iSE invite you to a Digbeth Lunchtime Social

 


We're back with our face-to-face networking event in the heart of the Social Enterprise City! Where ever you are in the city, join us for a brunch time catch-up on Wednesday 8th December 10am-12pm. Booking essential!
 
Book Now

Can You Help? Are Assets Offering Smoking Cessation Support?


Claire Humphries is currently working on Birmingham City Council’s tobacco control work programme, which includes the development of a smoke-free policy, tobacco control strategy and local Tobacco Control Alliance.

She wants to ensure that they have adequate community-level representation providing feedback on forthcoming developments. To this end she's asking if anyone is aware of any NNS assets that are involved with smoking cessation and/or wider tobacco control issues? Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated and please let Claire know - Claire.Humphries@birmingham.gov.uk

Nine practical tools to support mental health and wellbeing in the workplace


Currently, one in six working Carers give up work or reduce their hours due to their caring role, and many others affected by poor wellbeing and stress. With many working Carers aged 45 – 64 years old, these are likely to be your most senior and skilled staff.

Forward Carers is committed to creating carer friendly communities and helping employers to adopt carer friendly practices. Juggling work and caring responsibilities can be overwhelming and can affect a carer’s mental health.

Another way employers can support working carers is by monitoring their employees mental health and wellbeing and RightTrack Learning has created a toolkit to help managers do just that.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing toolkit was created by RightTrack Learning in collaboration with Mental Health Aware UK. The toolkit includes nine practical activities designed to start important conversations in the workplace around mental health and wellbeing.

Each tool, which can be used as self-reflection activities, conversation starters or mini training sessions by managers, team leaders or anyone else designated to support others, consist of simple, step-by-step instructions so they can be used face-to-face or remotely.

Claudia Cooney, Lead Director at RightTrack Learning said “Looking after yourself isn’t selfish, it’s a necessity. If you are mentally and physically strong, you can be the best version of yourself which is what your employer, your family, friends, and hopefully yourself want and need.  

“There are some really unhelpful stereotypes and taboos out there surrounding mental health and wellbeing. And because of the way our brains work, we can be more influenced by them than we think. Our toolkit aims to overcome and remove these barriers, as well as providing a basis for team activities.”

To download the Mental Health and Wellbeing toolkit, click here: https://righttracklearning.com/wellbeing-download-toolkit/

NNS Sutton Coldfield - Community Showcase - 9th December 2021 2pm-4pm




Dear Friends and Partners of Sutton Coldfield Neighbourhood Network Scheme

NNS Community Showcase Event

We would like to invite you to our Sutton Coldfield NNS Community Showcase on Thursday 9th December 2021 between 2pm and 4pm.

The event will take place at the Community Café at 76-78 Boldmere Road, Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield B73 5TJ.   

Please join us as we highlight and celebrate the work of Sutton Coldfield Neighbourhood Network Scheme (NNS), featuring the work of some of the community assets and organisations who have benefited from grants and development support from the NNS team. Some of these local community organisations will have display tables and stands, highlighting their work. This will also provide an opportunity to meet colleagues from Birmingham Adult Social Care as well as a chance to network, pick up useful information and enjoy the entertainments from our assets.

Our small team is run through a partnership between Age Concern Birmingham and Compass Support. The NNS supports the development of community assets aimed at older people over 50 and also at people between age 18 and 49 who have additional needs. We are interested to meet and talk to residents of Sutton Coldfield and to all organisations and partners who work with these groups across the constituency.     

Our main NNS event between 2pm and 4pm will be preceded in the morning in the Community Café between 11am and 1pm, by a musical social aimed at older people, featuring the singer Helen Pearson. The Café will be offering special offers for this part of the day, so please join us for lunch and enjoy the lovely atmosphere created by Helen’s singing of old time favourites.

Please book in advance to let us know you are coming to our afternoon Showcase event using this EventBrite link:

Give a little love



Each year, YMCA Sutton Coldfield runs the Young Carers Christmas Care Appeal to ensure that the Young Carers (aged 5 to 25) they support, receive a gift. You can either donate a box filled with goodies, supply items towards the boxes or donate gift vouchers. Here’s some ideas: basic toiletries, shower gel, body lotion, hair care products, skincare products, perfume, or aftershave.

Please drop off items at YMCA Sutton Coldfield, George Williams House, St Bernard’s Road, B72 1LE or Boldmere I.T. Solutions, 118 Boldmere Road, B73 5UB) by 2 December. 

Inclusion Training, 25 November


Selly Oak NNS is teaming up with Sense to offer inclusive training to local organisations working with people aged 50+ to enable them to be better equipped to include people with complex disabilities in their activities and services.

An online ‘Introduction to Deafblind Communication Awareness’ will be run on 25 November between 10.00am and 1.00pm. If you would like to book a place, please email ian.ellis@birmingham.gov.uk by 19 November. Only one participant per organisation will be accepted to book. After the initial session there will be opportunities for participants to sign-up for further sessions on topics such as:

  • ‘Creating accessible and inclusive workshops’ for people with complex disabilities
  •  ‘Accessible Digital Brand and Marketing’.


However, if organisations would like to go straight for a bespoke 1:1 session for their organisation please email Ian at the above address.

Remember, Remember the 25th of November!

Carers Rights Day 

Update from Forward Carers

Thursday 25 November marks Carers Rights Day. Please look out for our social media posts and share them so that we can reach as many new and existing Carers as possible. Here is a link to the type of content that will be posted. Some of our partners, such as Age Concern, YMCA Sutton Coldfield and University Hospitals Birmingham will be holding events, you can find the details here and Midland Mencap will be supporting a Forward Carers Autism Reality Experience event at TouchBase Pears. 

Covid-19 Vaccination News from Forward Carers



Covid-19 Booster Vaccinations

As you are probably aware, if someone is in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, or is the main Carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the Carer falls ill, they are eligible for the booster vaccination. If Carers haven’t been invited to attend their surgery for their booster, six months since their second covid-19 vaccination, please advise them to book via this link or call 119.The flu vaccination programme is also now underway which we encourage Carers to receive. The Covid-19 booster and the flu vaccine can be given on the same day and there may be opportunities to have both vaccinations together.


Walk-in Boosters

You can get a booster vaccination from a walk-in site if it's been 6 months (182 days) since your second dose and you're either aged 50 or over, or aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts you at high risk from COVID-19.If you have a condition that means you're at higher risk from Covid-19, you’ll be sent a letter reminding you to have your booster dose. You can then take this letter, or a letter from your GP or consultant about your health condition, to any walk-in vaccination site from 6 months since the day of your second vaccine.Frontline health and social care workers aged 16 and over can also get a booster dose from a walk-in site. Just take along proof of your employment such as workplace photo ID, a letter or a payslip from your employer within the last three months.


Latest Vaccine News

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that all adults aged 40 to 49 years should be offered an mRNA booster, 6 months after their second dose, irrespective of the vaccines given for the first and second doses. It has also been advised that all 16- to 17-year-olds who are not in an at-risk group should be offered a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The second vaccine dose should be given 12 weeks or more following the first vaccine dose.


FREE VIRTUAL TEA DANCE!


 Birmingham Playcare Network invites you to a 

FREE VIRTUAL TEA DANCE!

Wednesday 24th November 2021
1-2.30 pm

Open to people over 50 resident in Sutton Coldfield

Booking is essential please email

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE GRANT FUNDING

 

ELIGIBILITY

Please see the application guidance and FAQs for full details.

  • Based In England
  • At least one year old
  • An incorporated social purpose organisation with an asset lock
    • a clear social purpose, such as an Objects or Social Purpose clause
    • a restriction on distribution of profits, to the extent that at least 51% of surpluses are reinvested for its social purpose
    • an ‘asset lock‘, which is a restriction on the distribution of assets
  • Annual income between £20,000 and £1.8 million
  • Substantially reliant on income from trading
  • Financially resilient
  • Dual authority bank account

Full eligibility can be found here Funding & eligibility | SESF (socialenterprisesupportfund.org.uk) 


WHEN CAN YOU APPLY?

  • Round 1: 1pm on Thursday 25 November 2021 to 1pm on Tuesday 21 December 2021
  • Round 2: 1pm on Monday 28 February 2022 to 1pm on Thursday 24 March 2022

The fund is expected to be oversubscribed, so good luck.

https://socialenterprisesupportfund.org.uk/funding-eligibility 

Dementia Cafe in Boldmere every Tuesday


 

Focus Birmingham opening face-to-face I.A.G Clinics in Harborne and Sutton Coldfield


Our team are now offering face-to-face Information, Advice and Guidance Clinics at our site in Harborne, Woodville Road, Birmingham, B17 9AT or at New Oscott Village, Sutton Coldfield, B23 5LD.

The clinics at New Oscott will run on the last Friday of each month with three appointment slots available, 9.30am, 11.30am and 13.30pm. Please spread the word and anyone you feel would need IAG support, please refer them via the below channels.

Supportline: 0121 478 5222 – Richard Mitchell

Email: Gateway@focusbirmingham.org.uk

 www.focusbirmingham.org.uk

 

Suicide support resource


This booklet is recommended as a resource for people bereaved through suicide or other unexplained death, and for those helping them.  

The website has other useful info too. 

Free digital inclusion workshops for Organisations and Volunteers





 

Keep Warm & Well - Coping with cold weather and COVID-19