A Carer’s Journey

We would like to say a big thank you to Scott Brebber for giving his inspiring talk, A Carer’s Journey, to the gents who attended our Monday Men’s Group in February. Scott was a carer for 25 years for his wife, Kathleen, who sadly passed away in 2022, and he has made the transition from fulltime carer to world adventurer! Scott captivated attendees with a slideshow of images from his expedition cruise in Antarctica and entertained everyone with anecdotes from his trip, which included receiving a certificate for being brave enough to plunge into the ice-cold ocean! Over the last few months, he has also been motorcycling in France, Spain and Portugal, and is now planning to fish from a lodge on the beach in Ascension Bay, Mexico, and pay visits to Iceland and Greenland. All of these are bucket list items he had previously discussed with Kathleen.

As a fully qualified Angling Instructor, Scott has also carried out a volunteer role for over 20 years coaching young people and newcomers in the art of fly fishing during Ballater Victoria Week. These lessons are always very well received and usually oversubscribed, so Scott has been asked to increase his attendance this year.

Looking after Kathleen was a large and significant part of Scott’s life. When caring responsibilities come to an end, it can be hard to know what to do next. It can leave you feeling a bit lost and uncertain, with time on your hands that you’re not used to having. It affects everyone differently, and there is no one-size-fits-all, but we are heartened to see that Scott is living life to the full, keeping fit and still racing in Tough

Mudder obstacle course events. He said, “My Kathleen appreciated all I did for her. She walked in a bubble of love, care, and security provided by me. She never came to any harm in our 50 years together and I still miss her so much. I go travelling, not to run away but to honour the promises we made to each other.”

Thank you so much, Scott. We are certain that Kathleen would approve!

Agile

The updated (2023) version of the Aberdeen Guide to Independent Living and Enablement (AGILE) is now available to view at https://orlo.uk/TyKMe

AGILE is for anyone who wants to find out about the help and support available in Aberdeen to enable an individual to stay as independent as possible in their own home. Find support from a whole range of services to support you to stay safe, stay well, stay connected, and stay informed.

A number of hard copies of the brochure are available, so please just get in touch if you would like one.

Survey results

As a co-produced service, we want to ensure that we capture your ideas, and earlier this year we asked you complete a short survey. Your ideas have been added to our service development plan and we will be implementing as many as we can over the next year.

Thirty-eight carers would like to see a regular, in-person, warm space/drop-in group at Albert Street, with a few more preferring online groups. We also had a few requests from working carers and would like to hear from more working carers to see if an evening online group would be helpful.

Here, we have responded to as many queries as we can.

Groups you can take your cared-for to You can do this at our new Cuppa & Catch-Up group (see p3). Organisations like Aberdeen FC Community Trust also run regular events such as blethers, football memories, health walks, and dementia cafés. https://bit.ly/40QQguQ

The Living Well Project offers Dementia Cafés with safe, friendly spaces for those with memory loss and their carers and families. The cafés provide chat, fun, reminiscing, and entertainment. These are currently at Brimmond, Ferryhill, and Oldmachar Churches https://www.thelivingwellproject.org.uk/

The Virtual Village Hall is an online hub designed to help people stay physically and mentally active. Sessions are led by expert tutors and include creative arts & crafts, music, baking, exercise, and technology skills. Join in with live sessions or catch up later at a time that suits you. http://bit.ly/3nZGc4A

A Parent Carer group that children can also attend

We submitted a grant application which, we are pleased to say, was successful and will now enable us to run an in-person group with playworkers to assist with activities for children. We will let you know more once we have venues and other details sorted out.

Cookery classes

CFINE on Poynernook Road run free Cook at the Nook sessions that are held by trained cooking instructors who can help you improve your cooking skills. http://bit.ly/3ZzPaCO

Help with basic IT skills

Silver City Surfers helps people aged 55+ with technology through free one-to-one tutoring and support with laptops, tablets, smartphones and digital cameras. Their volunteers work with you at your own pace and you can find them at various venues in Aberdeen. Visit https://www. silvercitysurfers.co.uk or call 07799 371329.

Driving theory test lessons

https://theorytest.org.uk/driving-theory-testcourse/

Your rights as a carer https://bit.ly/40NxVPu

Self-Directed Support

https://bit.ly/3Mfosfw

The benefits system https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits and https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/benefits

Home visits

If you need of a home visit from your support worker at any time, please let them know.

A carers’ befriending service

Although we don’t have the capacity to set up our own service, you can connect with carers in similar situations by coming along to one of our groups – details on pages 11-12. For a list of other befriending services, please ask your support worker.

Help with your children at weekends while you take a break

This can be arranged if you have support through your child’s social worker. You would receive a Self-Directed Support budget that you can use to employ someone to help take care of your children, however the threshold for gaining a social worker is extremely high and they will only support a family if the child has multiple disabilities/health conditions, and if there is an identified risk.

Someone to sit with your adult cared-for to allow you to go out

Please talk to us if this is a service you require, and we can have a look at your Adult Carer Support Plan.

Anger

management

And Mental Health

Please speak to your Carer Advisor/Family Wellbeing Worker to discuss being referred to Avenue for support from a trained counsellor. Mental health information sessions for both carer and cared-for

Our service supports the carer, and we are looking into sourcing providers for information sessions. If you are looking for sessions to support your cared-for as well as yourself, we can signpost you to any relevant services. Several carers asked for training in manual handling and first aid. We are currently putting together a list of available training for carers. Courses are available through https:// quarriersacademy.org.uk/ - to receive a login, just get in touch with us. You can also sign up for a free SVQ Level 2 in Social Services and Healthcare. This qualification gives you the opportunity to create a portfolio of work on communication, health and safety, supporting daily activities, personal care, safeguarding, and developing your learning. An assessor will support you with guidance and practical advice. For more information, please contact CMassey@bonaccordcare.org