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Welcome to the Spring Edition
of the Dundee Carers News!
Update from Lucinda on Centre
activities and what’s to come!
Page 2.
25th Anniversary
Celebrations
What’s taking place?
Page 3.
Self-directed Support
Providers Fair
Come along to our event on 2 May 2015
Page 6.
As the early signs of
spring are starting
to appear it’s often
thought of as a time of
new beginnings and it
feels that way here at
the Centre. Our new
ground floor space which has
had extensive work done over the last few
months is nearing completion and we are
looking forward to welcoming you over the
coming weeks. I also want to say a special
thank you to all of you who supported us
in securing the funds to make it happen
whether you donated or took part in one of
our fundraising activities.
We have secured funding to develop a
number of areas of work this year including
building on our Short Breaks Services and
continuing to support the implementation
of Self-Directed Support. We were also
successful in securing Children in Need
Funding to ensure we can continue to
provide support to young carers.
We are planning on marking Self-Directed
Support Awareness week in a big way
as we come to the end of the first year of
implementation. We will be launching a
month long marketing campaign in Dundee
and Angus leading up to a provider Fair in
the Caird Hall on the 2nd of May.
Finally our 25th Anniversary celebrations
continue with a number of activities for you
to get involved in and after watching you all
last year I have signed up to do the Abseil
this year!
We are now well into our special Silver Anniversary
celebrations, which were officially launched at our AGM
in September 2014. However, the main events are still
to come, with a packed year ahead of us that includes
our sponsored abseil, and, of course, the grand finale
which is our Anniversary Ball. Full details can be found
elsewhere in the Dundee Carers News or online via our
Facebook page or website.
www.facebook.com/dundeecarerscentre
www.dundeecarerscentre.org.uk
Thanks very much to everyone who has given so
generously and supported us towards our £25,000
fundraising target for the year. We really do appreciate
your support for the Centre, which helps us to continue
providing a wide range of quality services, particularly at
a time of ongoing financial insecurity. We’re well on the
way towards achieving our target, and we’ll keep you
updated on future progress.
Please do remember to sign up for our Carers Centre
Lottery. It only costs £1 per week, and you could be
in with a chance of winning £25,000. 50% of the profits
go straight towards the Centre’s work, so it’s well worth
getting involved. You can pick up a leaflet at the Centre,
or find out more at the following link: www.unitylottery.
co.uk/dundee-carers-centre. Good luck!
25TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATIONS
3
SPARKLE IN SILVER CHARITY BALL
This will be our 25th Anniversary
celebrations Grand Finale and is one not
to be missed! It will be held at the Apex
Hotel, Dundee, your ticket includes
champagne reception,
3 course dinner, live music by Trilogy
& entertainment throughout
the evening.
Single tickets can be purchased
through www.eventbrite.co.uk or a
table can be purchased by calling
Stacey on 200422 or email
stacey.clark@dundeecarerscentre.
org.uk
CHARITY ABSEIL 2015
In June 2014, fifty brave soul’s abseiled down the
University Tower and we raised over £10,000. Help us
this year to top that figure and get booked up for 6 June
2015. (Booking form enclosed)
BURNS EVENT
It was a full house at our Burns Event in January. Carers,
professionals, friends and family enjoyed a night of
haggis, neeps and tatties and live music from the
fabulous Gleahdraich and a lovely solo set from one of
our young adult carers.
Groups and Events
HAPPY FEET
WALKING
GROUP
SNAP HAPPY
PHOTOGRAPHY
GROUP
STRESSBUSTERS
STRESS MANAGEMENT
GROUP
LIFELINE FOR FAMILIES
AFFECTED BY
ADDICTION
1st Wednesday of the
month from
10.30am – 12.30pm
2nd Thursday of the month
from 10.30am – 12.30pm
1st Friday of the month
from 10.30am – 12.30pm
3rd Friday of the month
from 2pm – 4pm
For more information please contact indigo on 200422 or email [email protected]
CARING FOR SOMEONE WHO
HAS DEMENTIA?
(Information Group Training)
Sessions are held in the Dementia Resource Centre,
Alzheimer’s Scotland, 9 Morgan Street, Dundee. They
run for 6 weeks consecutively, 1.30pm until 3pm on
Mondays (3 times each year).
Topics covered include signs & symptoms, effective
communication,
practical
help
and
support,
understanding and managing behaviour.
These groups are run in partnership with other agencies,
including Dundee Carers Centre, NHS Tayside and
Alzheimers Scotland.
If you require further details contact Alison on 200422.
CARE & SHARE
(Formerly Wednesday Carers Group)
Come along to our friendly Care & Share information
and social group which is held on the last Wednesday
of each month in the Central Baptist Church, Ward
Road, Dundee. We meet from 10.30am – 12.30pm with
coffee/tea and a light sandwich lunch provided.
This group is open to all carers and those you care for.
It provides an opportunity to try a variety of activities,
listen to guest speakers and have the chance to sit and
chat.
So, come along to the group, no need to book, just
drop in and out.
For further information contact indigo on 200422
D’CAFÉ
(Formerly known as Dementia Café)
Do you have dementia or are you caring for someone
with dementia? Visit our Broughty Ferry D Café for support,
information, carers’ groups and activities. D Café is on
the second and last Tuesday of each month at St Aidan’s
Centre, 408 Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, DD5 2EB.
Drop in between 11am – 1pm, £2 per person, refreshments
are available.
For further information please contact Nadia Sutherland,
Dementia Advisor on 01382 210200 or email
[email protected]
(D Café is a group for people who can safely attend or
bring their own support)
MOVING AND HANDLING
The Centre offers a free moving & handling awareness
session in your own home tailored to your individual
needs. This is for you if you;
•
•
•
•
Provide care for a family member, friend or neighbour with restricted mobility.
Need advice & information on your back care.
Assist the person you care for to move
Are over 18
For further information please contact Sharon Macleod
on 200422 or email
[email protected]
6
SELF-DIRECTED SUPPORT (SDS) PROVIDERS FAIR
We are hosting a Self-directed Support Service Providers Fair on Saturday 2 May
2015, 10am – 4pm at the Caird Hall Dundee, this is to raise awareness about what
service provider options are available in the Dundee and Angus localities, so people
can make an informed decision to choose the right service for them.
The event is open to the general public to browse information stalls held by service
providers. The event would be of interest to people with support needs, carers and
people who work in the care sector. It also has a wider relevance, as we could all potentially have support
needs at some point in our lives. We will keep you posted with updates of the event on our Facebook page
and website www.sdsdundeeandangus.org.uk
GET STUCK IN
Thanks to all our carers who continue to show
such commitment to our Carers Voice group. If
you’re keen to strengthen the voice of carers and
find a meaningful way of getting involved, please
do come along to one of our meetings and find
out more. As always, the group is open to carers
of all ages.
This is going to be a really important year for carer
representation, with Carers Voice taking a lead
role in consultation and involvement. Dundee City
Council are currently working on a Joint Strategic
Commissioning Statement for Carers, along with
partners in health and the voluntary sector. This
Statement will set the strategic priorities for the
next 5 years in terms of local work with carers. As
part of this process, it will be vital to gather the
views of as many carers as possible, so keep an
eye out for how you can get involved and make
your views known. There has also been a lot of
consultation work carried out over the past few
years, which will also feed into this process and
ensure that carers’ needs are met in the best way
possible both now and into the future.
At the same time, we will be working on the
Centre’s own Strategic Plan over the coming year.
We will be giving opportunity throughout the year
for you to let us know your views on the services
we provide and where this could be improved or
what we should be doing differently.
Last but not least, we’re also still monitoring the
progress of the Carers Bill through the Scottish
Parliament. The Bill has the potential to achieve
significant change for carers in a number of areas
when it becomes law, so we’ll keep you up to
date with what’s happening along the way.
Carers Voice 2015 Dates:
•
Monday 20 April, 1.30pm-3.30pm with lunch from 12.45pm
•
Thursday 21 May, 10.00am – 12 noon
•
Monday 22 June, 1.30pm-3.30pm with lunch
from 12.45pm
•
Thursday 20 August, 10.00am – 12 noon
Monday 21 September, 1.30pm – 3.30pm
•
with lunch from 12.45pm
•
Thursday 22 October, 10.00am – 12 noon
•
Monday 23 November, 1.30pm – 3.30pm
with lunch from 12.45pm
All carers welcome. Please phone Tim on 200422
for more information or feel free to comer along on
the day.
UPBEET FAMILY GROUP
In September last year, The UPBEET project started a new
group for carers aged between 15-30 years old who have
children as well as a caring role. This group was started to
allow young adult carers with children to come together,
socialise and have a break from their caring role whilst
the kids were playing in the crèche facility. As part of this
group we had our first ever UPBEET family Trip to Muddy
Boots Farm in October, where the children (and the big
kids at heart) had a brilliant day out.
We also had a Christmas meal on 17 December at the
Shore to allow parents a short break and some time to
chill out before a busy festive period! We hope to run
this group once every month and will have many more
activities for this group in 2015, so if you have any ideas
for activities or training that you would like please let us
know. The group is open to any of our young adult carers
who have children, so if you would like to get involved
please get in touch. Here are some pictures of the fun
times we have had with this group so far…
CLOSURE OF THE INDEPENDENT
LIVING FUND (ILF)
The UK Government made a decision on 6th
March 2014, to close the Independent Living Fund
(ILF) on 30th June 2015. The UK ILF is working with
the Scottish Government to look at how users in
Scotland will be supported in the future.
The Scottish Government has said that they will
protect current users’ current awards in Scotland
as long as they remain eligible. They will develop a
national system along with voluntary organisations
to existing users from 1 July 2015.
IT’S ALL ABOUT ‘THE BREAK’
The Scottish Government has been working with the
ILF in Nottingham, Self-directed Support Scotland
and other voluntary organisations (including
Dundee Carers Centre) on transferring all Scottish
ILF users to the new arrangements. A project board
has been set up to make sure everything needed
to make this happen smoothly will be in place.
Local people, who use Mental Health Services, and
their unpaid carers, have shared their views about
their needs for Short Break supports. Because of what
people have said, a number of organisations in Dundee
have come together to design new short breaks to
meet the needs of adults who need substantial care
and support. Funding has been secured to look at
new ways to provide short breaks/respite which will
meet the needs of people who have no unpaid care
as well as people who have unpaid carers.
New users will be able to apply for ILF using £5
million of new funds from the Scottish Government.
Whilst the project board will mainly be working on
the transition for existing users, it will also support
some early work around forming the fund for new
users of the Scottish ILF.
The organisations involved believe that the best way
to develop the right services and supports is to involve
the people who could benefit from them.
We need people to give us their views and would be
happy to look at the best way for you to do this.
We will be having an information session about this
on the 20 May 2015, please contact the Centre if
you would like to attend.
CARERS CONFERENCE
The Dundee Carers Strategic partnership has
organised a conference to take place on the 27
May 2015. The conference will provide information
about carers views, local and national drivers, good
practice as well as supporting the development of
the strategic commissioning plan. Please call the
Centre for further information or to book up.
If you are a carer and would like to speak at the
event please contact Lucinda on 200422.
If you wish to attend please contact Jen Moir on
200422
or email
[email protected]
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The PSP are waiting to hear from you before deciding
how this will be done. Some people may want to agree
to be part of an ongoing reference group; some may
prefer special one off events like focus groups with set
questions or informal discussion groups; while others
might want to give their opinion over the phone or
through an online survey.
If you use mental health services or you give unpaid
care or support for someone who does, get in touch
with Lynsey McCallum at Dundee Voluntary Action to
help us get it right together. Alternatively we will be
holding a focus group at the Centre for carers and the
people they care for on the 15 of April at 2pm at the
Centre. If you wish to attend please phone the Centre
to book a place.
[email protected]
Dundee Voluntary Action
Number Ten, 10 Constitution Road, Dundee, DD1 1LL
Phone: 01382 305743.
We have now launched ourselves on Twitter!
Follow @Dundee_Carers to get updates on
what is happening at the Centre and also
what is happening locally and nationally,
in regard to carers and disabled people
You can also still get all the latest news and updates
through our Facebook page
www.facebook.com/dundeecarerscentre
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY - 2015
2 May 2015
6 June 2015
10 June
Self-directed Support (SDS)
Charity Abseil Day –
Pampering Day
Providers Event, Caird Hall,
University of Dundee Tower
Dundee
Building
8-14 June 2015
Carers Week
MAKING DONATIONS:
Our services are free, but carers often ask how they can make donations.
If you would like to make a donation, please send cheques made payable to DCICA, or go to justgiving.com/DCICA/donate.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in Dundee Carers News do not necessarily reflect those of Dundee Carers Centre.
Dundee Carers News is printed on paper from environmentally managed forests, when you have finished with your copy, please pass it on to someone else or recycle it. If you would prefer an audio version of the Digest, please
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the form below with your email address on. We are a Registered Charity, Scottish Charity Number SC024115, Company Number SC160754.
To help us keep our database up to date, please complete the form
below, if you have had a change in your circumstances, and return to our FREEPOST address:
Dundee Carers Centre, FREEPOST SCO 5751, Dundee, DD1 9XE if we don’t have your details right.