Quest Autumn 2018

Autumn Update 2018

Quest

Thanks to you, we’re transforming lives

With your support, life is good for David.

Page 4

Summer days out page 3

Being there in kinship care page 8

Running the run page 10

Quest Autumn 2018

Hello and thank you 1,036

children had the opportunity to get

out and about, escape their cares,

and have new experiences with friends and family over the summer. Every single moment was funded by your donations to our summer appeal.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

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Christmas cards

We’re delighted to enclose our Christmas card leaflet and to let you know that this year, one of the cards has been designed by a young person who is being supported at one of our youth homeless services.

Order our cards using the enclosed leaflet and spread some Christmas cheer.

Call us on 01505 690875 or email fundraising@quarriers.org.uk

Update: Learning from the past and being part of the solution.

Your support plays a huge role in the work we do across Scotland, and we wanted to share with you that Quarriers will be participating in public hearings at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry later this year.

We wholeheartedly support the intended outcomes of the Inquiry, and offer again our full and unequivocal apology to anyone who suffered abuse while in our care.

I personally will be representing Quarriers at the Inquiry. We are committed to participating in an open and transparent manner, because Quarriers believes that all survivors of child abuse have the right to be heard and because it is the right thing to do.

Alice Harper Quarriers Chief Executive For more information visit www.quarriers.org.uk/safeguarding The artwork was created by Anisa supported by Quarriers Stopover Service. Anisa loves arts and crafts and frequently creates paintings for friends and as gifts. Anisa was the lead helper in creating Christmas decorations for the service.

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Out and about with David and Andy Made possible by supported living

D

avid and Andy get on great. If you were to hang out with them, you’d quickly realise they are two people who really like each other - sharing a dry sense of humour and some VERY cheeky banter.

But they’re not old friends, or even family.

Andy (on the left in the picture above) is David’s carer and is part of the team at Quarriers Renfrewshire Supported Living Initiative. They’re there to keep David safe and to help him live a full and busy life – the life he should have had before a shocking incident changed his world forever.

David was 19 and in the army, with his whole life and career ahead of him, when 4

a heart attack caused a serious brain injury that wiped out his short-term memory.

Today, aged 36, David is still living with the effects of his injury.

“David can remember the past and things that happened before his brain injury, but he has no idea what he did half an hour ago he might ask me 20 or 30 times a day what we’re doing tomorrow,” says Andy.

Andy and the team are with David at home all day every day, and the organisation of such intensive support takes military precision, not only in order to work efficiently, but also to keep David safe.

Quest Autumn 2018

“We have a daily log for keeping in touch with each other,” says Andy. “If David reports aches and pains, we log it so the next support worker knows - because David wouldn’t remember experiencing the pain previously.

“David couldn’t live in his own home without this support. He would put the gas on and forget about it. He would have his breakfast dozens of times a day because he can’t remember he’s already had it. It wouldn’t be safe for him in the house, and it would be impossible for him to safely leave the house.”

But that’s not David’s situation - far from it, because David is living his life to the full.

He walks his dog, goes to gigs and the pub, plays pool twice a week and has a regular Friday night catch up with friends. And to cap it all off, the team supports David to give something back in the community by volunteering at a nursery twice a week.

A day of supported living Out for breakfa st

Walking the dog

Picking up a prescription

“I really like going to the nursery,” says David. “I’ve always loved kids. I like playing jigsaws with them. I hide the last piece.”

Andy says “The kids love David. He’s great with them. They hang off him like he’s a climbing frame. When he’s at the nursery, David’s not just this guy who’s got a disability and can’t do anything. He’s giving something to the kids - it makes him feel good. He’s accepted by the kids, and it makes him feel valued.”

And Andy’s in no doubt about why he’s there with David when he’s needed.

“I love my job. David’s great company, but I just like helping people - making them feel good. All the wee simple things are better than one grand gesture. All added up, it makes a big difference.”

Quarriers supports over 300 individuals in their own homes.

rsery

Hijinks at the nu

Describe each other in a few words Andy on David: “Friendly, up for a laugh, and mad as a brush.”

David on Andy: “Mad as a brush, mad as a brush and mad as a brush.”

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Quest Autumn 2018

Always there Leaving home and finding your way in the world when you’re only 16 is hard - even with a happy family background. But who’s there for young people leaving care or escaping volatile or dangerous family situations? For Chelsey, it’s Angela Campbell and the team at Quarriers Supported Youth Housing Service.

“It was the first place that I could call home,” says Chelsey of the one-bedroomed council tenancy that she moved into at the age of 17. Looking at the ginger cat that’s curled up on the sofa, she says “I found him on Gumtree. He was unwanted - just like me.”

Angela and Chelsey are fans of a selfie

Chelsey’s childhood was a series of rejections, upheavals and trauma. Since being taken into care aged six, she had lived in about 10 different places, but by 17 she had nowhere to go. The only option was the council tenancy that the local authority is legally required to provide for young care leavers.

That was six years ago, and since then Chelsey has known she can call on the team at Quarriers Supported Youth Housing Service for the advice and help that the typical teenager leaving home for the first time would get from family – help with how to budget, do food shopping and cook healthy food, cleaning and household maintenance, and of course, emotional support.

These young people are 16, 17 and suddenly they are having to cope with being a householder.

- Angela 6

The relationship Chelsey has with the team is probably the most stable relationship she’s ever had. That’s one of the key strengths of the service: they can be there for young people from aged 16 and for however long they’re needed, right up to age 25. They’ve been with Chelsey through thick and thin.

Quest Autumn 2018

“I used to be in hospital for my mental health a lot,” she says. “My past was getting to me and I’ve thought about throwing the towel in.”

has a boyfriend who Angela thoroughly approves of, and, at 23, is about to go on her first ever holiday.

“Suicidal thoughts are common,” says Angela. “When I hear that from a young person I think ‘I cannot imagine the turmoil you’re going through to make you think like that’. Sometimes we’re the only people who are there for them. We make a safe plan with them in times of good mental health and agree on the course of action we will take in the future if we believe them to be at risk.”

“When we first started working with Chelsey she had zero confidence,” says Angela. “She wouldn’t come out of her house, but Chelsey likes herself now.”

There’s always somebody to go to at the service.

- Chelsey “When I’ve been in crisis, it’s knowing that the team are on the other end of the phone,” says Chelsey. “And the fact that they don’t judge. “If they did, I’d disengage there’s a professional term for you!”

That poignant awareness that she’s a subject of professional care is a side-effect of a lifetime in the care system, and is also apparent when Chelsey talks about the future. She knows she only has two more years of the contact with Angela that she has come to depend on so much and says “I am nervous for when it’s my time for this support to end – but [looking at Angela] – I’m sure you’ll prepare me for that.”

In the meantime, things are looking better for Chelsey. She performs in a dance troupe,

“Yeah, I’m learning to care for myself,” says Chelsey, and part of that is having aspirations for the future. “I want to study.

Something like social care, working with older people maybe. I want to go to college – for my future.”

Thanks to you Quarriers donors have provided Christmas hampers and gifts for young people supported by the service through the Box of Hope appeal for the past five years.

Packing boxes of hope for young people

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Caring for the carers When children aren’t able to live with their parents, family members can step in and take on the full-time care of those children, becoming kinship carers. Over a third of Glasgow’s kinship carers live in north east Glasgow, where Quarriers has recently taken over the role of providing case management and support to kinship families on behalf of social work services. It’s just one part of the support that we provide for kinship carers in the area.

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iz has taken on the full-time care of her granddaughter Kayleigh and has been accessing the range of support available at Quarriers Ruchazie Family Resource Centre.

“I’ve had my granddaughter with me since she was one,” says Liz. “It never entered my head to let her go into care - she’s my daughter’s daughter. But it’s just me and her, and before the help from Quarriers I was finding it so hard.

“I’ve done three courses at the Family Resource Centre. A ten-week parenting course called The Solihull Method opened my eyes to so many techniques that really help me in my parenting. The course I’ve just finished is called STEPS, and that one’s been just for me.

It’s given me a feeling of self-esteem I’ve never had, and I am feeling so different.

The support I’m now getting from Quarriers has dramatically changed my life and my granddaughter’s.

- Liz “I can phone my case Kayleigh worker any time for made a play-doh a chat and I can use snake at the drop-in service at Funday the centre any time, Monday! go into the kitchen, make a cup of coffee and get chatting to other folk, while the kids play. My granddaughter absolutely loves going to Funday Monday, an activity group for the kids and parents, and I don’t know where we would be without the day trips and activities that are organised over the summer holidays.

“I can see the difference all the support has made for mine and Kayleigh’s relationship.

She and I just really enjoy ourselves, and having her is a joy. I am so looking forward to seeing her grow.”

About kinship care For carers The number of children in kinship care is climbing, and estimated at up to 17,000 in Scotland. Two thirds of those children are living with grandparents who are faced with the daily challenges of a full-time parenting role.

By the nature of kinship care, many children are dealing with the emotional impact of traumatic experiences including bereavement, parental imprisonment, drug or alcohol addictions, mental health issues or neglect.

In 2015, the Scottish Government delivered a funding increase to bring the care allowance for some kinship carers in line with foster carers but there are large numbers of kinship carers this does not apply to, and access to funding is still a postcode lottery.

For children Kinship care is a good option for many kids. It prevents them from ending up in the care system and maintains some family connections.

Compared to children in the rest of the care system, those who are supported by kinship carers are: • twice as likely to go to university • three times more likely to achieve national educational targets • three times less likely to commit offences

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Thinking of taking up your own challenge? See Iain’s blog on top tips for making healthy changes. quarriers.org.uk/healthyhabits

Run, Iain, run!

“The last six miles were torture. I felt sick and my muscles felt like they were made of concrete.”

T

his was Dr Iain Campbell’s first marathon and while it might be a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for any of us (and he did finish it), a new job has inspired Iain to put himself up for that torture all over again - three times!

Iain is the new clinical psychologist at The William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Centre, and he has challenged himself to run three marathons in aid of the centre – that’s almost 80 miles of muscle-melting, heartracing effort, and it all started from humble beginnings.

“In my job, I help patients to change the way they think about their own health something we can all find difficult,” says Iain. “I thought, ‘it’s crazy for me to be asking people to make quite big changes in their lives if I can’t do that myself’.

I had to stop talking the talk, and walk the walk instead!”

So Iain started running the run. He’s already done the Edinburgh and Mhor marathons and will complete the triple in Amsterdam in October. He’d like your support, and here’s why: 10

“There’s a misconception that epilepsy’s not a serious or life-threatening condition, but it’s a highly disabling condition and it can affect your whole life.

I just really wanted to do some fundraising to provide some of the things the patients need.

- Iain “Since I started at The William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Centre I’ve just been so impressed by this place. It’s amazing what we do here – it is world-leading.

“My patients are coming to hospital for anything up to a month and I see lots of small practical things we could provide that would make that experience better, so that’s what I’m running for – it’s for the patients.”

So when Iain’s at mile 20 and that sick feeling sets in, knowing he’s raising money for his patients gets him through, and that’s surely got to be worth a sponsor. You can support Iain through his JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ iain-campbell18

Quest Autumn 2018

It’s 25 years of the Noel Lunch!

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n 1993, a group of six friends got together for lunch to kick off the festive season and raise money in aid of Quarriers.

From that small start grew a sparkling, glamorous annual celebration, and this year marks its 25th anniversary.

It’s one of the hottest tickets in town.

We are incredibly proud of our wonderful Noel Lunch and would like to say a huge thank you to every single person who has supported it in any way during these 25 fantastic years.

In that time, the event has raised over £1 million, and has funded vital work in our services. It turns out that coming out for lunch on the first Friday of December eating, drinking and laughing with friends and colleagues - can change lives.

It all started with people volunteering their time and efforts to make it work.

The committee of volunteers who are organising this year’s Noel Lunch want to make it the biggest and best yet, and the event is already shaping up to be fabulous,

Alice Harper, Phil Genoe and Fred Macauley

with the hilarious Fred Macaulay as host, and magician Billy Reid promising to completely bamboozle and delight guests with his close-up magic. Expect shrieks of delight and open-mouthed awe.

To book your Noel Lunch tickets or host a table, email events@quarriers.org.uk or call 01505 616054.

And if you’re not able to be there on the day, you can still be part of it all. To celebrate a quarter of a century and make this year the biggest and best, you can host your own Noel Lunch. Get in touch for information and ideas!

We’d love to hear from you. e: events@quarriers.org.uk t: 01505 616054

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Join us to celebrate the 25th Noel Lunch GLASGOW MARRIOTT HOTEL Friday 7 December 2018 Want to find out more? To register your interest, please complete the form below and send it in the prepaid envelope enclosed with your Quest mailing.

Name: Position (if applicable): Company (if applicable): Telephone/mobile: Email:

Quarriers is a registered Scottish Charity No. SC001960.

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Please send me further information about the 25th Noel Lunch