Cardiff
I have loved reading the stories in this newsletter – it’s great to see what everyone is getting up to. I particularly loved reading about all the good things going on in your local communities – everything from volunteering to taking part in activities that are meaningful to you.
I also enjoyed attending the most recent Better Together events. It has been lovely to see staff and the people we support socialising and having fun - but just as importantly, to hear from you about what you are happy with and what you think needs to improve.
I am thrilled that we have recently welcomed Sara Davies, our new Director of Support Services – whom you may have met at a Better Together event. Sara, like me and the whole Director Management Team at Mirus, is committed to working to make our support the best it can be.
Kirsty Davies-Warner Chief Executive
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Where you live & who with Activities and social lives Supportive staff members Mirus Moments People in your area What’s coming up 02 03 04 06 07 08 09 May 2024 www.mirus-wales.org.uk
Updates from your area
What is Better Together?
Better Together refers to the way in which Mirus gathers information. We gather information from everyone, so that we can be sure that we focus on improving the things are most important to people.
Updates from your area
People from Cardiff held their Better Together event at the West End Social Club in Ely on 13th March 2024.
At the event everyone enjoyed chatting and laughing with friends, singing and dancing to music from the DJ, and eating buffet food.
We also told you the most common themes from the latest feedback you have given us. We’ll use this feedback to make improvements to the things that are most important to you.
You said:
You want more control over your finances
Landlords take too long to complete home repairs
You like the staff who support you
You are happy with where you live and who you live with
You are happy with your social lives, but you’d like more activities at weekends
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Where you live & who with
You said, we did
People are happy where they live and who they live with – with some enjoying living with others and some loving living on their own.
George enjoys his own space
George has lived in his flat for a long time and enjoys his own space and making the flat his own. He loves how living on his own gives him independence. He has developed close links to the local community, and is a regular at art and pottery classes, social group meet ups, and parties and gatherings, such as the Better Together events.
He lives in Cardiff, which has great public transport links, enabling him to go into the city centre, either by train or by bus, very easily. The bus stop is right outside his flat, and the train station is just across the road.
There is also a shop across the road, which George visits if he needs anything. When asked about his flat, George said:
“I really enjoy living here and never want to leave.”
Tracey loves living with others
Some people prefer to live with others. Tracey moved in with a group of women in 2019 and has settled in brilliantly. Since then, she has formed incredible relationships with the people she lives with and is always kind and caring. Tracey loves the consistency and somewhere she can call home.
She has gone on two holidays, one with her co-tenant to Tenby and one holiday last year
with all the ladies she lives with.
She loves who she is living with as everyone gets along so well – to her, it’s more than just co-tenants, she truly cares about the people she lives with and sees them as close friends. They regularly go out together to see shows and do activities such as bowling and going to the cinema.
Tracey has also encouraged her co-tenants to become more confident and this has clearly shown with them all dancing together at the Better Together event in March.
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George is a regular at social group meet ups
Tracey loves living with other people - and fish!
You said, we did Activities and social lives
You told us that you are happy with your social lives, but you’d like more activities to do, especially during bad weather or at the weekends.
Since the start of the year, there has been an increase in the number of activities in Cardiff.
The Royal Mint Experience In Canton, people have been working on setting up more weekend activities for people supported. David, Fiona and Samit travelled to The Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant to learn about where money comes from and how it is made.
They learned all about the history of money, such as when the first coin was made. They also got to see the London 2012 Olympic bronze, silver, and gold medals.
As a reminder of the experience, they were lucky enough to press their own coin and take it home.
They all enjoyed it and are hoping to do some more fun activities in the future.
Taking time to relax
Pamper days are a great way to improve your wellbeing and your mental health. After a few difficult months, staff decided to take Robin out for a day of pampering and food to help lift his spirits.
At the spa, Robin had many treatments including a hot stone pebble massage on his legs, which he enjoyed.
After the spa, Robin – supported by staff – went for a walk through Maitland Park to soak up the sun. After a short walk, they had lunch at Longa Turkish café where Robin ordered fried eggs and sucuk (dried sausage) and his favourite coffee, a cappuccino.
With a little encouragement Robin’s wellbeing improved, and everyone had a fantastic day relaxing and treating themselves.
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David, Samit and Fiona had a great time at The Royal Mint Experience
Robin felt refreshed after his day of relaxation
World Autism Acceptance Week
Tuesday 2nd – Monday 8th April was World Autism Acceptance Week, and the Cardiff social group raised awareness of autism, and funds for the National Autistic Society.
The social group held many events – on Monday they had a Meal Out Monday event at Slug & Lettuce, on Wednesday there was a Wellness Wednesday Move to Music event with Fitness Unique, and on Thursday they organised tenpin bowling at Superbowl.
On Friday there was a walk and get together at Victoria Park where they organised a walk around the park and some lunch and on Saturday, they helped with litter picking for Keep Canton Tidy.
The group wore bright colours and National Autistic Society t-shirts at all the events. They also carried banners, including one that used the handprints of people who attended the Cardiff Better Together event in its design.
As well as making the banner, attendees at the Better Together event raised £60 for the National Autistic Society.
Mark Griffiths, Support Worker and Community Network Coordinator, runs the Cardiff social group and said:
“It’s important to raise awareness and to make people aware of the challenges autistic people face. At our Meal out Monday event at Slug & Lettuce, we told them what we were promoting, and they were fully behind us.
“The Victoria Park Pub advertised our Friday event on their Facebook page as well. The whole week has gone really well, but the main thing is making people aware.”
Combined with other events across Mirus, the Cardiff social group have raised an incredible £353 for the National Autistic Society, beating their £300 target.
Read the full story on our website: mirus-wales.org.uk/latest-news/waaw24
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The Cardiff social group walked around Victoria Park carrying their handprint banner
Updates from your area You said, we did Supportive staff members
You told us that you like the staff members who work with you, and you enjoy being involved with recruiting new people.
It’s important that the people we support at Mirus can get involved in choosing their own staff, and the staff who work in our central services.
There are lots of ways that people can get involved with recruiting staff, including:
• making a video that talks about their likes, dislikes and interests
• writing their own advert
• joining the interview panel
• meeting the candidates for a coffee
• filming a pre-recorded question for candidates to answer
• helping to write interview questions
• having a video or phone call with the candidates
• attending recruitment fairs and open days
• giving feedback on the answers candidates give
• telling a successful candidate that they’ve got the job
Being part of the recruitment process not only gets the people we support familiar with new staff, but it also helps to involve them and give them a choice in who they have around them.
Gary has found staff that match him
Gary has been unable to help with the interviews as he has had other commitments but was still keen to be involved in any way he could.
He had a meeting with his team manager to speak about what qualities he would like
Gary is happy to have found staff members who share his interests
in a new member of his support staff. This information was then placed into his staff matching profile to make sure his new support staff had all the qualities Gary wanted.
With the information from Gary, a new staff member was introduced to his support team, Adrian, who quickly became one of Gary’s favourite members of staff. This led to Gary asking for Adrian to become his link worker and he will often speak to Adrian about planning holidays and day activities.
Recently, Gary and his team manager spoke about interviewing another staff member for the team. Again, with the advice from Gary, a new team member Sindy, was introduced. She soon became another favourite of Gary’s.
At the Better Together Event in Cardiff, Gary stood up in front of everyone and said how he is happy with his new staff member Sindy.
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Gary speaking at the Better Together event
Mirus Moments
Updates from your area Celebrating achievements
A Mirus Moment is when someone has done something extra special.
People supported by Mirus and Mirus staff members can both win prizes, when they are nominated by others for doing something great.
You can nominate people who you think deserve to be recognised for their achievements. We have made the online form even quicker and easier to complete, and we hope that even more people will nominate. www.bit.ly/mirusmoments
Each month Mirus Representatives select their favourite nominations to win a prize. Winners will then go forward to be in with a chance of winning a Mirus Star at our awards ceremony later in the year.
Your area’s Mirus Moments 2024 winners so far
Francesca Cunliffe (staff)
Paul’s reason for being nominated:
“Paul has been learning to play the guitar recently. Francesca, one of his Support Workers, spends time each week giving Paul lessons. He looks forward to these lessons and has learned E minor and A minor chords.
Paul can play ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica and ‘Smoke on the Water’ among other things. He is about to learn another chord to add to the ones he has learned.”
Mirus Moments winner Paul Fowler, supported by Mirus
Francesca’s reason for being nominated:
“Francesca consistently goes above and beyond during her shifts. She has shown remarkable dedication by teaching Paul how to tie a dicky bow tie, because he enjoys dressing smartly.
Not only that, but Francesca has also been giving guitar lessons to Paul, who eagerly anticipates these sessions each week.
Francesca’s commitment and efforts are truly commendable, and she should be applauded for the outstanding work she does.” Nominate
www.bit.ly/mirusmoments Paul Fowler (person supported)
You can nominate a person supported by Mirus or a Mirus staff member by filling out the form at the link below.
Each person nominated could win a Mirus Moment, and go on to be in with a chance of winning a Mirus Star.
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online!
For information and support People in your area
Mirus staff members
Responsible Individual
Name: Peter Davies
Email: PeterD@mirus-wales.org.uk
Area Managers
Name: Samantha Cottle
Email: Samantha.Cottle@Mirus-wales.org.uk
Name: Stacey Crocker
Email: Stacey.Crocker@Mirus-wales.org.uk
Name: Monica Costa:
Email: MonicaC@Mirus-wales.org.uk
Mirus Rep
Welcome to Sara Davies our new Director of Support Services
Name: Alex West
Area: Cardiff
Stay up to date with what’s happening across Mirus by following us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram or our website.
www.facebook.com/miruswales www.twitter.com/miruswales
www.instagram.com/miruswales www.mirus-wales.org.uk
Mirus Reps are volunteers who are supported by Mirus. They are the voice of people supported by Mirus in their area. Their role is to provide feedback and opinions from other people we support to Mirus.
Their goal is to make things better for people supported by Mirus, and help to make sure that people can do the things they love. Stay up to date
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What’s coming up
Get involved...
Coming along to one of the Cardiff social group’s activities is a great way to be more social. There are currently 40 active members with 4 new members joining since January.
Since the start of the year, there have been 60 events, with over 700 people attending – this works out as more than 12 people per event.
If you’d like to join the Cardiff social group, please speak to your Support Worker or Team Leader.
Cardiff weekly social group events
Meal Out Mondays
When: Mondays 6pm - 8pm
Where: One of five accessible restaurants
What: Our most popular social group, with 15-22 people attending. Eating at a choice of five popular restaurants, where members have built strong relationships with the staff. All the restaurants are picked based on their location, wheelchair access, prices, seating, customer service, cash payments and transport accessibility.
Wellness Wednesdays
When: Wednesdays 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Where: Heath
What: Move to Music with Fitness Unique provides fitness training to people with learning disabilities. The sessions are run by Clare Cole who is an Occupational Therapist and Personal Fitness Trainer.
Active Thursdays
When: Thursdays 3pm - 5pm and 6pm - 8pm
What: A range of activities such as Tenpin bowling, Treetop mini golf, and bingo. The activities are great for making new friends, and doing something fun when the weather is bad.
Friday Walk and Get Together
When: Fridays 12pm - 2pm
Where: Victoria Park - meet near the cafe and look out for the pink umbrella
What: A gentle stroll around Victoria Park, followed by food, drinks and a game of skittles at Victoria Park Pub. Members have great relationships with the pub’s management.
Keep Canton Tidy
When: Saturdays and Sundays, variable
What: 30 volunteers meet to litter pick at Victoria Park, Thompson’s Park, the Co-op on Cowbridge Road East and Castle Bingo.
Moon Bar: evening out
When: Last Wednesday of every month 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Where: Moon Bar, Womanby St, Cardiff
What: Live music and karaoke organised by Skills and Volunteering Cymru.
Coed Caerdydd
What: Tree planting events around Cardiff. Times, dates and locations vary.
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What’s happening across Mirus
Mental Health Awareness Week
When: 13th - 19th May
Where: On our social media @MirusWales and events held across Mirus
What: Activities, information sharing and encouraging people to get involved with things that can improve mental health. Learn more: www.bit.ly/mhawmay2024
Volunteers Week
When: 3rd - 9th June
Where: On our social media @MirusWales
What: Celebrating our volunteers and raising awareness of volunteering opportunities across Mirus.
Learn more: www.bit.ly/volunteersweek2024
Carers Week
When: 10th - 16th June
Where: On our social media @MirusWales and at our Respite house on Pantbach Avenue in Cardiff
What: Listening to and learning from the feedback from unpaid carers. Raising awareness of the challenges that carers face. Learn More: www.carersweek.org
Learning Disability Week
When: 17th - 23rd June
Where: On our social media @MirusWales and at All Wales People First’s Adfest
What: Sharing positive stories, and attending the All Wales People First conference, Adfest. People can also attend Adfest on 19th or 20th June. £30 for members, £45 for non-members. Learn more: www.bit.ly/adfestflyer2024
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