News items from April 2013
Top tips for staying healthy
Here are a few things you may find useful, to help you stay healthy - physically, mentally and emotionally.
Being a carer is emotionally and physically draining and will bring about change in your life, with losses and gains. Be kind to yourself and don’t feel you have to be a hero.
Remember you are on a journey. Journeys have a beginning, middle and end.
There will be times when being a carer feels overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. You have more power than you think to direct and control the journey you are on. You don’t have to be a passive passenger.
Caring for someone means you are ‘running a marathon, not a sprint‘ so you need to pace yourself and conserve your energy. If you run ‘flat out’ at the beginning, you’ll have little energy left to cope with the rest of the race.
Remember the 51% rule: You need to apportion the right to accept or decline responsibility for others without GUILT.
Don’t be a hero - ask for help from services and find out as much information about the illness as you can. Increasing your understanding will calm your worries and fears.
Attend any courses that might help you learn coping skills including online learning.
Avoid people and places that stress you. It’s better to avoid them than struggle to deal with the after effects. Spend time with people who are kind and compassionate and care about you.
Practise asking for or telling others what you want - people can’t read your mind and it helps them if you say want you want.
Don’t bottle your feelings up. You’ll only end up taking it out on others or someone close to you. Remember the golden rule - “You’ve got to feel it to heal it.”
Get creative – sing, dance, draw, paint, garden…whatever helps.
Talk to someone you trust regularly.
Try keeping a journal…write it out.
Laugh and cry …don’t bottle it up.
‘Circle of Breath’ breathing technique for relaxation: Sitting upright in a chair, or lying down, breath in for a count of 4 - filling deep down into the belly, so that it expands. Hold the breath for a count of 4, and then exhale slowly over a count of 8 or longer if possible. Repeat up to 10 times.
If things are really difficult consider talking to a counsellor or psychotherapist about how you are feeling. There are counsellors at all GP’s surgeries.
Take up Mindfulness Meditation which is known to reduce stress, improve mental well being and prevent physical illness. This can help to stop ruminations leaving space and peace, and you ‘mindful’ rather than having your ‘mind full.’ You can find out more at: www.bemindful.co.uk
For more information, advice and tips, take a look at the Mental Health Foundation website - including their range of wellbeing podcasts.
Dementia awareness events
Organisations including the Alzheimer's Society, Dementia Action Alliance, Leicestershire Constabulary, Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council have come together to hold dementia awareness events around the county throughout May.
The events will promote the Alzheimer's Society 'Dementia Friendly Communities' and 'Dementia Friends' initiatives, as well as safety in the community and local services supporting people with dementia and their carers. Dementia Friends information sessions will also be available at each event, you can find out more and register at www.dementiafriends.org.uk
Market Harborough - Thursday 23 May, 10.30am to 1.30pm, The Three Swans Hotel, Main St, Market Harborough, LE16 7NJ
Hinckley - Tuesday 21 May, 10.30am to 1.30pm, The Atkins Building, Lower Bond St, Hinckley, LE10 1QU
Leicester City - Wednesday 22 May, 4pm to 7pm, Town Hall, Town Hall Square, Leicester, LE1 9BG
To find out more, please call the Leicestershire and Rutland branch of the Alzheimer's Society on 0116 231 1111.
Pampering sessions for carers - book now!
We're very pleased to say we've been given funding to continue our pampering sessions for carers - offering complementary therapies like massage (back, neck and shoulders), Reflexology, Indian head massage and Reiki.
Funding for the project has come from several sources including The Market Harborough and the Bowdens Charity, Leicestershire County Council (Shire Grant) and Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation (Meggitt Trust Fund), together with donations from carers themselves.
Treatments are free, but we ask carers for a voluntary donation of £5 to £10 - to show funders that we're also raising our own funds for the project.
Sessions will be held at the St John's Ambulance Headquarters, Abbey Street, Market Harborough on 14th May, 11th June, 9th July, 13th August and 10th September, run by professionally qualified therapists.
Please note: sessions are by appointment only and due to their popularity, we won't be able to take bookings more than two months in advance, to make sure everyone has the opportunity to receive a treatment. Sessions run from 9.50am to 12.30pm and appointments can be made within these times, with each treatment lasting around 30 to 40 minutes.
Refreshments will also be available.
To find out more or to book an appointment please call Diane Claridge from Support for Carers on 0845 689 9510 or email [email protected]
Free education programme for mental health carers
We run a free education programme for mental health carers in Leicestershire and Rutland. The programme is confidential and aims to help carers look after their own health and wellbeing whilst understanding more about mental illness and the support services available both locally and nationally. In addition, the programme is a chance for carers to get together and share experiences and help one another. Overall, we hope the programme will help carers to feel more confident and empowered and able to make positive changes in their caring role. Download our leaflet to find out more
Next programme
The next programme will start on 6th November and will run on Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 8.30pm at Gorse Covert Community Centre, Maxwell Drive, Loughborough for eight weeks.
If you'd like to find out more please call Nicky Daly, our Carers' Mental Health Support & Educational Officer, for an informal chat on 07847 228 737 (please leave a message if Nicky doesn't answer and she'll call you back as soon as she can) or email [email protected]
The programme is for anyone supporting someone with serious mental illness and aims to:
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Help you understand mental illness and health
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Find ways to look after your own wellbeing and health
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Feel empowered to make positive choices
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Help you learn new coping strategies
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Feel less isolated
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Access a support network
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Meet other carers supporting someone with mental illness
Feedback from carers who have attended previous programmes
The carers who have attended our courses so far have said they really enjoy them.
Click here to read their feedback
Recommended reading
The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life’s Challenges by Paul Gilbert
“How to use compassion to develop happiness, self acceptance and well being.”
If you've read a book you've found helpful, why not let us know?
Affected by the new ‘Bedroom Tax’?
If you've been affected by the new 'Bedroom Tax' you have one month from the date on the letter from your council to appeal the decision. Carers UK has put together a toolkit to help - available on its website.
Carers UK warns of âwider family impactâ of disability benefit changes
Carers UK has warned that the start of changes to disability benefits on Monday 8th April, marks the start of ‘years of anxiety’ for families caring for disabled people, as hundreds of thousands face losing support.
For people of working age, the Government is replacing Disability Living Allowance, the main benefit for disabled people which gives support for the extra costs of disability, with a new benefit – Personal Independence Payment. The changes are being rolled out gradually and will not be complete until 2018.
The new benefit will include a new, tougher assessment, and Government figures estimate that this would lead to 600,000 fewer disabled people receiving support by the time the changes are complete in 2018.
The Government has committed to review the changes in 2015, but even the first stage of implementation of Personal Independence Payment will mean that 300,000 fewer disabled people will be entitled to support by 2015.
Carers UK has also highlighted analysis published by the Government in February, which shows that almost 10,000 fewer carers will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance because the person they care for will not have entitlement to support under the new system.
To help, Carers UK has produced essential advice resources including a plain-English guide to the benefit changes and new Factsheets for carers and disabled people on the new shape of disability benefits.
You can read the story in full on the Carers UK website
Help shape Leicestershire County Council’s Equality Strategy
Leicestershire County Council is asking anyone with an interest or involvement in its work, related to equality, diversity, community cohesion or human rights, to help shape its Equality Strategy 2013-2016.
The Council would like to know how you think it can reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination and continue to build good relationships with the range of communities and individuals it works with.
The consultation runs until Thursday 16th May 2013 and you can have your say in writing or over the phone. Your views will help the Council make sure its services and employment practices are fair and inclusive for all.
Please visit the Council's website to find out more
New Carers Charter for Leicestershire
The Leicestershire Carers Charter has been developed as a result of one of the actions promised in the Joint Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Carers Strategy 2012 -2015.
The charter has seven promises; written by carers, for carers. Each of the leading health & social care organisations who signed the Charter promised that they will:
• Recognise and Value Carers
• Recognise Young Carers
• Inform and Advise Carers
• Help and Support Carers
• Involve Carers in Developing Services
• Support Carers in Employment
• Involve Carers in Care Planning and Discharge
The Charter has been developed by the Leicestershire LINk Carers Task Group, which was made up of carers together with voluntary and statutory organisations.
Work has now begun to develop how staff within Leicestershire County Council will be working to implement the promises made in the Charter.
Click here to read the Charter
New venue for revamped Alzheimer’s support group
There's a story in today's Harborough Mail which we thought it would be useful to pass on:
A new venue and a relaunch has been announced for a carers’ support group in Harborough.
The Alzheimer’s Society group, for carers of people with dementia in Market Harborough, is relocating and is being re-launched by the charity.
The peer support group, which previously met at Harborough Congregational Church, will now meet at Harborough Methodist Church in Northampton Road on the first Friday of every month, from 10am to midday.
Group sessions provide an opportunity for carers to socialise and get much-needed face-to-face support. The relaunched group next meets this Friday (April 5) and will include a guest speaker from a local pharmacy.
In the next few months the group will hear from a variety of guest speakers, including health and social care professionals and representatives from the community about topics and services relevant to them.
Click here to read the article in full
New service: Free Mental Health Education Programme for carers
We’ve recently launched an education programme for mental health carers in Leicestershire and Rutland. The programme is free and confidential and aims to help carers look after their own health and wellbeing whilst understanding more about mental illness and the support services available both locally and nationally. In addition, the programme is a chance for carers to get together and share experiences and help one another. Overall, we hope the programme will help carers to feel more confident and empowered and able to make positive changes in their caring role.
The programme runs for 8 weeks, with each session lasting two and a half hours. We’re planning to run the programme in the daytime and evening, so as many carers as possible can attend. Sessions include understanding more about recovery and relapse and how to manage it, how to cope with challenging behaviour and crisis and the impact mental illness can have on carers and families.
Anyone who is supporting someone with a mental illness, or whose life is affected by it, is welcome to come along to the sessions, including partners, family members and friends.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, with mental illness also having a huge impact on carers and families. We’re already supporting hundreds of mental health carers in Leicestershire, so you’re definitely not alone.
We’re currently running our first programme in Broughton Astley, on a Tuesday evening, and this will be followed very quickly by another one, somewhere else in Leicestershire. We’ll let you know more details very soon, as soon as we’ve confirmed the date, time and venue.
If you’re interested in coming along or you’d like to find out more, please call Nicky Daly on 07847 228737 or email [email protected]
Download our Mental Health Education Programme leaflet for more details
Tell us what you think of our service
We're asking carers what they think of the service we provide, so we can continue to improve what we do, now and in the future.
We would be very grateful if you could help us by filling in a quick survey, it will only take a few minutes, and your feedback is really valuable to us.
Please note: the survey will download automatically to your computer as a Word document.
Please email your completed survey to [email protected] or if you'd prefer to fill it in by hand, you can post it to:
Pat Wilkins
Support for Carers
Voluntary Action South Leicestershire
The Settling Rooms, St Mary’s Place
Springfield Street, Market Harborough
Leicestershire, LE16 7DR
Many thanks for your help.
Job Vacancy - would you like to join the Support for Carers team?
We're looking for a Carers Delivery Officer to join our team. The job involves supporting adult carers throughout Leicestershire, via our telephone helpline and carers' support groups, whilst helping to deliver our services to a consistently high standard.
We're looking for someone with a knowledge and understanding of the issues carers can face and you would also need to have at least 2 years experience within the voluntary or public sector, in a paid or voluntary capacity.
This is a part time role (1 year contract) and you'd be asked to work 19 hours a week - on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 5pm and on Fridays from 10am to 4.30pm (including half an hour unpaid lunch break). In return, we're offering a salary of £22,000 pro rata, per annum and the chance to work as part of a friendly, dedicated team.
To find out more and for an application pack please call 01858 433232 or email [email protected]
Closing date for applications: 8th April 2013 at 5pm
Interview date: 17th April 2013
(If you have not heard back by this date this will mean you have not been successful)
