Renfrewshire Carers Centre Winter Newsletter 2021

Winter Newsletter 2021 Inside New Home for the Centre Move Carers Centre Annual General Meeting Tuesday 23 November 2021 Celebration for Christine Support Groups Carers Training Festive Opening Times

New Home for the Carers Centre We are so excited to share the news with you that Renfrewshire Carers Centre will soon have a new home. You may have seen the ambitious plans to create a new Paisley charity hub supporting the most vulnerable people in our community unveiled by Finding Your Feet in the summer and we couldn’t wait to be involved. At the start of 2022 we will be moving to join some other amazing charity partners at St. James’ House. The building has undergone an amazing transformation in the past 6 months, and we will have exclusive use of the top floor of the building. We have been able to define the space to our specifications to meet the requirements of our carers and their families and over the next couple of months our contractors – builders, painters, plumbers will be busy little bees getting our new home ready. The new site is more central and accessible being nearer to the town and transport links. It is bright and spacious and has great shared facilities. We will be able to safely host our groups in comfortable, spacious, airy rooms and offer more sessions and grow our portfolio in the years to come. Thanks to grant funding obtained by Elaine, our Deputy Manager from the SCVO Adapt & Thrive fund we will be able to refit and decorate the space to our own specific requirements, including a new meeting space and consultation rooms.

A key factor in the decision to move was the safety and wellbeing of our staff, carers, and their loved one’s post covid and how we can develop our future ambitions and strategies, safely and effectively. We feel the new site offers us the opportunity to move forward from covid and plan, grow and develop new services, securing the future of the Centre. We are delighted that we will be working closely with great charity partners such as Finding Your Feet, Home Start and We are With You, to name just a few. These close links will help us work collaboratively and enhance the services we offer to our carers. Our sincere thanks to Sheenagh Gray from Framed Estates Ltd. Architects who kindly drew up our plans free of charge, and supported us with building warrants, which saved us a lot of money, time, and effort. Look out for our progress updates over the next couple of months and we look forward to welcoming you to our new home – details of our drop-in open days in January will be posted on our social media.

Annual General Meeting Due to the ongoing pandemic and changing landscapes of safe in person meeting numbers, we will be hosting our Annual General Meeting by zoom on Tuesday 23rd November at 11.00am. Our AGM will only be open to members of the Centre. Members would normally sign up and pay their £1 membership fee which is not possible to do this year, therefore we will be inviting those carers who are registered as members to join us for the AGM, there will be no fee payable for this year. If you wish to become a member or renew your membership status with us for this year, please e-mail [email protected] – stating your name, telephone number and e-mail address. We will send out joining details for the AGM zoom session one week before the AGM, we do hope you will join us. Tribute to Christine Melville We are hosting an evening in honour of our much loved and missed colleague, Christine Melville. Please join us at Abercorn Bowling Club, Paisley on Saturday 6 November from 7.30pm – 11.30pm for food, drinks, and entertainment. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, the numbers are limited to 100, please telephone the Carers Centre on 0141 887 3643 or email [email protected] to register your interest. If numbers exceed 100, we may have to ballot. We will be holding a separate evening for Young Carers and their parents in December, more details to follow.

Support Group Update We are delighted to welcome our Carers back to the following face-to- face Support Groups, which will resume from October onwards. In compliance with the latest Scottish Government Coronavirus Guidelines, and in order to keep our Carers, their loved ones and our staff as safe as possible, we have made some changes to the way the Groups will be run. We will continue to update Carers as changes are made. Male Carers Support Group Tuesday 5th October 12.30 – 2.00pm Alzheimer's Carers Support Group Thursday 7th October 12.30 – 2.00pm Stroke Carers Support Group Monday 11th October 1pm - 2pm Mental Health Carers Support Group Tuesday 19th October 6.00 – 8.00pm Parkinson’s Carers Support Group Thursday 21st October 12.30 – 2.00pm Mental Health Carers Support Group Tuesday 26th October 12.30 – 2.00pm

Support Group Changes The Support Groups will now take place in Renfrewshire Carers Centre, Embroidery Mill, Abbey Mill Business Centre, Paisley. There will be a change to the running times of the daytime Support Groups. Groups will begin at 12.30pm and end at 2.00pm. This is a temporary change and the aim will be to eventually return to pre- pandemic times. The evening Support Group time remains the same. The venue will comply with Coronavirus health and safety regulations. We will ensure seating is appropriately placed and hand cleansing facilities are available. We will require group attendees to wear face masks (unless exempt) when in the building, use the hand sanitisers available and respect social distance choices that may be important to others. A maximum of 9 Carers will be able to attend a Group. It may be that because of limits on attendance, some Carers may not be able to attend. If this happens, they will be prioritised for the next Group if they wish to attend. If you would like to come along, you will have to register with the Support Group first (if you are not already a member). You can register with a Group by phoning 0141 887 3643 or emailing [email protected]. Please only attend Support Groups when you have confirmed your attendance with the Centre first. We look forward to welcoming all our Carers back and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Carers Training and Workshops Caring for someone with Dementia What is Dementia? Date: Tuesday 9th November Time: 11am to 12.30pm Place: Zoom Caring for someone with Dementia Communication Date: Tuesday 16th November Time: 11am to 12.30pm Place: Zoom Caring for someone with Dementia Meaningful Activities Date: Tuesday 23rd November Time: 11.am to 12.30pm Place: Zoom For more information and to book, please email [email protected] We have included a Training Survey with the Newsletter and would value your input for the 2022 Training Plan. You can complete the survey and post it back to us freepost (details on flyer) or please email [email protected] with your feedback or suggestions. There will be no Training during the month of December to allow us time to pack up for our Office move, but we are looking forward to hosting some face to face training in 2022 as well as continuing to provide Training via Zoom.

Festive Opening Times December will be a busy month here for us at the Cares Centre as we will be packing up in anticipation of our move to our new home, however we are hoping that all will go to plan and fingers crossed the Christmas Elves help us pack and make all the IT systems transition smoothly. As in past years, most of the groups usually plan for a social activity in December, arrangements for these will be made soon. Our Centre offices will be closed from 1pm on Thursday 23rd December through to Wednesday 6th January 2022. Emergency Numbers and helpful information for carers For Care at Home Emergencies please contact 07384 810440. Renfrewshire Council Social Work out of hours 0300 343 1505 National Wellbeing Hub Helpline 0800 111 4191 https://www.nhsinform.scot/ or call NHS 24 on 111 Scottish Charity No 23986 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @RCarers www.renfrewshirecarers.org.uk