Sunday 22 June 2014
July - Gloucestershire Carers
Carers in Gloucestershire is an independent charity helping unpaid Carers in Gloucestershire. Being a Carer can be isolating and exhausting. We offer support for Carers to help not only their physical and emotional well-being, but to help them to make informed decisions that have a positive, lasting influence on their lives.
A Carer is anyone who gives unpaid support to look after someone who is unable to look after themselves. They can be any age, gender or culture. They may be looking after a relative, partner or friend who is ill or frail, or maybe injured after an accident; they may be caring for someone disabled or who has mental health issues; or they could be looking after a child with substance misuse problems – there is no template.
Carers don’t choose to become Carers. It is something that they do because, if they don’t, there may not be anyone else who can. In Gloucestershire alone there are around 63,000 Carers – and this number is growing.
We have a network of 50 Carer support groups in Gloucestershire offering friendship, advice and help. Caring for someone means you can’t always get out of the house so we have ‘Carers Line’ offering advice for Carers. Our team can give you advice on money and benefits, arrange counselling, help you plan for the future, and even pop you down for training courses and well-being treatments that help you feel, even if it’s for just an hour, that you are looked after.
We also have a Carers’ Emergency Scheme. This means that if you are ill we can make sure that the person you look after will be supported.
We can support you with funding for a much-needed short break. And now we even have our own static caravan by the sea to give you the chance of a holiday – and some desperately needed, uninterrupted sleep.
Post-caring, Carers may need support to rebuild a life of their own and reconnect with education, work or a social life.
Carers are the largest source of unpaid care and support in each area of the UK, in Gloucestershire alone last year they saved the County £540 million.
You can call the Carers’ Line now on
( 0300 111 9000
or visit Carers in Gloucestershire website by clicking here
Mary Michael
Sunday 8 June 2014
June - Cheltenham Open Door
Cheltenham Open Door is a local charity working to relieve poverty, hardship and social or emotional distress. Originally founded in 1992 as Open Door at Christmas we continued by providing Sunday breakfasts from January 1993.
We gradually expanded and developed our work taking the new name of Cheltenham Open Door and becoming both a registered charity and limited company. We have been operating from our Grosvenor Street base since 1998.
Cheltenham Open Door supports vulnerable, disadvantaged and lonely people. Our guests are men and women who have been deprived of the comforts and security most of us take for granted, and we offer them hospitality, warmth, food and somewhere to relax. Many have health issues and a difficult or complicated background.
We do not judge and we make no charge for any of our services.
Our Christmas shelter still runs every year, (open 24th to 27th December), during which time we try to provide a warm and welcoming environment for those in need. We provide a full Christmas dinner, and a present for every guest. In addition there is fun, music and games for all.
Throughout the year we still open on Sunday mornings for breakfast. We are also open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when, in addition to lunch, a range of other services such as clothes store, showers and access to advice and help are available. A recent innovation has been to organise an annual outing to a local place of interest (this year: Cotswold Wildlife Park) and to run short courses such as cookery and art.
Our latest project, currently in the very early stages, is to provide supervised access to the internet for our guests. As more and more services become available on-line (sometimes ONLY on-line) we became aware that this was another area where our guests could otherwise be missing out.
Our core business however remains providing hot meals four times a week – totalling approximately 10,000 meals a year. We rely almost entirely on donations: money (of course!), food (particularly basic tinned goods) and clothes (especially men's warm clothing/shoes) are among the most important.
More information and contact details can be found at: www.cheltenhamopendoor.org.ukwww.cheltenhamopendoor.org.uk
Mary Michael
We gradually expanded and developed our work taking the new name of Cheltenham Open Door and becoming both a registered charity and limited company. We have been operating from our Grosvenor Street base since 1998.
Cheltenham Open Door supports vulnerable, disadvantaged and lonely people. Our guests are men and women who have been deprived of the comforts and security most of us take for granted, and we offer them hospitality, warmth, food and somewhere to relax. Many have health issues and a difficult or complicated background.
We do not judge and we make no charge for any of our services.
Our Christmas shelter still runs every year, (open 24th to 27th December), during which time we try to provide a warm and welcoming environment for those in need. We provide a full Christmas dinner, and a present for every guest. In addition there is fun, music and games for all.
Throughout the year we still open on Sunday mornings for breakfast. We are also open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when, in addition to lunch, a range of other services such as clothes store, showers and access to advice and help are available. A recent innovation has been to organise an annual outing to a local place of interest (this year: Cotswold Wildlife Park) and to run short courses such as cookery and art.
Our latest project, currently in the very early stages, is to provide supervised access to the internet for our guests. As more and more services become available on-line (sometimes ONLY on-line) we became aware that this was another area where our guests could otherwise be missing out.
Our core business however remains providing hot meals four times a week – totalling approximately 10,000 meals a year. We rely almost entirely on donations: money (of course!), food (particularly basic tinned goods) and clothes (especially men's warm clothing/shoes) are among the most important.
More information and contact details can be found at: www.cheltenhamopendoor.org.ukwww.cheltenhamopendoor.org.uk
Mary Michael
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