What we did in February

Anna delivers the CACH Course

February was a busy month for SARH's 
Community Learning Programme with 7 courses taking place and a grand total of 48 customers attending. Courses included;

Getting to Grips with English (Adult Literacy), Part 2 – CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety, Interested in Care Work as a Career, CV Writing and Interview Skills, Introduction to Chase Against Crimes of Hate (CACH)  and finally HSE Accredited First Aid and Save Energy Save Money.

Getting to grips with English is a 6 week course aimed at helping young adults gain some direction for the future whether it is going back to study or discovering what career path they would like to take. Thank you to our very own Community Involvement Officer Anna McLauchlan who raised awareness of hate crime in a very well-received CACH session. More about CACH later on in this blog.

So What? Nine customers gained a 3 year First Aid certificate and 16 customers gained a 3 year Food Safety accreditation, boosting CVs and increasing people’s chances of securing employment. All courses had a positive response, feedback comments included; “I am going to focus more on saving energy”, “it will help me with my volunteering at Brownies and Stroke Club”, and “it has given me more confidence”.

Before work commences

We are working on a Milwich Allotment project with Milwich pre-school to transform a piece of unused land into a mini allotment. The first stage of the transformation has taken place and plans for a community day are underway when SARH, the local Councillor and the whole community will be invited to join in painting the fence and get the last bits ready so the children can start planting. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog to see more photos and the allotment progress.

So What? The area has already turned in to a much more pleasant, community friendly area and the pre-school are a big step closer to achieving their community allotment. This is both a healthy and educational project for the children and local families who are involved. 

Performance review meeting

Customer Inspectors have been continuing their inspection of the SARH Repairs Service.  They ran a very successful Focus Group in which other customers were able to discuss their opinions and experiences of the Repairs Service.  The Inspectors collated the responses from over 70 Postal Surveys and reviewed how SARH are performing against the Local Offers (a series of standards that reflect how SARH deliver services). Now they are busy writing up the report and once this is completed it will be delivered to Leadership Team for consideration and action.

So what? This gave customers a real opportunity to feedback their experiences, good and bad, about one of the most visible services SARH provide.The feedback is important to drive continuous improvement within the organisation.

Glebelands Youth Troops

The Glebelands Troops Youth Group held a girls verses boys quiz at their February meeting and it was a draw!  Can you figure out the answers to the following questions?

Q1: A surgeon in London has a brother in New York who is a lawyer.  The lawyer does not have a brother who is a surgeon in London.  How is this possible?

Q2: What can be made, bent, laid down, but never touched?

Email your answers to cp@sarh.co.uk  and we will let you know if you were right in the next blog.

So what? The quiz gave the children the opportunity to work as a team, build confidence and have fun.

University of the 3rd age

The University of the Third Age  (U3A) now uses the Community Resource Centre meeting room to hold their weekly Craft Group which is proving to be very popular.   The U3As are self-help, self-managed lifelong learning co-operatives for older people no longer in full time work. The U3A provides opportunities for their members to share learning experiences in a wide range of interest groups and to pursue learning not for qualifications, but for fun.

So what? It is important to engage with all ages within the community and partnership work allows us to reach a wider audience. The Community Resource Centre room is a valuable resource for the community and it is vital that it is used as much as possible. 

Work at Oak Tree Farm

Oak Tree Farm at Hilderstone provides training and supported occupation for adults with learning disabilities. At the Community Resource Centre we have a volunteer who is involved with the farm and told us about all the good work they do. On the 7 June they will be having a stall at the Meadow Road Games selling terracotta and stoneware garden pots and seasonal plant all produced at the farm.  This will be a good opportunity to learn more about a very interesting and worthwhile project.

So what? It is good to build partnerships with other projects to understand the support being offered in the community, and we can signpost people who would benefit from this specialised support.

Olympic torch

The Community Involvement Team is working on three Rural Engagement Projects in Great and Little Haywood in Colwich, Eccleshall and Gnosall.  The aim is to work with these rural communities on events and projects in their area.  On the 30 May the Olympic torch procession will be going through Gnosall and as part of Stafford and Rural Homes celebration of the Olympics we will be holding a ‘Question of Sport’ Quiz at Impstones as well as all our other Independent Living Schemes to help us get into the Olympic mood. 

So What? Promoting inclusion in all areas of the community, and supporting rural villages that face their own unique problems, prevents isolation,strengthens community cohesion and helps to resolve issues.

Stafford Town Centre

SARH New Mobile Office programme for 2012 starts this April, but we kicked off the programme by launching the facility in Stafford Town Centre with our Organised Development Team. Our aim was to highlight opportunities for Apprenticeships and what better time to do it than in Apprenticeship Week? We also videoed the event and posted it on youtube . Log on and see if you can see one of our involved customers who is in the background.

So what? The Mobile Office give us an opportunity to extend our services to more customers, particularly customers in rural communities.

Chase against crimes of hate

As you will know if you are a regular reader of this Blog one of our team members, Anna, spends 2 days a week co-ordinating the local Hate Crime Partnership Chase Against Crimes of Hate, (CACH). 

CACH support and advise victims of hate crime and people who have experienced discrimination of some kind, be that in their work place or out in their community.  A hate crime is a crime that is motivated by somebody’s perceived difference, be that their race, religion, sexuality, age, disability, transgender or the way they look.

Since Anna has been working for CACH she has dealt with several incidents in the Stafford area, ranging from name calling to physical attack.  If you think you may have been a victim of or witness to discrimination or hate crime please get in touch with CACH.

Email: selfreport@cachpartnership.org.uk

Text: 07971497988 

Telephone: 01785 619775 (Thursdays and Fridays)

 www.cachpartnreship.org.uk

So What? SARH have a commitment to creating a safe and supported Stafford. By working so closely with CACH we are enabling them to provide a level of service, particularly to our customers, that will ensure they are able to live safely in our neighbourhoods

A to Z Menu

Our new updated and redesigned A to Z menu of involvement was launched this month and  the team went walkabout distributing nearly 1,500 copies to partnering agencies, customers and community venues across the borough. Copies are now available on our Website in a new and interactive format as well as a print version, and we will be distributing copies at events from our Mobile Office.

So What?  We have increased the number of ways customers can get involved in shaping our services and neighbourhoods and the new menu reflects this. We are always open to new ways of increasing involvement opportunities and we invite ideas from our customers.

COMING UP!

Do you want £100,000. for your community? 

Last year's bid under discussion

In March SARH’s annual Customer Initiative Scheme (CIS) will be launched! Every year we offer customers and members of our communities the opportunity to apply for a share of £100,000 to make improvements to the area where they live. Last year we had a more diverse range of applications than ever before – from communal crockery to inter generational work with young people and our Independent Living Customers!

If you have an idea of how to improve the area where you live then give us a call on to find out more and request and application pack; 0800 111 4554 or email cp@sarh.co.uk

So What? Customers are given an opportunity to change the area where they live. This sort of work can bring communities together and help make them better places to live.

Local forum

Stafford District Voluntary Services ( SDVS) is part of a local community of partners hosting Community Forums in April. Look out for posters with details and call to book your place now.

 

Sandra Shipperley signing off for now - remember to catch up with us next month.