Wandsworth Care Alliance

The unsung heroes: the vital role of unpaid carers

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We all care for someone, but the word ‘carer’ is defined under the Care Act as anyone who, without payment, looks after a person who cannot cope without their support. Carers might care for someone who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction. The person a carer looks after doesn’t have to be a family member or partner; they could be a friend or neighbour.

There is often confusion because the word ‘carer’ is also used to describe another group of amazing people who do paid work for care agencies or care homes, also known as care workers. For this reason, carers are often referred to as unpaid carers, family carers or informal carers. Carers often get great personal satisfaction from caring, but it can bring financial, emotional, and physical strains.

A carer can be of any age and it’s estimated there are as many as 600 children and young people with caring responsibilities in Wandsworth (Working Together to Support Carers and Young Carers in Wandsworth 2017-2020).

According to the national charity Carers UK, unpaid carers in England and Wales contribute a staggering £445 million to the economy every day (Valuing Carers 2021, Petrillo and Bennett).

Carers week is a UK-wide awareness campaign seeking to increase visibility for carers with decision makers, services, employers, communities, and businesses. This year’s carers week is taking place from 10–16 June 2024 and the theme is ‘putting carers on the map’.

If you are a carer or know someone who is, there is help available locally. Take a look at the information and resources below to find out more:

  • Wandsworth Carers Centre offers support to carers in the local community. Visit their website to see the amazing services they offer.
  • Carers are entitled to an assessment. An assessment is a chance for carers to think about themselves, their wishes and their needs, rather than concentrating on the person they care for.  Find out more about the assessment process by visiting the Wandsworth Council website or visiting Wandsworth Carers Centre information page.
  • The Wandsworth Carers Centre offers information and advice on a whole range of topics including benefits and finances, making a plan for what would happen to the cared for person in an emergency, and looking after your own wellbeing.
  • The Carers Centre has a packed calendar of events from supper clubs to specialist support groups, from training to trips out.
  • Carers Partnership Wandsworth brings together organisations and carers throughout the borough to make carers more visible and ensure that services are developed with carers in mind. You can find out more here.

Looking to help out carers in the local community? Contact the Wandsworth Carers Centre for ideas about how to volunteer with them in a range of roles.

Written by Nada Savitch (Healthwatch Wandsworth volunteer).

*We aim to support and elevate the role of carers in all our communications. We recognise that ‘Carers’ has increasingly been referred to with a capitalised ‘C’ to honour their invaluable contributions. The current usage of it is in lower case as it’s not yet widely recognised and practiced.

Empowering Roehampton: Estate Art Community Champions

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Community Champions are volunteers in Wandsworth who help support community members and encourage healthy life style choices.

Recently, Estate Art took part in our Community Champions programme over 2022/23, recruiting 20 Champions who would be supporting the Roehampton community. These Champions were all MECC (Make Every Contact Count) trained and all either had or applied for a basic DBS check, ensuring they felt safe and prepared for any situation they may encounter.

Estate Art is a non-for-profit organisation who were first set up during COVID to help members of the Roehampton community with their physical and mental health through art. They are committed to enabling a person’s full potential, and developing community cohesion, through creative community-led projects.

“(Being a health champion) has taught me how to appropriately discuss health, improvements and issues members of our community may be facing via the use of correct language and open-ended questions and it has taught me all about the inequalities in health and barriers people are facing throughout the UK which has allowed me to understand and support people from all walks of life and backgrounds”. 

Our Community Champions are supporting community health and wellbeing through regular group wellbeing activities such as community building, Health Cafés, yoga classes, Walks with a Champion, and community outreach.

The outcomes have been very successful as it included improved mental wellbeing and physical activity of participants, as well as opportunities to signpost community members to local services. Through the funded activities, the Health Champions and the Founder of Estate Art were approached for help by individuals and provided signposting to appropriate healthcare, mental health, or social support services. Over 100 Roehampton residents have been supported through signposting and advocating their cases with 8 different agencies from hospitals to Wandsworth Council to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).

“Becoming a health champion has helped to broaden my social circle and increase my confidence, after suffering a traumatic experience. Gaining new skills and qualifications has also served to increase my level of confidence and happiness and the personal and professional support given has boosted my mental health.”

Some of the key outcomes Estate Art and the Roehampton area saw because of the Champions programme includes:

  • Bringing and increasing diagnostic screening to the community, which lead directly to new medical diagnoses.
  • Referring individuals to health providers and advocating for them in clearing barriers to accessing effective healthcare.
  • Facilitating contact between residents and health and wellbeing providers which built trust between the two sides and encouraged residents to speak up more.
  • Sharing health information and lifestyle advice to local residents and communities.
  • Conducting a health survey which help gave residents a voice and highlight the services needed in the area to tackle health inequalities – this information about unmet health needs in the community was provided to the South West London ICB.
  • Increasing the uptake of physical activity and sport through yoga and ‘Walk with a Champion’ sessions.

“Being a Health Champion has been an interesting addition to my life. It has given to me an opportunity to meet new people which I find very helpful as I am quite a shy person therefore it is hard for me to make friends. Attending regular walk on Mondays has been an enjoyable form of exercise for me. Thanks to Estate Art I have been able to improve my knowledge by accessing trainings such as Make Every Contact Count and Level 2 Understanding Health Improvement. But most importantly, being a Health Champion has given me a chance to help people who I come in touch with. Some of them need a chat while others need signposting to different services. To see a smile on their faces while enjoying Estate Art events makes me smile too. Knowing I can be useful and help someone is so rewarding.”

If you’re interested in becoming a Community Champion or learning more click here.

Addressing violence and abuse against children and young people

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Children and young people are the most vulnerable members of our society, yet many continue to suffer in silence from various forms of violence and abuse.

This topic requires urgent attention and action from individuals and communities. By shedding light on this problem and working together to address it’s root causes, we can create safer environments where children and young people can thrive.

Violence and abuse against children and young people can take many forms, including physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect.

The impact

According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated one billion children aged 2-17 worldwide are affected by violence each year. These experiences can have long-lasting and devastating effects on their physical health, mental well-being, and overall development.

Survivors of violence and abuse may experience mental health problems and without the appropriate support the problems can affect many aspects of their lives such as relationships, education, careers, and overall quality of life.

Prevention

Having appropriate systems and procedures in place can help massively in addressing the issue.The right education and awareness on children’s rights, healthy relationships can allow children to spot signs and report any concerns. Also creating supportive environments for children in schools, communities and homes is also important to allow them to feel comfortable to seek help or advice.

Support

There are various organisations that provide support, guidance, and a safe space to speak about any concerns you have.

The Cassandra Centre – they provide advice, support and counselling services for young people and families who are directly or indirectly involved in abusive relationships.

Britebox, Richmond Women’s Hub – provide support to women to enable them to thrive after experiencing domestic violence.

S.T.O.R.M Family Centre – they provide free counselling services art therapy and sensory therapy. Even if you are not a sufferer or survivor of domestic abuse, they can help with any issues you may be experiencing.

Do you have more resources to share on this article? Please email us on communications@wandcareall.org.uk to share resources.

Community champions help people feel healthier

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Community champions are volunteers helping people in Wandsworth to be happier and healthier by talking about preventable illnesses, encouraging the use of health services, and telling authorities what works for real people. This way, locals can get the help they need before illness becomes more serious and potentially life-threatening.

From 2022/23 WCA worked with Elays Network, a charity that works with the Wandsworth community to promote inclusion and reduce inequalities. Elays Network used a grant fund to recruit 9 Champions: 3 young people, 3 men (aged 34-40) and 3 women (aged 30-50). Their ethnic backgrounds included Arab, Northern African, Somalian and Middle Eastern, and they spoke 9 different languages between them.

By being diverse like the group that they were serving, the Champions knew more about the issues affecting the community and could build trust much quicker. Local people felt much more comfortable talking to people that looked or sounded like them, went to the same places, perhaps knew the same people and community spaces.

The Champions were trained by a local Somalian GP. They learnt how it was better to address and reduce preventable health conditions rather than leave it until it became too late and try to treat the problem. This attitude from the Champions has given participants the knowledge that it is easier to get guidance and medication at an earlier stage, and the Champions believe they will see a decrease in severe symptoms and overall cases over a longer period of time.

One issue they found was that there were lots of gyms available, but they were generally very expensive for most people, or extremely busy and put-off newer, less-confident members. As a result, the Champions managed to find a women’s only activity session every Tuesday and Friday which was much less busy, and the single-sex event helped many women to join.

The Champions also helped start a weekly yoga session followed by a chat and a hot drink for women in the local community. One woman has shared that this session has made her feel younger, allowed her to be more able to do her day-to-day activities and is generally much happier. Another participant even described the programme as having changed her life.

*The Champions have supported health sessions with Healthwatch Wandsworth and Wandsworth Workmatch.

Through their work, the Elays Network Community Champions have taken a holistic, whole person health approach and have been able to connect with a diverse and wider network of people in their community.

Voluntary Sector Accommodation Opportunity

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Give us your views on a new Wandsworth Town Hall voluntary community sector hub

Wandsworth Council is excited to announce a new 1,700sqft ground floor space at the Town Hall dedicated to a Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Hub. We invite local organisations to provide input on how this space can best serve their needs.

How to Give Feedback:

Online Survey: Take the survey.

Focus Group: Join the in-person session on May 24th. Sign up here.

For questions, email the Wandsworth Voluntary Sector team at voluntarysectorteam@wandsworth.gov.uk.

For more information please find flyer here: VCS Hub – Wandsworth Town Hall

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