Christmas Newsleer Christmas Newsleer 20162016 - HOME …€¦ ·  · 2016-12-21her S.V.Q. in Social Care and the honing of her work ... to get our voices heard. ... Gary Pilley,

Christmas Newsle�er Christmas Newsle�er 20162016

t’s been another quick year at Rowan Alba.

IOne which started the year in me being involved in overseeing service delivery and

has ended with me back at my desk. I certainly enjoyed spending more time in a service interacting with staff and service users. I had to brush off a few of my rusty support worker skills and I’m pleased to report that you never lose the ability – I think!

One of them main highlights of the year has been our sessions at the Scottish Parliament with the Parliamentary Outreach service. I always feel quite important and involved being at the Parliament and the views from the committee rooms are second to none. It’s been useful learning how the Parliament works and helpful to know how we can get involved. Next step is hearing from our service users on how they would like us to take this forward. We will carry this involvement over to the coming years and aim to get the name Rowan Alba frequently heard in the corridors of power.

Another exciting first for Rowan Alba this year is the development of our Peer support services in CARDS and Follow Me. Although both services are still in the early stages it will be great to see them grow over the coming year and the addition of Peer supporters using their lived experience to support others will be a valuable addition to the organisation.

Over the coming year we will be developing a social enterprise which will be built around training, professional awards and SVQ. We will be delivering this to external organisations which will not only spread the Rowan Alba message far and wide but will also bring in additional income to the organisation.

Whether you’re working, resting, avoiding or embracing the festive period I hope you all have a good one and I look forward to welcoming in 2017. Onwards and upwards!

Kirstie

NEWS

MACI Fundaising Event

Meeting Nicola Sturgeon at the Parliament

PERTH

meeting xxxxxxxxxxx

This year at Perth we have decided to make Christmas hampers for our service users. We have put letters out in our building to the other offices and we have had a great response so far.

One of the larger companies in the building have kindly donated £200 through their Community Project scheme and we should receive the cheque any day now.

Other companies have donated food and toiletries and small gifts. We have also sent out letters to local supermarkets in the area in the hope that they might also help us.

It's amazing what you can get if you ask and everyone has been far more generous than we could have hoped.

We are hoping that in doing this we can make people smile at Christmas with a small gift and a food hamper.

FOLLOW ME

£200 donation to Perh Service

It's hard to pin down one 'success story' from the Follow Me services, so much of the work that the staff do celebrates small changes, progress over time, and 'success' that the individuals themselves are inspired by. Not 'hitting targets' or 'achieving outcomes'. That said, so many of these seemingly 'small' good news stories come floating through to me from the back office that i find it difficult to pin down just one. Here is a small assortment of the triumphs of the human spirit that i hear weekly.

One gentleman has, over the course of his 18 months support, discovered his musical talents, gained employment for the first time in years and even found love. This is not an isolated incident. We've had individuals gaining full custody of their children, accessing unique support funds to receive bespoke, tailored support, connected people to dozens of services, and just listened.

Last week i sat in the office kitchen with a homeless man from Sudan, desperate to secure accomodation for his wife and children so that they could forge a future filled with hope, and dignity, together. Initially angry, confrontational, confused and bewildered, after only 10 minutes of sitting, listening and connecting, he left with information in his pocket, a smile on his face and a feeling that he still had ways of determining his own future. Services that can listen and support.

That was 10 minutes of my day, our staff here at Follow Me have hours of this time each week in which to connect with individuals and support them to feel empowered to take control of their own lives, to feel that their futures are in their own hands.

Recently reading through the Follow Me 3 year evaluation it is filled with quotes from individuals who have used our service, quotes such as :-

"I was a wreck 2 years ago, and now i'm running classes""I would have been lost without this service""My mental health has gone up and up""moving from (a) victim to (a) person with rights""I am more assertive now; my head is up"and lastly, this individual said that support"took the fear away”

It's hard to measure these kinds of 'success stories', but in the last week we've secured more funding and in the last couple of months we've been given a grant to develop a brand new service, so our own little 'success stories' are making ripples, and having an even bigger impact than any one person can imagine.

Christmas Newsle�er Christmas Newsle�er 20162016

THORNTREE

Meet Vytaute Eitutyte

meeting xxxxxxxxxxx

Each academic year Rowan Alba's Thorntree Street Supported Accommodation Unit caters for an Edinburgh College H.N.C. Social Care student on work placement as an integral part of their studies for a commitment of 60-70 days of their course. This year we are glad to have welcomed on-board Vytaute Eitutyte, who is fast proving an enthusiastic addition to our dedicated team of support staff.

Vytaute not only facilitates pastimes and hobbies with the res idents in the communal lounge but accompanies them on invaluable outings from their home into the community for therapeudic walks, entertaining cinema expeditions etc. Her placement, under the guidance of mentor Support Worker Scott Rough, also encompasses significant contributions to her S.V.Q. in Social Care and the honing of her work place practice in the field in the unique and challenging environment that is Thorntree Street.

We wish her luck in the coming year and hope the experience proves as significant and valuable as it has in the past for our previous students on placement.

STRAMULLION

Inchcolm Island Boat Trip

Inchcolm Island Boat Trip

Residents and staff here at Stramullion spent the day exploring Inchcolm island at the beginning of October. They started out with the sun shining, lunches packed and sitting out on the front deck of the tour boat taking in the beautiful view of the Forth Road Rail Bridge.

Once dropped off on Inchcolm island they had lunch by the abbey, facing the sea and watching the seals popping up and waving hello.

The next bit was just wandering about, exploring and taking lots of photos. As they got back on the boat the heavens opened and it started raining cats and dogs.

The captain made a small detour to let everyone see the puffins and more seals. It was an awesome experience for everyone and we are looking forward to our next Stramullion adventure.

Christmas Newsle�er Christmas Newsle�er 20162016

CARDSRowan Alba has been engaging with the Scottish Parliament Community Outreach Team over the last year with staff, volunteers and service users attending seven sessions aimed firstly at familiarising us with the role of the Scottish Parliament and how it works and secondly to educate us about the different ways we can engage with the Parliamentary process either formally or informally to get our voices heard. At the end of these sessions a group will plan how we want to engage with the Parliament by focusing on which issues matter most to us.

One of the highlights from these sessions was the opportunity for some of the group to attend the Committees Convener’s group meeting with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. One of the purposes of these meetings is to question the First Minister on the Scottish Government’s legislative programme.

Gary Pilley, gave his impressions of his experience of attending the sessions:

‘When I first found out about the Parliamentary event I was nervous but wanted to come along. My volunteer came along with me to the first few sessions and as time went on and I got to know better the Rowan Alba staff and volunteers and the Parliament Outreach Team I felt more and more relaxed. I started to come along even when my volunteer couldn’t come. I haven’t missed one session out of the seven. Coming to the Parliament has helped me feel a wee bit more confident about coming along to things like this because I know CARDS and Rowan Alba now. I also feel more confident about what I have learnt about how to engage with the parliamentary process. I really enjoyed meeting the First Minister. My confidence has grown over the past few months, and at the end of the Conveners meeting I was the first to go up to the First Minister and shake her hand and tell her how much I enjoyed the day and introduce her to the Rowan Alba group which resulted in a group photo! Coming to these sessions, sitting there and being able to say what you think and meeting the First Minister is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.’

Paul McCay (CARDS volunteer)

Before attending the first event I never had any interest in the parliament or politics, so I went in with an open mind. I was so impressed with Paul and Hayley (Community Outreach Team) and their enthusiasm that it changed my point of view completely and now I am interested in engaging with the Parliament and look forward to the last session.

Overall, this opportunity has been a very positive experience for the staff, volunteers and service users. The sessions have been well attended and have been the forum for some very healthy and interesting debates over issues important to us as individuals and as a group. We hope that this is just the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with the Scottish Parliament.

Visit at the Parliament

Visit at the Parliament

Christmas Newsle�er Christmas Newsle�er 20162016