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Essex pensioners to receive vouchers for food
£3.2m of support for eligible Essex pensioners has been made available to help with the rise in living costs by the Department for Work and Pensions Household Support Fund (HSF) initiative.
Essex County Council (ECC) is grateful for the support of its partners in the districts, boroughs and cities who have quickly mobilised, paying £80 directly into the bank accounts of eligible pensioners to help with household bills and shopping.
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Eligible pensioners (those who are in receipt of a means tested benefit and/or in receipt of council tax support) who do not share their bank details with their local council needn’t worry, because ECC will be issuing an £80 supermarket voucher directly by post to them over the coming weeks, to be used at their nearest supermarket.
Essex has received a total of £9.4m from the DWP for the period of April 2022 to September 2022. In addition to supporting pensioners, it has also supported thousands of households through the Essential Living Fund, the Free School Meals holiday voucher scheme, and by distributing funding through the Citizens Advice Bureau, Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and providing foodbanks with additional money to keep their stocks replenished.
ECC Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community, Equality, Partnerships and Performance, Cllr Louise McKinlay said: “The last few years have been hard for everyone, and we know that people across the county continue to feel the strain financially as the cost of living continues to rise.
“These vouchers are one way we are supporting some of the county’s most vulnerable and making sure they have food on their tables.
“Even if you don’t qualify for these vouchers, there is other support available for households and I would urge residents to take a look on our website for more details.”
Details on support available to residents can be found here: https:// www.essex.gov.uk/money-debt-andbenefits/money-and-debt.
New domestic abuse support group
Thrive Survivors Group is a safe space, offering peer support and professional facilitators in comfortable surroundings with refreshments too. Funded via the Epping Forest Public Health Grant and the Community Safety Partnership the group first met in April. It is a partnership between the Epping Team Ministry, Epping Forest Health and Wellbeing Board, Changing Pathways and Epping Forest CSP and is proving to be a vital resource for women who have found the courage to leave abusive relationships. Currently around seven women attend the Tuesday (term-time) meetings, but there is room for more. Changing Pathways, an organisation providing free and confidential support to those subjected to domestic abuse and stalking in Epping Forest and other districts in Essex, run the meetings. Changing Pathways facilitator, Bexx and mindfulness coach Catherine all offer support with coping strategies and next steps to help attendees move on with their new lives. Phillis the Thrive group co-ordinator, who runs the group, is also a domestic abuse survivor bringing a personal element to the discussions. Attendees are encouraged to share their stories, or just listen quietly and seek one-to-one support outside the main meeting.
Solicitor Lorraine who was visiting the group as part of Thrive Group initiative to bring in various professionals to offer help and advice to the survivors is a family lawyer. Cllr Holly Whitbread, Chair of Epping Forest Community Safety Partnership said: This is a great example of partnership working at its best. It brings together a number of organisations that are able to provide emotional and practical support for women escaping domestic abuse. It is already proving successful and there is room for new members, so I would urge any women in our district who need support to contact the group. A Waltham Abbey man who allowed his dogs to cause a nuisance to neighbours has been fined and ordered to pay a further £11,000. The dogs were seized by council officers and since been rehomed. He was served with the notice in October 2020 requiring him to prevent further incidents of prolonged barking at his property however Environmental Enforcement Officers continued to receive complaints. Despite 2 previous prosecutions Mr Soydag failed to comply with notices in force. Between 2 and 12 November 2021 officers witnessed 5 breaches. An application to magistrates for a warrant to enter the property and seize dogs was granted on 10 December 2021. On 14 December council officers alongside Essex Police and colleagues from the London Borough of Waltham Forest seized 2 Belgian Malinois dogs and took them to kennels. Subsequently one of the dogs had a litter of 9 puppies which were all kept together in secure kennels. On 1 June 2022 Mr Soydag appeared before Colchester Magistrates Court and changed his plea to guilty in respect of the 5 breaches of CPN and received a fine and costs of £3,954. A forfeiture application was adjourned for Mr Soydag to provide evidence of ownership of the dogs. At Basildon Magistrates Court on 22 July 2022 he failed to provide any evidence. Council officers detailed the history of the long running case and previous action that had been taken. This resulted in a forfeiture order along with further costs of £11,000 to Mr Soydag.
GriefLine (01279 945089) - is here to support bereaved people across West Essex and East Herts GriefLine (01279 945089) is a local resource offering much-needed emotional support via telephone, across West Essex and East Herts, to anyone struggling with their grief around the loss of someone. GriefLine operates from 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday. It is run by a team of St Clare staff and volunteers, trained to deliver emotional support to those who are struggling with their grief. Anyone who has experienced a loss, whether recently or in the past, is welcome to call GriefLine. No previous connection to St Clare Hospice is required to access support. If you would like to speak to someone about the loss of someone, no matter how long ago you were bereaved, the number to call is 01279 945089. GriefLine is free to call, though charges may apply in line with your standard network rate. For more information on GriefLine, visit: griefline.co.uk
Namaste Dementia Care –free, one-to-one service launches!
St Clare Hospice has launched a new, free service to support people living with advanced dementia, and their carers, across West Essex and East Herts. Namaste Dementia Care delivers personalised, one-to-one, Namaste Care activities to people living with dementia in their own homes and in residential homes. Namaste Care offers a personcentred approach and the service involves trained volunteers supporting people with advanced dementia to engage in meaningful activities to promote an improved quality of life. Namaste Dementia Care volunteers visit weekly, for a period of up to 10 weeks, and offer a tailored package of sessions to suit the individual. Activities used are designed to stimulate all five senses, which has been shown to really help people with dementia to connect and engage with others. Namaste Care activities can include: hand massage, music, memory boxes, poetry and gentle movement. To access this service please contact Joanne Morrison on 07534 031702 or email namastecare@stclarehospice.org.uk Find out more online: stclarehospice.org.uk/namaste/ More volunteers are needed to support this new service. Find out more and apply, at stclarehospice.org.uk/ volunteervacancies
League of Friends of St Margaret’s Hospital presented with cheque for use of the hospital car park
The League of Friends of St Margaret’s Hospital has received a cheque from the Rotary Club of Epping after Epping Town Council was allowed to use some of the car parks at St Margaret’s Hospital for parking for the Epping Town Show in July.
With the support of the Rotary Club of Epping who marshalled the car parks, members of the public gave optional donations for their car parking.
The Rotary Club of Epping raised £154 from the car park donations with the money presented at Epping Town Council’s full council meeting on Monday.
Liz Jones, from the League of Friends, said: “We are delighted the Rotary Club of Epping and the town council collected parking donations in the hospital car park and that this generous sum has been passed to the League of Friends.
"It will be used to meet the regular requests for help we get from the Epping Forest Unit and the Mental Health Unit on the St Margaret’s site. Many thanks to everyone who helped to raise this gift.”
Epping Town Mayor councillor Barbara Scruton said: On behalf of Epping Town Council, I want to thank St Margaret’s Hospital for their kind permission to allow us to use some of the car parks on the day of Epping Town Show.
"We would also like to thank the Rotary Club of Epping for supporting Epping Town Council with marshalling the car parks and those who gave donations to the charity.
"By having the support of the Rotary Club of Epping to marshall the car parks, by kind permission of St Margaret’s Hospital, it really helped to provide a much-needed facility for residents to attend our event.”
• A new Stonards Hill Tennis Pass will be launched from September 1 to provide additional benefits for players using the two floodlit community tennis courts on the Stonards Hill recreation ground in Epping. • The current free play will still be available with the new Tennis Pass being offered to those who wish to use the courts and receive additional benefits. • Tennis Pass' members will be able to: Reserve your court - with online court booking up to 14 days in advance to guarantee your court (non tennis pass members receive five days advance booking rights)
• Play after dark and play year round - all tennis pass members will have floodlights included in their booking at no extra cost (non-Tennis Pass members pay £1.50 per 30 minutes. • Play 365 days a year and a maximum of five times per week, up to two hours for each booking (non-Tennis Pass members can play two times a week for up one hour for each booking). The Tennis Pass costs £30 for 12 months. To sign up from September 1 visit:www.clubspark.lta.org.uk/ StonardsHillTennisCourts/Membership/Join
Annual Toot Hill Show
County councillor praises Toot Hill Show organisers Ongar & Rural county councillor Jaymey McIvor has praised everyone involved with the 69th Toot Hill Show which was held recently. Councillor McIvor said: “This was yet another spectacular Toot Hill Show with loads of great local charities, craft businesses and community groups coming together to show off Ongar Rural. In addition to the Tennis Pass there is also a wide range of coaching provided at the courts by David Watson Tennis Coaching.
Epping Town Council is working with the LTA to develop a sustainable community tennis facility to ensure residents can enjoy the facilities for years to come.
He added: “From Alpaccas and Essex Police to Stanford Rivers Parish Council and Epping Forest Honey - the 69th Toot Hill Show was one to remember and we have the exciting platinum show to look forward to next year.
“Well done to the dedicated team that organised such a great day.”
Discarded cigarette catches outbuilding alight
On 20th August, Firefighters were called to an outbuilding fire in Loughton at 1:33pm. On arrival, crews reported an outbuilding attached to a house was on fire and was beginning to spread to two houses. Crews worked quickly to prevent the fire spreading further and extinguished it by 2:21pm. Firefighters believe it was caused by a discarded cigarette. Station Manager Nick Singleton said: “This was the second fire our crews had been to this weekend caused by a discarded cigarette. Please, if you are a smoker, take care when discarding cigarettes. Make sure they are properly stubbed out before you discard them as the embers from a lit cigarette can quickly cause devastating fires.” Source: Essex County Fire and Rescue Services
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Living Well Programme
Living Well programme – supporting you to live well with a lifelimiting condition Hospice care is more than you think. It’s about supporting you to live well with a life-limiting condition, so you can make every day count. If you, or someone you know, has a life-limiting condition, our Living Well programme could make such a difference. It can help with:
• Coping with change • Navigating services • Preparing for your next consultation • Planning for your future If you would like to be considered for a space on the Living Well programme, you can call First Contact on 01279 773774 or email nfo@stclarehospice.org.uk Find out more here: stclarehospice.org.uk/living -well
