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Housing Lifeline Opens Its
Doors
INDIVIDUALS and families looking for
low cost local housing are invited to an advisory open day on 26 August 2015, between
1pm to 4pm at Riverside housing association's Eton Court in Southport.
Riverside's Income Management Advisors and ancillary support services will
provide information and advice, at the scheme on Park West Road in Southport.
Staff, volunteers and customers at the scheme will be on hand to speak to
members of the public wanting to find out more about Riverside's housing options
in the Southport area.
An Interpreter who speaks 7 languages will be on hand to welcome members of
the wider community.
Dale Salmon, Scheme Manager, said:- “We wanted to open our doors to the
local community to showcase the excellent housing we provide across seven
schemes in the Southport area, including Retirement Living services. It's a
chance to preview the services, and get one-to-one advice if you're worried
about housing or are in housing need. People often don't realise that they can
self-refer to apply for our retirement housing and we will have plenty of
application forms on the day, as well as refreshments and a raffle.”
Riverside provides over 55's Retirement Living housing as well as a range of
other housing services across Liverpool. Dependent on need, specialist support
can be provided to customers as well as access to GPs and District Nurses.
Margaret O'Brien has lived in Riverside Housing for over 20 years, first within
its general housing and now at its Westholme Retirement Living scheme. She
said:- “Riverside is my home and I love living at Westholme, everyone is
so friendly and I couldn't have had better support and advice. They have been a
lifeline to me."
Dale added:- “Riverside's Retirement Living Schemes are open to people
aged over 55. The housing association also delivers a range of housing services
for people of all ages and their families.”
Each year, Riverside provides support for more than 7,000 people aged over 55,
delivered to more than 4,500 people within its specialist housing centres. Its
extra care housing gives older people with care needs the ability to access
innovative, high quality and flexible service provision.
FCA appeals for new carers
in Liverpool to find room to foster
THE UK's leading independent fostering agency has launched
a new recruitment campaign to address the shortage of foster carers in
Liverpool.
Called:- 'Finding Room to Foster' the campaign draws on the moments when carers
from Foster Care Associates (FCA) in the region found that unique time in their
life to make the important decision to foster; making room both emotionally and
physically in their home.
FCA, which has a regional office on Carsdale Road, has many carers in the region
who have made room in their lives, including single carer Lola Thomas who lives
in Liverpool. She became a foster carer after her partner's untimely death.
Commenting she said:- “I'd cared for my partner though terminal cancer for
2 years, and after his death I wanted to give something back as my grown up
daughter had also left home.
I had previously worked in the region's business community sitting as a director
both on the Prince's Trust and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. I've also invested
in and opened a children's home, homes as well as being a college principal
teaching secretarial skills. It doesn't matter what background you're from you
can transfer many of the skills you've gained through your working career to
fostering.
I specialise in fostering troubled teenagers, and also young mothers with their
babies. Yes it can be a challenge but as a single carer I seem to have a natural
rapport with them; it's important to identify what age would work with your
background, family and home setup.
Fostering has been the most rewarding journey for me in my twilight years, and
the 24 hour support I'm able to access from the fostering agency has really put
me at ease.”
Debbie Smith, operations manager for FCA North West, said:- “We've been
working with children and young people for 21 years and our experience shows
that one-to-one support in a family setting is the best way to help these
children achieve stability and positive outcomes. Our team of social care
professionals work closely with our foster carers to deliver intensive, holistic
support tailored to the individual needs of each young person and carer.
We have the best foster carers across the North West and hope our 'Finding Room
to Foster' campaign will encourage more people in the region to make room in
their life and seriously consider becoming a foster carer.”
FCA provides ongoing comprehensive support to all foster carers including
training, a generous financial allowance, access to carer support groups and
organised family activities; all contributing factors as to why FCA placements
are 22% more stable than the national average.
For more information on becoming a foster carer with FCA call:- 0800 022 4012 or
visit:-
TheFCA.Co.UK.
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Soapbox market and music
festival welcomed as a Smokefree Summer event to protect kids
THE decision to make The Youth and Community Partnership's Soapbox market and music festival smokefree, to help
promote healthy behaviour to children, has received strong support from the
public and families that attended, supporting recent survey findings which
showed 88% of people questioned support smokefree outdoor events for children in
Sefton.
The survey results were released for the launch of Smokefree Summer in July
within Sefton. The campaign is a new initiative running across Cheshire and
Merseyside during Summer 2015 which will see a series of family friendly events
in the area becoming smokefree to protect children by reducing their exposure to
smoking.
Shelly Rimmer, 37, from Southport said:- “I support smokefree events for
children. I don't think that my daughter, Amelia, knows what smoking is yet and
I don't want her to until she is older. I started smoking at 20 because my
parents and my friends smoked and I quit smoking for Amelia to protect her.
I would like to see more events for children becoming smokefree across Sefton.”
Ashley Wilson, 36, from Birkdale in Southport attended the market with his niece
and said:- “I agree with smokefree events for children. I think it would
make a difference to children because what kids see they want to do, it's as
simple as that.
I don't like people smoking around my niece. I smoke away from the home so she
doesn't see me smoking. I would like all events to become smokefree with kids
present.”
Smokefree Summer has been co-ordinated by local social enterprise Tobacco Free
Futures which has worked together with local authorities and event organisers
across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member Health and Wellbeing said:-
“We recognise that there is a high level of support and demand for more
smokefree events and spaces in Sefton. We are committed to tackling the harms
caused by tobacco in our communities, especially to children, and want to see
more healthy, smokefree family-friendly events in our area. We have joined
smokefree summer to help increase the number of family events we see promoting a
smokefree policy and hope that more local organisers change their policies to
protect children.”
Andrea Crossfield, Chief Executive of Tobacco
Free Futures said:- “Young people consistently overestimate the prevalence
of smoking, with 60% thinking it's the 'norm', when in reality four out of five
people don't smoke in the North West.
Smokefree summer has been created to increase the amount of clean and healthy
environments that children and families play in, helping children to understand
that smoking isn't a normal activity.
This isn't about protecting children from secondhand smoke in outdoor spaces,
rather its promoting healthy behaviour to children. The more events that become
smokefree, the less likely children are to take up smoking; preventing them
from entering into a deadly addiction that kills one in 2 long term smokers.”
The street survey was carried out by an independent street engagement team
commissioned by Tobacco Free Futures. 100 people in Sefton were asked their
opinions on smoking outside:-
► 97% agreed that smoking outdoors in front of children and young people sets a
bad example, with nobody disagreeing
► 52% agreed that there should be no smoking in parks where children, and
families may visit, with only 7% of people disagreeing
► 62% agreed that there should be no smoking at general outdoor public events,
with only 10% of people disagreeing
If you are thinking about quitting smoking you can contact your local stop
smoking service for free help and support by calling Sefton Support on:- 0300 100
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