Latest Event Updates
‘Respitality’
Do you know a local business that could offer services to carers?
Aberdeenshire Council’s and Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s approach to supporting carers is being boosted by local hospitality providers.
A pilot ‘Respitality’ project which began in central Aberdeenshire towards the end of last year sees local businesses asked if they would like to support the wellbeing of both young people and adults who have a caring role by offering short breaks, spa treatments, leisure passes, dining experiences and a range of other offerings either free of charge or at a discounted rate.
Similar projects elsewhere in Scotland have proven to be very successful and a new respitality project worker commissioned by the Council and employed by leading social care charity Quarriers been charged with making links with local businesses keen to participate.
Having secured four three-month gym memberships as the first donation for the project, respitality support worker Ann Brodie explained: “I recently approached Energie Fitness in Inverurie to see if they would like to be the first gifter for the project. They were really open to the idea of respitality and how a donation from their business could help to improve a carer’s health and wellbeing. Their gym promotes a friendly, warm atmosphere and their knowledgeable staff support people to achieve their personal goals so it’s just a perfect fit. They’re delighted to be giving back to the community at the same time as promoting health and fitness and I hope it will encourage other businesses to consider taking part too.”
The Scottish Government recognises the need for all those who have a caring role to benefit from regular opportunities for respite to support their own wellbeing, and in turn the wellbeing of those they are caring for. As such, national targets have been set for increasing the number of opportunities available in different local areas, and additional funding has been provided.
Quarriers are already commissioned by the Council to provide support services to carers, and this has brought about an expansion of their existing contract. While this project will see them being able to look into respite options, their family wellbeing workers can also assess carers’ needs and provide information, advice and signposting; offer 1:1 and group support for carers; deliver training on topics such as moving and handling or epilepsy awareness; and run events. They can also help with accessing self-directed support budgets so carers get what they need to make caring easier.
Chair of the Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, Cllr Gillian Owen commented: “We recognise that any carer needs breathing space and our approach is about enabling that, particularly when we’re talking about young carers’ who also have their education and personal and social development to think about. Support comes in many forms and we hope that this respitality project will inspire local businesses to lend a hand in offering some much needed VIP treatment.”
Vice Chair Cllr Rosemary Bruce added: “Changing the perception of what it means to be a carer is also very important to us. Not all carers are looking after those with a physical disability, for example, and their circumstances are very wide ranging. Quarriers focus on understanding your caring role and then working with you to find out how we can support you to continue that important role.”
Aberdeenshire Council has responsibility for providing social care services to young people (up to 18 years of age) while Aberdeenshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership coordinates provision for adults.
A Young Carer Strategy was introduced by the Council in 2018 in line with the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 and set out a number of ambitious plans to make a difference, including the Respitality project. A Young Carers Statement is now provided to all young carers who request one detailing any need for additional support in helping to ensure their wellbeing.
The overall number of young carers receiving support in Aberdeenshire has increased since the strategy was implemented, and Quarriers are typically supporting around 200 young people at any one time. As part of the wider strategy, council officers have also been involving young carers directly in developing a suite of information to support others in similar circumstances.
Adult carers are supported with an Adult Carers Support Plan. For further information and advice, any carer (regardless of their age) can contact Quarriers. They are commissioned to deliver support in this area and will begin by asking if you wish to register with the service.
Visit: https://quarriers.org.uk/how-we-help/north-east-services/
What is the ‘Third Sector’ and are you part of it?
The third sector is an inclusive term which is often used interchangeably with the voluntary and community sector; the not-for-profit sector; and the civil society.
The term ‘third sector’ is used to describe all organisations operating outside the formal state or public sphere that are not trading commercially, primarily for profit in the market.
This means charities, voluntary organisations, community groups, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals. This definition may also include faith groups engaged in voluntary or social action, campaigning groups, and individual volunteers. Whilst these organisations are exceptionally diverse, they share a broad common theme of being value driven, and principally invest their surpluses to further social, environmental and cultural objectives.
KDP is a member of Aberdeenshire’s Third Sector Strategy Group (TSSG). This group comprises of representatives from Aberdeenshire Rural Partnership Federation (ARPF), Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action (AVA) and Aberdeenshire Council. It is embarking on a piece of work to demonstrate the value of the Third Sector across Aberdeenshire.
If successful, the purpose of this project will help strengthen the position of many Third Sector Organisations (TSO), to be recognised as credible partners in the delivery of services.
TSSG believe there are great examples of this already happening, therefore the first stage is to obtain a picture of what our Third Sector currently looks like. The link below is to a short questionnaire which will help gather valuable quantitative information to kick start the process.
YOU are the third sector, so please participate in this information gathering process.
Please complete and share the survey through your networks.
6 Ways to a Healthier Festive Period
1. Go Easy on the Booze – With work Christmas parties and catching up with friends and family the alcohol units can really mount up. Try to keep tabs on how much your drinking and intersperse alcoholic drinks with soft ones (you’ll feel better for it the next day). 
2. Don’t stuff yourself – with Christmas chocolate for breakfast and a 3 course lunch followed by more chocolate and alcohol the calories can add up to an unmentionable amount. This not only contributes to weight gain but also heartburn, indigestion and feeling lethargic which reduces your chances of burning the calories off. Try to keep your portion sizes small and include fruit and vegetables with each meal
3. Keep Active – with the long dark days it’s hard to stay motivated and get out to do some exercise but you will feel much better for doing so. It doesn’t need to be a 5K run it could simply be a nice walk with the family and an opportunity to try out new toys like bikes or scooters.
4. Take a Break – the Christmas Holidays are the perfect time to relax, take some time out from day to day life and reflect to put life into perspective
5. Look After Others – Christmas time is the perfect time to reach out to family and friends whom you maybe don’t see so often. Caring for others by giving your time is a precious gift at any time of the year. You may also like to help out at a local Christmas event which is a fun way to help your community
6. Don’t Overspend – Christmas has become a time of excess, which can lead to many people overspending and getting into debt. Parents in particular feel they need to give children all the gifts they desire so that they feel loved and have the latest gadgets like their friends. The 4 gift rule is a pledge to help reduce over giving and spending. Choose one gift from each category: –
a. Something they want
b. Something they need
c. Something to wear
d. Something to read
Spending quality time together as a family is the gift everyone will remember in years to come (not the plastic toy that broke before January ended)
………..finally, and most important of all, have a lovely Christmas and every best wish for 2020!
Best wishes from The Area Management Team Kincardine & Mearns.
“Gie it a Go”
Give the gift of health, wellbeing and fun this Christmas – “Gie it a Go” package offers range of sports and cultural activities
A fantastic suite of offers encouraging people in Aberdeenshire to “Gie it a Go” has been launched in time for Christmas.
Know someone who would like to learn to swim, but doesn’t know where to start? Or perhaps try indoor rock climbing for the first time in a safe environment?
Maybe the special someone in your life would prefer the chance to research their family history, learn about 3D printing or try spin or bootcamp exercise classes?
These experiences and a large range of other sporting and cultural activities can be packaged together for one great price with “Gie it a Go”.
As the name suggests, it’s designed to let people try a wide range of activities in local communities provided by Live Life Aberdeenshire.
Maybe you want to try the experiences yourself – you don’t have to let someone else have all the fun! For £20 you or the person you gift to can pick three activities from a menu which is growing all the time.
Other activities include the chance for four people to record their favourite karaoke track in one of our recording studios or an introduction to cross country skiing.
You could even choose a drawing/painting taster session or get an in-depth tour of Macduff Marine Aquarium.
Gift cards can be printed off to be included in a Christmas card or stocking and redeemed online.
For those who may not feel confident trying some of the activities, the great thing is that they will usually be joining others in the same situation as them.
To explore the activities on offer and buy in time for Christmas in our easy-to-use online portal, see: http://bit.ly/GieItAGo
What is Loneliness and Social Isolation?
According to research by the University of York, ‘Loneliness is a subjective feeling associated with someone’s perception that their relationships with others are deficient’ whereas, ‘social isolation is a more objective measure of the absence of relationships, ties or contact with others’. In sum the latter can be a choice.
Ben Lazare Mijuskovic writes in Loneliness in Philosophy, Psychology, and Literature (2012) ‘man has always and everywhere suffered from feelings of acute loneliness’, however, it is important to recognise that loneliness means different things to different people. It is equally important to be cognizant of that fact that some people will feel lonely spending just a day alone, whilst others can go months with minimal social contact or communication and not experience any negative emotions. ‘Some may be socially isolated but content with minimal social contact or actually prefer to be alone’ writes Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the lead author of a 2015 report on loneliness in Perspectives on Psychological Science. ‘Others may have frequent social contact but still feel lonely.’ As the Age UK Loneliness and Isolation Evidence review also points out it is ‘possible to be isolated and not lonely, and to be lonely without being isolated’.
This is the topic of research conducted by Kiren Zubairi, and led to the hosting of a conference on Loneliness and Social isolation hosted by the Kincardine And Mearns Welfare and Wellbeing network.
We were fortunate to have Kiren Zubairi author of the Zubairi Report on Loneliness and Social Isolation coming along to share her finding from the report. This qualitative study investigates the loneliness and social isolation experienced by under-represented demographics in Scotland, who often face multiple triggers including socio-economic disadvantage, poor access to transport and a lack of places and spaces that encourage connectedness and foster belonging.
The-Zubairi-Report-VHS-Nov-2018
Over the next few weeks this blog will aim to look at this topic; what are the causes, what are the effects of this, what can we do to address this issue, and what’s happening both locally and more widely to address this ever increasing issue.
Pop back next week to find out more!
Pissoirs and PB
The phrase participatory budgeting (PB) is widely recognised but perhaps not fully understood – at least not in the way that it’s being practised elsewhere in the world. PB Scotland is hosting a major conference later this month at which some of the US and Canadian experience of PB will be shared. In many other countries, PB is completely normal and has been mainstreamed for years. For instance, Paris commits 5% of its capital spend (£89m) to a participatory process. That’s the equivalent of 45 euros for every citizen – no wonder Parisians engage in such numbers.
By The Guardian
Arnaud Carnet was crossing Paris on his bicycle one day when something strange caught his eye: a dilapidated old urinal stationed at the foot of the high walls of the last operational prison in the city.
This graffitied, ripe-smelling structure was far from a standard street pissoir. Carnet discovered that it was in fact the last remaining 19th-century vespasienne urinal in the city. He decided he needed to save it.
“It no longer conforms to the comfort standards of today,” he says of the urinal (an understatement). “But it’s a piece of heritage and it’s in a terrible state in the middle of the boulevard – it’s not possible to just leave it like that.”
In January, Carnet submitted a proposal to restore the vespasienne to Paris’s participatory budget scheme, which allows residents to vote on how they want the city to spend €100m (£89m) – 5% of its capital budget.
The urinal is “part of the great Parisian history of public sanitation,” he says, though he admits he’s never used it himself. “The participatory budget is an opportunity to give it a second youth.”
Carnet’s project was one of 430 that went to public vote between 6 September and 22 September this year. Sadly for him, the vespasienne was not one of the 11 major projects and 183 smaller propositions that earned enough votes to become reality. Instead, Parisians chose projects that ranged from better recycling facilities to upgraded cycling infrastructure to programmes to help women who are experiencing homelessness. Read the rest of this entry »
