow up on any findings. 

By taking part, you will be able to receive a personalised report on what is happening within your own organisation, have the opportunity to discuss the findings with the local SWL ICB lead and decide on an action if needed. You will also be able to compare your findings with the data from the wider system.

The data collected across the system is anonymised before being given to the ICS for the wider report.

A webinar will be organised for all the organisations that expressed interest in taking part to provide more details and answer any questions you might have. 

Mental health is an incredibly important topic. Encouraging children and young people to think about their mental health and wellbeing are vital skills you can teach them from a young age. As parents and carers, there are ways you can support children to give them the best chance to stay mentally healthy. It’s important to learn how to spot the signs when children are struggling and learn how to help them have good mental health. It is equally important to have good self-care tools as a parent/carer to look after your own mental health while caring for others.

Signs to look out for:

-Significant changes in behaviour, attitude, and mood

-Withdrawal from social situations and not wanting to do things they usually like

-Self-harm or neglecting themselves

-Ongoing difficulty with sleeping

Kooth is a great organisation that offers digital mental health support. They believe every young person has the right to thrive and access high quality mental health care. Their platform addresses various mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress, offering a safe space for young individuals to seek help and guidance. Kooth PLC also offers self-help ideas and tools to empower young people to manage their mental well-being.
Learn more.

Resources:

Keeping Families Together –Free night line service for parents and carers to support parents and carers who may need guidance or feel overwhelmed and need someone to talk to.

Youth social prescribing clinic – Discover how this clinic empowers young people to take control of their well-being.
Learn more.

Young Minds – They support the mental health and well-being of children and young people. They provide a wide range of services and resources, including online information and advice, helplines for both young people and parents. Their goal is to ensure that every young person gets the support they need to thrive mentally and emotionally.
Learn more.

Black Minds Matter – They work with young people and their communities across the London Borough of Wandsworth to improve Mental Health awareness, access and action.
Learn more.
 
Events:

Children and Young People’s Network Event – Come along to discuss, connect, collaborate, and champion the well-being of youngest community members. The topic of discussion will be violence and abuse against children and young people.
Get your free ticket and sign up today.

WCA Community Events – Keep an eye out for any events happening in the local area.
Find out more.

If you have any questions or resources to include in this article please contact communications@wandcareall.org.uk.

Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be caused naturally and by human activity. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land and can greatly impact the health of human-beings causing respiratory issues and other diseases.

Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) data show that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds the WHO guidelines limits and contains high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures.

Vulnerable groups include children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with long-term conditions. The Greater London Authority estimated that in 2019 the equivalent of between 3,600 to 4,100 deaths were attributable to air pollution in the city. More needs to be done to help tackle local air pollution and raise health awareness.

Protecting yourself from air pollution:

It’s important if you are vulnerable to protect yourself appropriately. During periods of high pollution, you should try to avoid extended time outdoors, by limiting your time spent outdoors it can help reduce the amount of air pollutants inhaled and the negative impacts on your health. However, it is important to remember that exercise is important for good health, and everyone should be encouraged to walk and exercise regularly.

There are several services that are available to make it easier to track when it is best to go outdoors and to track when the pollution levels are high or low. You’re able to download the ‘London Air’ app, which is available on iPhone and android. This app will provide a detailed breakdown of London’s pollution levels and gives you alerts on what’s going on.

There is also ‘airtext’ available which is a service you can use for daily air quality and pollution levels in your area. It is a free SMS and online alert system.

Resources:

Hammersmith and Fulham Asthma + Lung UK support group: Make new friends who know what you’re going through and learn more about living with a lung condition.
Learn more.

Mums for Lungs: A organisation who care about air pollution for mums, children, and babies in particular.
Learn more.

Events:



Hearts and Lungs Singing group: A fun, friendly and therapeutic singing group for cardiac and respiratory patients based in Tooting, London.

Help them continue their vital work, donate today.

We live and breathe: An organisation coming together to fight for change and making noise for clean air specifically in the South London area. Learn more here.

Do you have more information or resources we can add to this article? Email communications@wandcareall.org.uk, and let’s support each other.

On Wednesday 27th March 2024 we attended an event hosted by Croydon BME and Macmillan Cancer Support who have partnered together to create a project called ‘Can You C Me’.

What is this project about?

There are disproportionate barriers in accessing quality health care and support systems for Black and Asian people experiencing cancer. This project aims to tackle health inequalities and improve cancer care for black and ethnic minorities affected by cancer across South West London. Can You C Me aims to address the unique needs and challenges of this group by offering:

• Counselling referrals and mentoring
• Peer support
• Signposting
• Wellbeing advice and guidance
• Health promotion
• Support groups
• Conferences and seminars

Their passionate and compassionate team goes out in the community to mosques, churches, temples, libraries, and other common spaces to offer their services and encourage early detection. The support they offer is rooted in community and tailored to individuals’ needs.

If you, a loved one, or a community member are interested in Can You C Me, please contact them by emailing macmillanteam@bmeforum.org.