Making memories at The View, Inverclyde
Gill Roxburgh, from The View, Inverclyde, told us that their young people are thriving,and relationships are stronger than ever.
When speaking with Inspector Andrew, Gill said: “We have been extremely busy creating new positive memories to outweigh the negative ones. So far, we are already seeing a massive difference in our young people’s confidence and the ways in which they are presenting themselves. Their relationships are even stronger than before, and we aim to build on this greatly.”
They’ve been busy bees indeed. Over the last few weeks they have had obstacle courses, glamping, watching the meteors, art and crafts, outdoor cinema, disco dome, football comps, photoshoots, make up nights, FIFA competitions, races, lots of birthday parties (three birthdays in April) redecorating bedrooms, pool tournaments, bake offs, card games, board games, quiz nights and wrestling matches.
Last weekend they also had a festival weekend which was a roaring success. Gill explained: “It was the Who cares? Scotland camp replacement. We made tie dye t shirts, had a Disney quiz, made pizzas, had many water fights and slip and slide contests along with a massive FIFA tournament on the projector. We just need to put the dining room back together now!”
Now that lockdown restrictions have eased slightly, they have set up an open-sided gazebo in the garden so that socially distanced family visits can happen safely. Gill reports they are going well so far.
Gill added: “We are in the process of putting together a lockdown photobook as a memento so the children can have a record of everything they have been up to. We’ve been lucky. We are all fit and healthy and our families are the same. I think the challenge will be getting back to some kind of normality once this is all over and introducing different stressors back into our young people’s lives.”
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Volunteers week 2020
Volunteers week, 1-7 June every year, is when we normally get the chance to celebrate and thank our many volunteers. Some who are very new to the organisation and others who have seen us through many years and many changes.
However, this year we feel that perhaps now is not the right time for big celebrations, and instead are sending a personal message of heartfelt thanks and warmest wishes to all our volunteers.
We say this often, but it does not make it any less true, our work right across the Care Inspectorate could not be as rich with the voices of people who have experience of care, without our many volunteers. They shape what we do, how we do it and how we talk about it. They share their experiences and ideas, their skills, and knowledge and of course their time freely and with great generosity. We are so grateful to all our volunteers.
So, this week as we cannot meet up with our volunteers, we are sending a thank you message to every volunteer from everyone at the Care Inspectorate.
We hope this article together with the May edition of the Involvement Newsletter will reassure staff across the organisation that the great work our volunteers have done and continue to do for us remotely, is wholeheartedly acknowledged in this special week, despite the current restrictions.
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We are a Stonewall diversity champion
By joining the Stonewall Diversity Champion Programme - we are proud to publicly show our commitment to promoting inclusive employer practices. We believe in the power of a workplace that's truly inclusive and we strive to ensure all LGBT staff are accepted without exception in our workplace.
You can learn more about the programme here.
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Corridor karaoke in The Oaks Care Home
Staff and residents at The Oaks Care Home in Glasgowhave been doing lots of interesting and creative things throughout lockdown.
Many of their residents are self-isolating in their rooms so the team had to think of ways to bring safe, communal activities to them.
Manager, Julie Stevenson said: “Corridor karaoke has been a huge hit - where residents stand at their bedroom doors and sing a karaoke song of their choice while served mocktails and snacks. One was ‘Rave’ themed with, according to one resident, some ‘bangin’ tunes!’ which lifted everyone’s spirits and provided a bit of exercise too. They also play stand-up bingo from their doorways. The last one standing gets the prize.”
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Making connections to combat loneliness
To combat loneliness and keep spirits up, Port of Leith Housing Association in Edinburgh has set up more ways to keep people connected.
Manager Maureen Combe said: “We’ve introduced a few new things that are working really well. We send packs to our tenants three times a week with activities to keep their minds active. We include quizzes, puzzles, jokes to keep people smiling and gentle exercise routines to keep people moving.”
The service has also started delivering birthday cakes and cards outside people’s doors and staff come along, socially distancing of course, to sing happy birthday. Watch a video where tenants came out in force to celebrate Eva’s birthday here.
The tenants are huge supporters of the NHS and take part in the ‘Clap for carers’ each Thursday and clap and cheer from their windows. They made a big banner too which hangs from one of the schemes.
Maureen continues: “Our housing officers make regular courtesy calls to our over 65s to check in and see if anyone needs any particular support and are on hand to give advice and just have a chat. We’ve had excellent feedback from our tenants and families and we’re thinking about making a memory book or quilt after things get back to normal to remember all the positives during this difficult time.”
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