Getting January 2012 off to a good start!

Mobile Office Launch

January was a good month to launch our new Mobile Office for a ‘Beat the Cold’ promotional event offering practical advice about keeping warm through heating, sensible eating and wearing suitable clothing.The event was led by Citizens Advice Bureau at Silkmore Children’s Centre and gave us an opportunity to promote our services. We engaged with a number of local people who were attending the Community Cafe at the Children’s Centre; local organisations, customers who are already involved with SARH, and customers who were completely unaware of the services we provide. We have teamed up with Beat the Cold again to plan another similar event in the Town Centre Market Square this time to promote our Apprenticeship opportunities, find out more in the next blog.

So What? We gained a total of 5 new customers into our Involvement structures. They have attended or booked on to Community Learning Programme courses: Getting to Grips with English – Adult Literacy, HSE Accredited First Aid, CV Writing and Interview Skills, Triple P Parenting and Grow Your Own.

Food Safety Course

We launched the Community Learning Programme 2012 (part 1 runs to June 2012). Three courses took place this month including Effective Job Hunting, Budgeting and Managing the Household and Level 2 Award in Food Safety. A total of 29 customers attended. The Food Safety course was particularly well received as it offers a 3 year Accredited Certificate that is vital to secure a job in catering. The other two courses gave useful tips and advice that is invaluable in this current economic climate for gaining employment and managing finances. A big thanks to SARH Money Management Adviser Liz Pilley  ( email: liz.pilley@sarh.co.uk) who received excellent customer feedback for her Budgeting session.

So what? Feedback comments stated that courses ‘opened up new opportunities’, ‘were very useful, and gave confidence to save money’, and ‘will help to do cook and eat sessions at the local youth club’. Follow up calls are to be done 6-8 weeks after to explore the outcomes further.

January Newsletter

The January Penkside Newsletter was full to the brim with articles on the local Adult Learner’s Group,( an informal group determined to continue their learning in the local community)  new solar panels that are to be installed on Silkmore Primary School, a new Community Choir, upcoming courses in Penkside, and much more. Delivery was successful once again with staff teaming up with Penkside Community Champions to distribute the newsletter to approximately 1000 homes in the area.

So what? The community continue to stay up-to-date with what’s going on locally. Three people have since enquired about joining the community choir and at least 8 have booked on to Community Learning Programme courses.

Proposed site

Highfields, the largest estate in Stafford will soon have a Community Sensory Garden thanks to the work of the Community Involvement Team, Stafford Borough Council, The Princes Trust and HERaTAGE; the estate's Tenants and Residents Association. The garden is a pilot scheme and is sited on a piece of unused land on the estate. The garden will be specifically created to be accessible and enjoyable to visitors, both disabled and non-disabled.The purpose of the garden is to provide individual and combined sensory opportunities that users may not normally experience.Work has gone so well there may be sensory gardens springing up on unused land everywhere- watch this space.

So what? Nearly 1000 customers will benefit from this easily accessible garden facility with more planned across the Borough for the future

Consulting our customers

We teamed up with Investment Delivery who is responsible for the maintenance of our housing stock, to roll out a Consultation exercise for a forthcoming innovative Air Source Heat Pump installation Programme. SARH won funding to install this new form of heating into a small number of our rural properties across Stafford borough.



So what?The heating system is much more efficient than the electric storage heaters it replaces, with potential for savings  33 SARH customers jumped at the chance for warmer, more efficient heating.



Our Repairs Staff



The Customer Inspectors (CIs) have been shadowing some of our staff at the office to get a better understanding of how

things work 'behind the scenes' in the Repairs Team.  It is important that they get the opportunity to do this so that they understand how the recommendations they make could impact on the staff as well as the customer.

So What? The Customer Inspectors are reporting their findings directly to the Management Board and receive regular updates so they can see real positive change is being made as a result of their work.

The Job Club is fortunate to have the benefit of two volunteers with a wealth of experience. Alex who has worked for the department of employment and Simon who has a 101 tips and hints on CV writing, job hunting and interview techniques. We hope that with their help there will be a record number of Job Club members going on to find work.

So what? It is good to use the experience of people who have an understanding
of a situation and enable peer support to help them successfully find employment.



Job seekers

In the last year the Community Resource Centre (CRC) has worked with a number of partners to help deliver ESOL, (adults seeking to improve their english often enrol in this class) Craft Club, IT and Job Search events.  We have a continuing link with the Job Centre plus with the aim of developing the services like helping lone parents find work: Stafford Children’s Centre would also be a key partner in this.  ‘Next Step’ Careers Advisers used the meeting room at the CRC to offer one to one advice to unemployed individuals.  We hope to be welcoming U3A (University of the Third Age) to the centre in February.

So What? Thanks to partnership work we can make a difference to the lives of more people in the community. For example, one customer has increased  his level of confidence and expanded his volunteering  time and taken up youth work opportunities.

Diego Garcia

The ESOL GROUP ( English speakers of other languages) is a two way learning process, those who attend learn English and the tutors and volunteers learn interesting facts about other countries and their cultures.  Jacques is a regular at the ESOL group, recently he told us his father’s story who was born on Peros Banhos in the Chagos Archipelago; he moved to Diego Garcia where he lived and worked until 1945. After the Second World War the military base needed to expand and the none military population was relocated in the Seychelles or Mauritius,and that is how Jacques family came to live in Mauritius.

So What? Jacques learned a new language and now he is able to share his special family memories with others.

Coming up on the next blog: More customer learning opportunities, for example:

 

Please come along and try one of these courses. you can meet new people and learn new skills
Contact Christine Cartwright on 01785 216675 or email cp@sarh.co.uk.

For more information about any of our projects please contact us on free phone 0800 111 4554 or email us at cp@sarh.co.uk

Sandra Shipperley signing off for January catch up with us in February - and leave a comment, tell us what you think of our blog, and how we can improve it.