Swaffham Newsletter

Carers Matter Norfolk
Are you helping or supporting someone who is
living with Parkinsons?
If so, contact Carers Matter Norfolk. Covid19 and the
lockdown has been particularly difficult for people
caring or supporting someone with a long term
health problem. You may not have been able to have
family support or support from groups and friends.
Norfolk County Council has commissioned new
enhanced care services from this September which
will hopefully offer more support to carers.
Rather than going through Adult Social Services
Carers assessments are now being carried out by
Carers Matter Norfolk. To get an assessment, you
need to contact the Carers Matter Advice line or
request this through the website or you can ask a
health or social care professional to refer you. The
assessment can offer you advice, information as well
as the help and support you need in your carer role.
If you need more support, you may be referred to a
local Carer Connector who can look in more detail
at what can assist you to continue caring and to
support your health and wellbeing. Unlike previously
the assessment is not a one off thing but an adviser
will contact you regularly to see how things are
going and you can ring as often as you want if your
needs change or you just need a listening ear. An
assessment can lead to you being offered practical
help in the form of a short break, a grant from the
health and wellbeing fund, counselling or help to
access education and training. A short break can
be someone staying with the person so you can
go shopping, a few days for you to recharge your
batteries or even help towards a joint holiday. The
grants can be for anything that may enhance your
health and wellbeing such as funding massage, an
electronic device or a spa day out. The definition of
a carer for this service is wide and you do not have
to be living with the person you support or caring
for them full time. Contact the advice line for more
information. Hopefully this new enhanced service
will give you as a carer some practical support at a
time you need it.
Call our advice line on 0800 083 1148 to have a chat
with our friendly advisers, it is open 7 days a week
Monday-Friday 9am-8pm and Saturday and Sunday
10am-2pm. You can also contact the service via the
website www.carersmatternorfolk.org.uk.
Lindsay Goward
14
Swaffham & Litcham Home Hospice
As I write this, we are entering the second national
lockdown. Therefore, I would like to start by saying
that as an organisation our heartfelt thoughts go out
to everyone at what continues to be a very difficult
and challenging time.
We were delighted recently to receive a donation
for the fantastic sum of £150 from Sarah Lee who
some of you may recognize from Boots. Sarah told us
that this amount was raised from family and friends
and also from the staff and customers at Boots in
celebration of her birthday this year. On behalf of all
the team at the Home Hospice, we sincerely thank
Sarah for her very kind and generous support and to
all those who contributed to this wonderful gift. We
are very grateful, particularly during such uncertain
times, and this money will continue to help us provide
the vital services that we do in the local community.
As a charity organisation we have continued
throughout to provide our services as much as
restrictions will allow and following government
guidelines, but we could not do this without the
continued support of the local community. We thank
everybody wholeheartedly who has remembered us
by way of kind donations. Our Fundraising Team has
faced its own challenges this year and are planning
new ways of raising vital funds for the Home Hospice,
which we will advertise locally for your information
nearer the time. In this current climate every penny
counts.
With December drawing nearer, we are now making
preparations for our Home Hospice Memory Tree
for those who would like to sponsor a dedication
to remember a lost loved one this Christmastime.
The dedications will be placed on the tree at our
premises throughout December. As with everything,
we have had to adapt
2pm).
how this event will run this
year, but if you would like details of how to sponsor
a dedication, please contact our office as soon as
possible on 01760 722937 for further information.
We send our best wishes to you all. Take care and
keep safe.
Who are Carers Matter Norfolk?
Carers Matter Norfolk’s service has gone through an exciting
refresh to provide additional support to unpaid carers in
Norfolk. This ensures they deliver a highly personalised service
that enables carers to improve their health and wellbeing and
support them in their caring role.
On behalf of Norfolk County Council, Carers Matter Norfolk
provide Carer’s Assessments, information, support and advice
for unpaid carers in Norfolk. They offer a 7 day a week advice
line, along with one on one community support.
You can learn more about their services by visiting their
website or calling their advice line on 0800 0831 148 (open
Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am –
What do Carers Matter Norfolk offer?
Swaffham & District Lions
A team from Swaffham & District
Lions completed an eight-hour
static bike ride for the Lions/Brain
Research Charity. Over £700 was
raised, which included raffling a special cake donated
by Jennifer Stride of Frosted with the charity’s logo on
the top. This was the final part of a Lions fund-raising
for the charity and included selling surplus items on
the internet and a bucket collection in four local food
outlets during the Eat Out to Help Out campaign, a
total of over £1000 has been raised for the charity.
Swaffham Lions have expanded their Sunday
Foodbank collection to include glasses and hearing
aids. This week the Lions collected 61kg of food, 26
pair of glasses,1 hearing aid and £12. We have had
a very positive response to the Sunday collections
on social media, it also gives us the opportunity to
engage with the public albeit at a social distance.
This refreshed service further improves the health and wellbeing of
carers and their capacity to fulfill their caring roles by: –
• Carers assessments Sarah Leggett
• Carers breaks
• Health and wellbeing fund
With restrictions on laying wreaths on Remembrance
15
Sunday, Lion Maj (Retd.) Rod Goddard MBE who
served 34 years with the Royal Corps of Signals, laid
the wreath on behalf of Swaffham Lions in a simple
mark of respect.
Swaffham & District Lions were please to support
the new Men’s Shed in Swaffham with a donation of
£500 to kickstart their plans.
Following the success of the Lions Sunday food
collection the Iceland food store have asked if they can
join forces with the Lions in collecting food donated
by their customers. The food will be collected with
the Sunday Collection and transported to Dereham
by the Lions, where it will be sorted and made into
food boxes for families or individuals which are then
returned to Swaffham.