Carers Support (Bexley)

Carers’ Support (Bexley)

Annual Report

2016/17

Carers’ Support (Bexley)

Annual Report 2015/16

Carers’ Support (Bexley) is managed by a Management Committee consisting of volunteers who are directors of the company and trustees of the charity. They are responsible for the overall management of the organisation, determining policy and ensuring that it is implemented by the staff through the Chief Executive. They regularly review potential risks to the organisation and ensure that mitigating actions are undertaken and contingency plans are in place.

Management Committee

ChairNicola Fry

Vice ChairValerie King

MembersIris Benjafield

Carole Borella

Desma Brender (until February 2017)

Sally Ellis

Alison Cutting (Co-opted February 2017)

Staff Team

Chief ExecutiveDave Baker

Operations ManagerAlison Baker

Respite TeamHazel Grout (Respite Manager)

Margaret Arnold (Bexley Scheme Manager)

Maria Jenkins (Greenwich Scheme Manager)

Information and Support Manager: Felicity Packard

Information and Support WorkersBarbara Cooper, Claire Hunt

Office Manager:Pam Sloan

Office AssistantJenny Miller

Support Worker Service Co-ordinator:Victoria Baker

Support WorkersRhiannon Bernard, Shirley Fisher, Tracey Hale, Emily Hazel, Elepheria Karageorgis, Louise Kirkman, Elaine Meyer, Maxine Weston, Julia Yandle.

Incorporation

Carers’ Support (Bexley) is a company limited by guarantee, registration number 3709684 and a registered charity number 1075801.

Governing Document

The organisation is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association in which our objects are stated as: “To relieve physical, mental and material distress amongst the carers of persons who are frail, elderly, disabled, or adults and children with special needs, who live in the London Borough of Bexley and London Borough of Greenwich, by providing flexible home-based respite care, support and information for such carers to assist the carers and their dependents.”

Carers’ Support (Bexley)

The Manor House Grassington Road Sidcup Kent. DA14 6BY

How to contact us: Telephone: 020 8302 8011 Email:

Fax: 020 8300 3002

Carers’ Support (Bexley)

Our Vision

At Carers Support (Bexley) our vision is simple; we want to make a real difference to the lives of carers in Bexley and Greenwich. We are committed to tackling the isolation and loneliness that many carers feel by providing information, advice, support, respite and other services to those who dedicate their lives to caring for their loved ones. We pride ourselves in working with carers young and old, and their families, in a positive, responsive, professional and creative way to improve their lives.

...Putting Carers First

Our Values

People First – We recognise and value people as individuals with individual needs and feelings and we are committed to providing flexible and creative services in response. Our focus is on putting people first and treating people how we would wish to be treated. We will be compassionate, warm, polite, empathetic, understanding and approachable at all times.

Respect – We aim to treat everyone with dignity, understanding and respect at all times. We value diversity and embrace peoples differences in the way we work.

Honesty and integrity – We believe that acting with integrity and honesty is integral to our reputation; this means we do what we say we will and deliver our promises. We are open, honest and transparent in the way we work.

Professional – We have a skilled and experienced team of staff and volunteers who are committed to working in a professional way and delivering excellence within all our services. We pride ourselves in having a “can do” attitude where we aim to say “yes” rather than “no” as much as we can.

Valuing Our Staff – We aim to be a good employer, ensuring that all staff and volunteers receive adequate training and supportand opportunities for personal development.

Valuing Our Volunteers – We have a dedicated and enthusiastic team of local volunteers who support our work. We are led by a voluntary board who provide direction and leadership to Carers Support (Bexley). We also use volunteers from all over the world within our respite service and we believe that this adds real value, making this service truly unique.

Independence –We value our independence as an organisation whilst recognising that partnership working is essential to our success. We will work in partnership where this enables us to achieve our vision and deliver better services to carers.

Free – We believe that our services should be free to carers wherever possible.

Chair’s Foreword

This has been a successful year for all our projects at Carer’s Support, despite the challenging economic climate. We have continued to deliver what I strongly believe is a first class service to many Carers in desperate need. People’s lives have been enhanced and improved through our various projects, which continue to go from strength to strength.

Feedback from those who have received our services sums up the difference that we can make, I’ll give you just two examples: “Your phone call last week saved me, I was so low at the time and talking has made all the difference. You are all so helpful there” and “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Our Management Committee who govern the organisation are all Carers or former Carers, so we fully understand how hard life can be for Carers: the daily struggles in everyday life, the exhaustion and the battles to obtain the services we need. Life changes forever when you become a Carer and our aim is to reach out and support people in their need.

The Carers’ Wellbeing Hub, in partnership with Crossroads Care South East London, Age UK Bexley and the Alzheimer’s Society, and funded by the London Borough of Bexley, has been a great success, reaching out to 188 Carers who were not previously receiving support.

Our Breaks Schemes, which offer respite free of charge in Bexley and Greenwich continue to make a huge difference to those who receive this very special and unique service. We are so grateful to the many young people from all over the world who volunteer their time to support Carers. They are all very special people who form enduring friendships with many of their clients.

Our chargeable Support Worker Service has also grown providing vital additional assistance to people in their homes .

Mental health issues are very much in the press at the moment, yet there is still much stigma around admitting to feeling low, depressed or feeling unable to cope. We need to help people realise that these are all perfectly normal and understandable feelings in the face of the caring role. There is no shame in admitting this. Sharing honest feelings can help to heal and then strengthen a person, enabling them to continue in caring for their loved one.Our In Touch project which provides emotional support to Carers and former Carers has continued to be in demand. Over the past year we have provided one to one support for 34 people with the help of 19 trained volunteersand we have held 50 support group meetings. We are always looking for volunteers willing to train for this most valuable project, so if any of you here know someone who can spare one or two hours a week, please do contact our office.

Our Welfare Benefits project has helped 228 Carers to claim more than £800,000 in additional annual income during the last year. The benefits system can be hugely confusing to navigate if you have no experience in this area. Our trained advisors enable people to claim the benefits to which they are entitled. This practical help can be a huge weight off an already stressed Carer’s shoulders.

Our Independent Living Scheme continues to help 8 disabled people and their Carers to live an independent life in the community, and our Stroke Project continues to reach out to Carers in great need following a loved one’s stroke, with 209 Carers supported this year.

And finally our Friends Committee held a very successful quiz night at Geddes Place, Bexleyheath back in January. This was attended by 77people and was greatly enjoyed by all as well as raising £743 for Carers’ Support.We will be holding a daytime quiz on 20th November 2017 at St Mary’s Church in Bexley Village and it would be lovely to see lots of people there. It will be a light-hearted fun afternoon and refreshments will be available. Also, we will be having a charity concert on Saturday afternoon 16th December in St.Mary’s, when international soprano Christine Hubbard will be singing some Christmas favourites with her friend, tenor Kenneth McCarthy. It will be an occasion to get us all in the festive spirit.

I would like to thank all the volunteers who make up our Friends Committee and who have worked so hard to put on all of these events:Pat Brasier, Sally Ellis,Simon and Vivian Hill and Val King,

Finally I’d like to thank the many volunteers and staff without whom our organisation would not function.We are blessed with the most amazing staff, who always go the extra mile to achieve the best results for our clients. They are kind hearted, compassionate and truly care about all those with whom they come into contact.Our wonderful volunteers, both those from the UK and from abroad, truly bring sunlight into people’s lives and make a real difference to the quality of those lives.And I’d also like to thank our Management Committee who are all volunteers and give their time and talents freely and with great enthusiasm to help make a real difference to Carers in Bexley and Greenwich.

And lastly to all Carers: you do an absolutely amazing job. It can be hard and at times thankless work, but you give your loved ones the most precious gift that you can in life, and that is time. And we know how important it is for Carers to have their own time too. Here at Carers’ Support we will continue to strive to ensure that Carers are supported and enabled to live a fulfilling life as well as to continue to care for their loved ones.

Nicola Fry

Our Carers Breaks Service

In total,164carers (63in Greenwich and 101 in Bexley) received a break during the year from April 2016 to March 2017, and a total of 16,162 care hours were provided (6,285 in Greenwich and 9,877 in Bexley)

We wish to record our thanks to our wonderful staff team and to all the volunteers who worked for us this year:

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Laura Juliana Lozano Gonzalez

Soyun Kim

Jessamine Snowball

Katharina Zimmermann

Pelin Buyukozturk

Nele Hahn

Viktoria Fremder

Eddy Jox

Sofia Esquivel Merino

Analucia Belen Saldias Pozo

Greta Poggensee

Ana Gabriela Hoyos Carvajal

Anamaria Aguilar Sanchez

Ana Luisa Gallardo Portales

John Edwar Gonzalez Ortiz

Heejae Jung

Rebekka Hackenberger

Leoni Bushuven

Euijin Jung

Seungjae Yoo

Abii Hemmins

Mareike Henninger

Hanna Edinger

Karina Wascher

Kyuil Lee

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We sent anonymous questionnaires to everyone who used our service this year in October 2016. Here are some of the responses we received:

88%of carers said that having a break from caring had helped to reduce or prevent feelings of stress.

85%said the service had enabled them to continue to care

71% said it had helped to reduce isolation and loneliness for the person they care for

100% said the volunteers’ visits were beneficial for the person cared for.

Comments included:

“I get to laugh and feel I’m being taken care of. I get fresh air, exercise, adventure and someone to moan to without feeling bad. I make friendships with the volunteers and they like me too. They help me feel good”

“The break has enabled me to keep fit by joining an organised ramble for several hours and to explore an area new to me. I can also continue my love of cycling further afield.”

Information and Advice

Information and Support

During the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017:

• More than 400carers have requested and received an information pack and/or a first time subscription to our newsletter for carers, Carers Voice.

• More than 6,500 copies of Carers Voice have been distributed to individual carers and to GP surgeries, libraries, etc.
• More than 800 carers have received “one-to-one” information and support, via the telephone or a home visit

• 3892one-to-one support sessions have been provided.

• 425carers have received welfare benefits advice
• We have actively assisted 228 people to submit benefit claims.

As a direct result of our welfare benefits service, £817,047 has been raised in additional annual income for carers between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017, and £8,513,729 has been raised since the project started.

Some of the comments from carers about our Information and Support Service:

“Carers’ Support provided me with a lifeline when I felt that I was drowning and alone. They provided counselling; a monthly carers’ meeting and practical help in completing forms. They also made follow up calls.”

“Carers’ Support provides an excellent service, one I couldn’t do without. Just knowing that I can turn to someone for support is so helpful and gives me the boost I need to continue looking after my two girls who both have learning disabilities.”

Someone to Talk to

Our In Touch service provides emotional support and a listening ear for carers as well as group support meetings. During 2016/2017:

• 34carers or former carers received on-going support from a volunteer
• 803one to one support sessions were provided by 19volunteers
• A total of50support group meetings were held.

As well as our regular support groups for Carers and former Carers, we also started our “Memory Support Group” this year. The Memory Support Group is for people with memory loss issues and their Carers to attend together, providing an opportunity for people to support each other. We would like to thank Carol Ann Wells for providing musical reminiscence afternoons for the group this year.

As well as the musical reminiscence, activities at our Support Groups this year have included: quizzes, a talk on Fire Safety in the home, a demonstration on painting with pastels and water colours, a talk from “Pension wise”, a talk from Trading Standards, a card making afternoon,a talk from the Home Library service, a Christmas party, plus one of our Carers gave a talk about her trip to West Africa.

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Support for Stroke Survivors and Their Carers

Thanks to funding from the Henry Smith Charity during 2016/17, we have been able to employ a dedicated worker to support carers of people who have had strokes.

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Independent Living Scheme

Over the past year, Carers’ Support (Bexley) has been able to provide advice, information and support for carers and those they care for to enable them to understand what an Individual budget is, apply for one if they are eligible, and to make the most of their Individual Budget when they get one.

We have also been able to provide “hands on” practical help this year for 21people (13carers and 8 disabled people) who wish to employ their own Personal Assistants (PAs).

Support Worker Service

We started our Support Worker Service in response to demand from Carers and people with care needs.

The service provides flexible help with things like:

• shopping (either shopping for someone or going shopping with them)
• light housework, laundry, ironing, preparing and serving meals
• company, companionship and ensuring the safety of the person with care needs
• taking the cared for person out and about
• Accompanying them to appointments (eg. with the GP, hospital, optician, etc.)

They do not provide help with personal care, but apart from that they can be flexible around the needs of the carer and person they care for.

All our support workers have been checked by us and have enhanced disclosures from the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service).

The charge for the service is £14:35 per hour weekday and £14:90 evenings and weekends, and any surplus we make goes back into funding our free services for carers.

Between April 2016 and March 2017, 11 Support Workers supported a total of 56 families.

Sarah Collett, who works as a Support Worker for Carers’ Support tells us a little bit about how it feels being a Support Worker:

“Being a Support Worker is really rewarding as I am able to give the clients I work with one to one attention. It’s surprising how quickly, after just a few visits,I have got to know the clients I work with. I feel I am able to give worthwhile support to their Carer as well.”