View this newsletter online, visit EBHT.ORG.UK click Staff Login and follow the link
essential reading
June 2022
Inside this issue
Support East Boro’s Mighty Hikers... The Waverley gets a Lottery Grant... Care & Support Monthly Update... Here’s our first Pet’s Gallery... Wellbeing What’s on July... and much more!
Badbury Rings, Dorset... a great place for a stroll on a summer evening
www.ebht.org.uk PA R T O F
East Boro Housing Trust is a Charitable Registered Society under the Co operative and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014 No. 16946R
news Welcome & Farewell Starters No starters this month
Leavers Johnathan Carroll Handyman/Gardener
If you would like to contribute to YOUR staff newsletter, please email me: sue.hole@aster.co.uk and attach a photo
Note to Managers Our very own ER Staff Newsletter is the perfect place to thank staff by mentioning their efforts to gain qualifications or give them a well earned pat on the back for going above and beyond in the workplace. Email over the information, together with a photograph to: sue.hole@aster.co.uk
East Boro’s Mighty Hikers Cara Lewis and Kelly Baker are taking part in this year’s Jurassic Coast Mighty Hike to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support. They will be walking 26 miles along the beautiful but very hilly Jurassic Coastline starting from Weymouth. Their training has begun and each month they will update us on their progress. Their own stories behind why they are taking on this challenge are below as are the links to their Just Giving Pages if you wish to donate/ sponsor them.
Cara’s Story On 10th September 2022 I will be walking 26 miles along the Jurassic Coast to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Whilst I am sure it will be challenging, it is insignificant in comparison to the challenges people who are fighting Cancer face every day. My Mom fought Cancer twice, both times with incredible courage and bravery, but the second battle was too fierce and in August 2019 my heart broke and my life changed forever when she passed away. My hope and wish is that one day there will be a cure for all Cancers. Until that day, I want to do what I can to raise money for vital Research and to ensure every person fighting Cancer has the care and support they need each and every day. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Cara-Lewis12
Kelly’s Story
East Boro are commited to investing in our staff. If there is a training course you would like to attend, please talk to your Line Manager.
1
You may or may not know, but I lost my two lovely grandads, George and Gordon to Cancer, so I have decided to push my limits & take myself outside of my comfort zone to raise money for this amazing charity, on 10/09/2022 I will walk 26 miles & quite likely encounter nerve trembling heights which fills me with dread, but every day people living with cancer are coping with uncertainty, fear, discomfort & overwhelming exhaustion so I think one day is the least I can do! www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kelly-baker21
news
East Boro tackle loneliness and isolation with lottery grant East Boro has been awarded a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to help tackle loneliness and isolation in the Weymouth community. The grant of £50,000, which will be paid over two years, will fund the appointment of an events co-ordinator who will be based at the Waverley Community Hub to deliver an activity programme to promote interests, hobbies and activities for people in the local community. The events programme will include 15 different activities each week offered throughout the morning, afternoon and evening. These activities will range from book clubs, games sessions, reminiscence afternoons to film clubs and arts and crafts. There will also be the opportunity for social get togethers over coffee and biscuits. Commenting on the exciting new project, Kevin Hodder, said: “Our thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for providing this generous lottery grant which will help us make a big difference to those in our community experiencing loneliness and isolation. Through wellbeing initiatives and a diverse range of clubs and sessions we hope to bring people together through common interests so they can discover hidden talents and meet new people in a friendly and welcoming environment.” The programme will be delivered by East Boro’s Activities & Events Co-ordinator Michelle Woodward (pictured above). Commenting on the positive difference she hopes to make in the local community, Michelle said: “Due to the pandemic and lockdown our aim is to offer small intimate social groups that are welcoming, fun and in a safe environment aimed at reducing isolation and loneliness. They’ll be a varied range of activities and clubs which will be open to all ages, three times a day for a small fee to help towards ongoing running costs. We’re looking forward to holding our first session on Wednesday 15 June.” The Waverley is also home to The Nest, a not-for-profit community shop and café. Single people and families on a low income can buy 10 items off the shelves for £3.50, or 15 items for £5 respectively, along with free bread, milk and vegetables. For social supermarket members the café offers a range of very affordable refreshments such as jacket potato, filling and salad for £1.50, beans on toast for 50p and cake for 30p. The café is also open to non-members at non-discounted prices. Michelle will also be working with The Nest to extend The Waverley’s activities programme to their customers. To find out more about the activity programme and to register your interest, please contact Michelle at mwoodward@ebht.org.uk
2
news
Care & Support
Your Monthly News Update I hope everyone had a good Jubilee Break and enjoyed the festivities. Thank you to everyone who worked over the bank holidays weekend, these are usually bittersweet shifts, as you get to support the clients to celebrate and join in with the events. Can I just reemphasise the email message Kevin Hodder sent to everyone in regards to LFT testing: Care and Support/frontline staff must take an LFT twice a week and report the result accordingly on the Government Portal via the App. Faulkner House Unique Organisation Number is 46554853 Weymouth Care & Support Staff, Sheltered Housing Officers, Housing Concierge, Cleaner/Caretakers, Handypersons and staff undertaking routine fire alarm testing/compliance checks are to use Anne achislett@ebht.org.uk and Poole Care & Support Staff are Chislett’s email as their contact in the app, to use Stacey Davis’ email, sdavis@ebht.org.uk, so their results can be sent directly to them for audit purposes, if the email goes to your own work email, please forward this to Anne or Stacey in accordance with the directive above. Should a staff member test positive, they will be required to test daily until a negative test is received. There is no update on the Covid-19 Booster programme at the moment, The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s current view is that in autumn 2022, a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to: •
residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
•
frontline health and social care workers
•
all those 65 years of age and over
•
adults aged 16 to 64 years in a clinical risk group New Staff I’d like to welcome back Alice Stepin (nee Avis). Alice will be resuming her role as Care & Support Worker with the Poole Care & Support service. Not only has Alice got married while she has been away, but she also became a Mum to Edward, so double congratulations!
Art Group Open Day There will be an Open Day to showcase everyone’s work 10am to 3.30pm Saturday 9th July at the Waverley, so if any of you are free and fancy popping in, Im sure Nick and his team would love to see you. Mary Stepin, Director of Care & Independent Living Services
3
news
Pets Gallery Our pets, whatever they are, are such a tonic and thanks to everyone who has shared photos of their furry friends. I certainly don’t mind making this a regular feature, so please keep sending your pet pics in to me sue.hole@aster.co.uk
Barbora Brown has shared these lovely photos of Galaxy and Mafia (brother and sister) who are just over 3 years old but have only been living with Barbora and her family for a few months. Looks as if they have really made themselves at home and will be making every member of the Brown family their devoted slaves - as cats do! Some of you may remember Pebbles as she featured in ER News when she was a puppy. She has now grown into an adorable young lady. Kevin Hodder has sent this photo in of Pebbles proudly showing off her collection of beloved soft toys. This is Gerrard - now he might appear to be snoozing but I’m reliably informed by his owner, Robin James that he is infact working tirelessly as Robin’s PA!
Loraine Dallimore brought her heartmelting little cocker spaniel puppy Jimmy into the office to distract everyone with his gorgeousness. Here he is (left) with Bailey and Emma, Loraine’s daughter. Jimmy obviously had a busy day!
4
Hard to guess which one is her favourite but I would hazard a guess at the chicken?
And just enough space left for me to squeeze in another pic of my new puppy, Shelley.
news
The Aster Way and our Diversity and Inclusion Principles help to underpin everything we do and support us to create a fair and inclusive culture for all. As part of this and our wider Programme Experience transformation, colleague voice channels help empower you to use your voice to actively contribute to our success. That’s why the colleague networks we have in place are so important, they’re safe spaces to come together and help us drive a culture of inclusion. We already have very active and engaged LGBTQ+ and Disability colleague networks and now we’re looking to include other networks. Our existing broader ‘D&I network’ will be changing and will be replaced by new focused Race and Heritage, Carers, and Gender networks. We have also launched an Inclusion Steering Group which will help us ensure inclusion is being considered in decision making across the business, as well as receiving updates from the networks and act as the link to the Corporate Performance and People Panel. Watch this short animation to find out more: https://astercomms.wistia.com/medias/ ffnd87dkfv If anyone is interested in joining any of the colleague networks, please contact Kathryn Jones, diversity and inclusion lead for information. kathryn.jones@aster.co.uk
Join our
LGBTQ+ Network
June is the start of PRIDE and I hope you managed to join in with a few events. If you would like to join our LGBTQ+ Network, we’d love to hear from you. Within the Aster Group we offer a safe space for colleagues who identify as LGBTQ+ or nonbinary and allies. We actively use our Stonewall Membership and organise Pride activities. Please contact Kathryn Jones, Aster’s diversity and inclusion lead. kathryn.jones@aster.co.uk
5
Free & Confidential Support
with Plumm
Have you visited Plumm on Teams yet? It is a useful platform on which to recieve therapy and support - free and completely confidential. If you need to talk through any issues, then try Plumm. Plumm is available through the MS Teams, click on Plumm in the menu or download the app. When you click on Plumm you should be taken to your dashboard with a personalised welcome message. Booking a video counselling session When you click to book a session you will be taken to a few questions to find out a bit of background so you can be matched with the right counsellor/ therapist. You should get a message back via your chat therapist with a therapist profile card of who they think has the right skills to support you. You should receive an email to notify you that your chat therapist has sent you a message. If your notifications are turned off you might need to physically check back on Teams. You can normally book a session in as little as 24 hours. Chatting with your therapist It’s as easy as sending a text message – just write whatever you want to in the chat box and a therapist will come back to you within 1 – 2 working days. You can type as many messages as you need to.
what’s on
July Date
Time
5th July
9.00 - 12.00
Mental Health Champions - Part 1
6th July
9.00 - 12.00
Mental Health Champions - Part 2
15th July
13.00 - 14.30
Wellbing Art Class
20th July
10.00 - 12.00
Increasing Emotional Resilience
26th July
10.00 - 11.00
Physical Intelligence
26th July
11.00 - 12.00
Sofa Sessions - Talking Menopause
27th July
13.00 - 15.00
Introduction to Mental Health
If you have any questions, please email EEandOL@aster.co.uk
2022 Wellbeing Calendar Empowering Yourself at Work THURSDAY 28 JULY with Lloyd Ripley Evans . 60 Min .
1:1 video therapy
Chat therapy
Wellbeing courses
Guided meditations
Being in a workplace can pose certain challenges that can affect mental health. Fear prevents us from trusting our managers and colleagues, leading to dissatisfaction, micro-management, poor performance, lack of communication, and conflict. Book via Teams - see page 5