August 2022

Can you spot the carer(s)? It’s not as easy as you’d think!

Families come in all shapes and sizes, so it is important to identify and support all the carers in a family – not just the obvious ones.

There are four main types of unpaid carer:

• Adult Carer – 18+ years old looking after an adult.
• Young Adult Carer – 18-25 years old looking after an adult.
• Parent Carer – parent looking after a child with additional needs.
• Young Carer – A child/young person under the age of 18 years old looking after a family member.

A family could have multiple carers, of different ages, providing care for more than one person. When we, as a community, look at ways we can support families – identification of ALL carers is essential so no one is missed or left unsupported.

We distinguish between different types of carer because it enables us to tailor the support to the varying needs of each group. In Portsmouth, we are lucky to have a wide variety of peer support groups for carers. These range from groups for all carers, to specific groups for the type of carer, the reason for caring (specific illness/disability) or the type of support needed. You can find a list of these groups here: Carers support groups in Portsmouth

Portsmouth Carers Centre is part of Portsmouth City Council’s Adult Social Care. This enables us to support any carer aged 18+ years. We work with Adult Carers, Young Adult Carers and Parent Carers. All carers are offered a Carers Assessment which enables us to understand their caring role, identify support needs and make a plan of action (if needed). More information can be found here: Portsmouth Carers Centre

Young Carers are supported by the Young Carers Team, which is part of Portsmouth City Council’s Children, Families and Education. The Young Carers Team run regular groups across the city for young carers as well as activities throughout the school holidays, not only do these provide the young carers with a break from their caring role, they are able to meet other young carers, make friends and be themselves – in a safe and supported environment. Emotional support is also available as/when needed. To find out more information about young carers or to make a referral visit: Young Carers Team Portsmouth

If you would like more information or to speak to a member of the relevant team, please contact:

Portsmouth Carers Centre – Call: 02392 851 864 – Email: carerscentre@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Young Carers Team – Call: 02392 821 816 – Email: youngcarers@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Knowing who you’re talking to can help you feel more comfortable

First Name: Ben

What do you do at the Carers Centre? Assistant Team Manager and Operational Lead

What do you like about working at the Carers Centre?  I enjoy the variety that my job brings.  Caring roles can vary massively and no two are ever the same.  We have a fantastic team who bring so much experience to the service and it is really great to be able to see them in action, working to bring positive outcomes for all of our carers.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? I enjoy spending time with my wife and our 7-year-old son.  I am also a huge cricket fan so when I get the chance, I will be either playing, watching or talking about cricket.

Favourite quote?  ‘Do you know what my favourite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.’ (Mike Singletary, NFL coach).  I think this shows that it not always about success or failure but having the opportunity to be a part of something.

Spreading the word: #CarersCount

As part of our aim to reach as many unpaid carers in Portsmouth as possible and following on from the success of our Facebook page, we have expanded our online presence to Instagram!

We realise that everyone has different communication preferences, and our new Instagram account is another way of sharing information for carers, making our service more visible and reaching previously unknown carers.

If you are on Instagram and would like to follow us, you can find us here: @PortsmouthCarersCentre – please feel free to share/like/comment!

A peer support group for families of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Portsmouth

Set up & run by parents with SEND children, their aim is to provide a safe, welcoming, non-judgemental space for SEND Children and their families to meet and play in and around Portsmouth.

Being a parent is a hard job, being a SEND parent/carer is even tougher and it can be lonely and isolating too! Stand Up are a group of SEND parents who realised that there is very little in the city that they could do with all their children, most SEND activities are exclusively for the SEND child, so all of Stand Up’s activities are open to the whole SEND family.

Stand Up have a regular SEND family stay ‘n’ play session every Friday at Fratton Community Centre. As well as many other fun activities throughout the school holidays. All activities need to be booked. There is a small fee for activities as it is a non-profit community group. You can find details of activities available and booking information on their Facebook group here: Stand Up Facebook Group – you will need to join the group first.

Our new monthly drop-in sessions at the Carers Centre

Whether you are new to caring or have been caring for many years, you are welcome to drop into the Carers Centre for a cuppa and catch up at our new monthly coffee morning. The person you care for is welcome to come along with you.

You can talk to our friendly staff and find out more about the support available to you as a carer. It maybe you just need a break – out of the house with friendly faces. The day/time of each session is different, so hopefully you’ll find one to suit you.

The next sessions are:

• Thursday 25^th August from 2pm to 4pm
• Friday 30^th September from 10.30am to 12.30pm

There’s no need to book, please feel free to drop in at any point during the session times.

You can help improve mental health in Portsmouth!

Mental health services provide vital support to our communities. The quality of these services and the ability to access them is crucial to the health and happiness of the people of Portsmouth.

HIVE Portsmouth is working alongside Health and Care Portsmouth to set up a Lived Experience Network, which offers people with their own lived experience an opportunity to use their experiences to help improve and influence changes to local mental health services.

This network includes people with their own mental health lived experience, carers, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector and anyone else with an interest in shaping community mental health services in Portsmouth.

If you want to get involved in the network and help influence change, they’d love to hear from you. They are particularly keen to hear from older people who have experienced mental health services.

To get involved please contact the Lived Experience Network:

Email –  livedexperiencenetwork@hiveportsmouth.org.uk

Call – 02392 616 709

For more information on the project so far and outputs from all of the workshops, go to the Health & Care Website Improving Mental Health in Portsmouth – Health & Care Portsmouth

Knowing where to look can make a huge difference!

Whether you have young children to entertain, teenagers to occupy or just fancy a change of scenery – there are lots of activities available throughout the city this summer, and many are free or low cost.

Portsmouth City Council have compiled a useful list of activities, camps and clubs for children, which can be found here: PCC: Fun-For-Kids-This-Summer

The Free Swimming Scheme gives Portsmouth residents (PO1-PO6), 12 years old and under, free access to council-run pools in the city. For more information and to check eligibility please visit: Free swimming scheme – Portsmouth City Council

The Wellbeing Walks Programme is an easy way to start walking and stay active. Walking is a natural mood-booster and it’s completely free! There are several walks planned all over the city and on every day of the week. You can turn up on your own or with your friends and family, you can even bring your dog. You can find the full schedule here: Wellbeing Walks List Portsmouth

Portsmouth Library Service has a wide range of free activities for all ages. Their website has details of all events, groups and challenges available: Events – Public Library Service – Portsmouth

You can also events and activities in local magazines, newspapers, social media and posters displayed locally.

McDonald Watson Carers Group enjoy a well-deserved treat!

As part of Portsmouth Carers Centre’s Covid Recovery Grant, twelve carers from the McDonald Watson Carers group enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea at the Tennis Club Café in Southsea.

Linda, who organised the event, explained the importance of planning events/meetings well in advance in case any carers need to have a sitting service arranged for their loved one via the Carers Centre.

The McDonald Watson Carers met at their first venue event since lockdown and the chatter started immediately while being seated at their tables. The carers were served unlimited tea and coffee with several three-tiered cake stands of mixed sandwiches, quiche, sausage rolls, scones with clotted cream and jam, plus a selection of cakes made by the Faux & Watson Café. After much debate, it is still not clear whether the jam or clotted cream should be spread onto the scones first!

Linda said, ‘It was a double celebration as it was also one of our Carers birthdays. The Tennis Club staff were attentive and helpful even supplying boxes to take cake home. As we were leaving there was the heaviest rain, fortunately it did not spoil our lovely afternoon tea with our special friends. Our sincere thanks for the Covid Recovery Grant making this event an afternoon to remember.’

Would talking about your worries or concerns help you?

Carers often feel like they have to bottle up their feelings to protect the people they care for or sometimes it is their way of coping and being able to continue. It might be that they don’t know who would listen.

Our new Wellbeing Workshop with Talking Change provide carers with a safe, confidential environment to begin to explore their concerns or worries, learn simple tools to help manage anxiety and look at ways they can access help in the future.

To reserve your place or for more information please contact Portsmouth Carers Centre.

Call: 02392 851 864

Email: carerscentre@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Portsmouth Carers Service will be hosting an event to coincide with Carers Rights Day and the launch of the new Carers Strategy.

Save the date – 24^th November 2022 – and keep an eye out for more information over the next few weeks!

Learn how to keep yourself and the person your care for safe.

Many carers can find themselves having to move/lift the person they care for in and out of bed, wheelchairs and seats, as well as for many other more personal needs. This course can teach you how to lift/move safely to help reduce the risk of injuring yourself or the person you care for. The next available course is:

• Thursday 1^st September 2022

If you would like more information or to book onto the course, please contact the Carers Centre. If you have any other suggestions of training needs, please let us know.

Call: 02392 851 864

Email: carerscentre@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Portsmouth Carers Service newsletter is published every two months and is sent by email (or post for those without email or need a printed format). If you would like to sign up to our newsletter mailing list, please complete the form below. Alternatively, you can call us on: 023 9285 1864