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Coronavirus Update Joint statement

Coronavirus Update Joint statement Maureen O’Malley –Charity Manager and Linda Jones- Chair of VASL Trustee Board

VASL is a local charity based in Market Harborough, providing services and projects to improve the lives of people in our community.

These include support for family carers, young carers, older people who are lonely and isolated, providing volunteer transport to get people out and about, and activities and information to increase mental well-being.

We are a volunteer-involving organisation and most of our work is delivered by trained volunteers.

We are currently taking the necessary immediate and longer-term steps to support and protect our clients, volunteers, staff and partners from the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak, which is happening in the UK, Europe and around the World.

Our focus is to keep our services running, particularly those supporting vulnerable people: such as those using our carers support, mental health support, befriending services, and community transport.

At present, our priority is ensuring staff can run our critical services – Support for Carers, Young Carers, My Mind Matters, Community Champions, and VASL Community Transport.

VASL, like any organisation, has a duty of care towards the staff that work for the charity, our volunteers, and to the people that use our services. We have taken the step of temporarily closing our headquarters at Torch House and making some adjustments to the way we work and the services that we offer.

VASL staff will be working from home
VASL offices based at Torch House will be closed with immediate effect.

We are:

Looking at how we can protect the most vulnerable in our community
Minimising meetings in line with Government guidance
Cancelling all public events, groups, and gatherings, such as VASL Young Carers Group, Community Champions gatherings, and Carers groups.
Minimising face-to-face contact with vulnerable individuals ie. persons over 70 years old and those that we are aware may have underlying health issues

We will be:

maintaining VASL services wherever possible
Continuing to offer support via the telephone, email, and social media
Liaising with other local groups and organisations to offer advice and support to the community in the coming weeks.

We are still in the early days of the Coronavirus outbreak within the UK and things will become clearer regarding the needs, working methods, and services that we can offer. We will post regular updates on our website to keep you informed.

In the meantime, a summary of our services is as follows:

Support for Carers

Telephone: 01858 468543

Email: maureen@supportforcarers.org

Young Carers

Tel: 01858 439268

Email: youngcarers@vasl.org.uk

My Mind Matters

Tel: 01858 411383

Email: mindmatters@vasl.org.uk

Community Champions

Tel: 01858 439262

Email: champions@vasl.org.uk

VASL Transport Scheme

Tel: 01858 468499

Email: transport@vasl.org.uk

VASL main contact details:

Tel: 01858 433232

Email: admin@vasl.org.uk

www.vasl.org.uk

Carer Groups Postponed

Kerry Turnbull our Support for Carers Leicestershire Manager has made the decision today that our carers groups across the County will be postponed until further notice due to the Coronavirus. This includes the carers café at Waitrose in Market Harborough. We do apologise for the inconvenience however we recognise our Carers are already looking after our most vulnerable people in our community and their own health is very important to us.

I would also like to add that our telephone advice and support line is and will be in operation, Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm if anyone would like to contact us for advice, information and support then please give the team a call on 01858 468543 we are her to help.

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VASL Annual Review 2019 now out

VASL (Voluntary Action South Leicestershire), the charity behind Support for Carers, has just released its annual review for 2019. Read it by clicking HERE

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VASL, the charity behind Support for Carers, is seeking Trustees

Do you want to make a difference to those in need in your community?

Do you have some time to give to your local charity?

Do you have skills and experience that you can share with us?

VASL is a charity based at Torch House near the Leisure Centre in Market Harborough. We provide a range of excellent services to the communities of Harborough District, including:

Social transport for those with mobility problems
Community Champions for isolated, older people
My Mind Matters to support and advise people with concerns about their mental health
A group for young carers
We also have a contract with Leicestershire County Council to provide Support for Carers; we support over 8,000 family Carers across Leicestershire.

We are looking for new trustees to join our small, committed and friendly Board of Trustees/ Directors. You do not need previous experience of being a trustee; many find that they bring transferable skills from other walks of life, such as budget setting and oversight, planning and prioritising resources and activities.

We are committed to diversity and aim to ensure that the composition of the Board of Trustees reflects the community at large.

All potential trustees should be able to commit time to attend a full Board meeting every two months. Trustees are also encouraged to join at least one sub-committee (currently Finance and HR) and participate in joint working groups with the staff.

These posts are unpaid but reasonable expenses will be paid. Applicants will be asked to submit a CV, complete an application form and a short skills audit.

For more information about us, visit our website at [url=http://www.vasl.org.uk ]http://www.vasl.org.uk [/url];

For an informal discussion please contact our Chair, Linda Jones, via VASL on 01858 433232.

For further information, and to apply, please contact Maureen O’Malley on 01858 433232 or email momalley@vasl.org.uk

Closing date: 20th March 2020

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Carers Rights Day

Come down to our offices at Torch House, Torch Way, Northampton Road, Market Harborough LE16 9HL on Thursday 21st November where we're holding an information event for carers. Standholders will include Healthwatch, PoWher, Enrych, Warm Homes, I-Form Legal, the Carers Assessment team from LCC, Age UK, Harborough Lifeline, Care Home Selection and Nic Tate-Bohannon, the LAC for Market Harborough and many more. The event is on from 10:30am - 12:30pm. No need to stay for the whole lot, just drop in and out as you feel like it. Plenty of parking at the Rugby Club car park.