We always enjoy hearing your feedback about the newsletter so please do ... has outgrown the Carers Trust national chari
Winter 2017 Newsletter
Welcome to the Crossroads Together Winter 2017 Newsletter. We hope you will find all the information you need included in this newsletter to keep you up to date with any recent developments at Crossroads Together, including our recent rebranding. We always enjoy hearing your feedback about the newsletter so please do not hesitate to contact us with any comments or suggestions. Remember all of our contact details can be found on the back page of this newsletter. If you wish to receive the newsletter electronically, please contact us to be put on our e-mailing list. Don’t forget to recycle your paper copy once you have finished with it, or pass it onto another carer.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at Crossroads Together.
Rebranding As many of you know we have recently rebranded, changing from Carers Trust in Greater Manchester to…
Those of you that have used the service for some time will know that we used to be called Crossroads Care/ Caring for Carers and this is how we are still known by many people. We held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) back in May and the board and members agreed to withdraw from the Carers Trust national charity membership. One of the main reasons for deciding to withdraw from the Carers Trust was that our business model has changed over the years and has outgrown the Carers Trust national charity in terms of its vision and mission. As a result of leaving the Carers Trust national we had to re-brand as we could no longer use the Carers Trust brand going forward. The new brand is very much about going back to our roots under the previous Crossroads charity which is what we are still so well known for. Even though we have a new brand it is still very much business as usual delivering the best quality care service and reaching as many people as we can.
A press release was sent out informing people of the change to the local papers and organisations that we work with… Crossroads Together, an innovative social enterprise to be jointly owned by service users, carers, employees and local people, launched today with a promise to serve communities across Greater Manchester and the North West with good quality, not-for-profit community care and develop ambitious ideas to help local communities. Crossroads Together has been established by the award-winning charity, Carers Trust in Greater Manchester, following a move to cut its ties with the national Carers Trust charity. It’s new, independent social enterprise status marries the quality and experience that awarded them ‘Good’ status by the Care Quality watchdog in 2016 and a national ‘Centre of Excellence’ quality status, with a structure that will enable innovation and diversity in the care services they can offer. CEO Paul Parlby, who has overseen the transition, explains: “Our roots go back over 40 years, originally under the name of Crossroads and more recently Carers Trust where we have been a network partner of a national charity. As a long-standing local charity supporting carers and people with care needs we have outgrown the mission of the Carers Trust national charity. Over the years we have had to adapt from a grant dependant charity to generating our own income to survive, and to meet the care needs of local people we have become much more diverse in what we can offer as a registered care provider. After carrying out a full strategic review early this year the board of Trustees concluded that concentrating on developing our service offer to local people through an independent social enterprise was the best way forward”.
2016/17 Annual Review
Did you know in 2016/17 we delivered 102,458 not for profit care hours to over 600 families? And that we raised £10,000 in fundraising? Our latest annual report is now available to read on our website, with highlights of a memorable year and to celebrate our achievements. If you would like a hard copy of the report please get in touch and we will post one out to you.
Christmas/ winter help
Christmas is usually a time filled with excitement and happiness, but for some people it can be a very difficult and sad time of the year, if you do find yourself struggling here are some tips to make things more manageable: •Try to drink alcohol responsibly during, and in the run up to Christmas. Alcohol is a depressant so you may be exacerbating the symptoms if you overdo it. •If you will be alone at Christmas find out what is going on in your area, there may be drop-in centres, support groups and other community resources operating over the Christmas period. •If you are worrying about being overwhelmed by too many social events, think about which to attend and which to politely decline. People will understand that you cannot do everything. •Take care of yourself, avoid getting overtired, eat nutritious food and try to take some exercise over the holiday. •Be prepared- make sure you have enough prescription tablets over the Christmas period •If you feel that you really are not coping, the Samaritans are operating their helpline over Christmas 24-hours a day. Samaritans volunteers are trained in many of the same techniques as professional counsellors, but they won’t judge you or tell you what to do. Samaritans helpline - 08457 90 90 90 •If you require extra help from Crossroads Together over the Christmas/ winter period contact your local office today.
Fundraising Trafford Coffee Morning The lovely Marie Kent, who is one of our Trafford shop volunteers, held her annual coffee morning in aid of Crossroads Together in November and raised a fantastic £173! Thank you so much Marie, looks like you all had a great time! Coast to Coast HUGE well done and thank you to everyone that completed the Coast to Coast cycle ride back in June this year. Thank you to: Emma Hall, Tanya Mikaiel, Christine Talmage, Tom Grindey, David Johnson, Collin Johnson, Tim Grindey, Rick Hodkinson, Chris Dobson, Sid Vernon, Darrell Whittle and Paul Parlby. And to Debbie Fricker and Louise Renshaw for driving, and being stationed at the check points!
It really was a tough challenge but the whole team finished the three day event in good spirits, and raised an AMAZING amount of £4,000!! Thank you to everyone that helped us achieve our £10,000 fundraising target last year, we really appreciate all your help!
Long service awards Congratulations to Pauline Dallayne, Jeanette Ranson, Gillie Moseley & Janet Dewhurst in Stockport who have achieved their 10 year long service awards!
Staff Update
Thank you all for your commitment and hard work to local carers and the Crossroads charity. Our CEO Paul Parlby also received his 10 year long service award; here he is receiving his award from our chairman Joe. Congratulations Paul, thank you for all your hard work and commitment.
Welcome to the team Community Care Workers Jack Curzon, Samantha Dunning, Leoni Hawkshaw, Claire Haye, Lisa Holder, Bethany Horridge, Julie Leyshon, Jade Rimmer, Janet Somerwill and Carys Woolfenden. Management Accountant: Andrea Shore Andrea will be joining the finance team in the New Year. Bolton shop manager: Ben Cleary Ben joined the team in summer and has been doing wonders with the Bolton charity shop and the volunteers, if you are in the area why not call in to say hello! And Ian Howden, who was a volunteer and now covers for Ben on his day off! Picture shows Ben with some of his volunteers on one of their dressing up days in the shop
Have you ever considered volunteering? We are looking for Volunteers for both our Trafford and Bolton charity shops. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and gain confidence. M has been volunteering in our Bolton charity shop and here is what she has to say....
"Finding a job in today’s economic climate is tough, very tough. Having tried and failed for several months has left me feeling down and useless which led on to depression and anxiety issues. On advice from a friend I decided to volunteer at Crossroads Together. Crossroads Together changed my life, with no exaggeration I feel that working in this safe and comfortable environment developing my work skills and meeting new friends has dramatically increased my confidence to go and find a job of my own. I now look forward to meeting the new faces and tackling day to day circumstances rather than worry about feeling I can’t do it. My friends and family have all commented on how much of a dramatic change my life has gone through since volunteering, they say I’m much happier and my confidence shines through even when I’m not at the shop. My manager is supportive and understanding he has a lot of experience that he uses to help me and all the others feel that they are capable and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how down I feel. I have made a lot of new friends and met someone who has grown to be very special in my life now; I can honestly say that I was on a slippery slope and without the coaching and support Crossroads provided I honestly don’t know where my life would be today. Todays society is tough and finding confidence and a new perspective on life is a gift that can’t be bought or given and I thank Crossroads together and my new friends there for everything they have done for me and I now look forward to a brighter future."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Our Trafford Charity shop has been open for 6 years on Tuesday 16th January 2018. Thank you to everyone that has supported us over the years, from donating goods, shopping there and of course to our manager Lynda and her volunteers.
Rochdale and Salford Children’s Service The children’s service has been busy since the summer holidays, here are some photos of what they have been up to…
Integrated Neighbourhood Teams Rochdale The INT project in Rochdale is going from strength to strength. June and her team, Neelum and Lauren are getting out into the communities helping carers complete forms and signposting them on for the help they need. They have been holding events, such as an information day for Carers Week at Rochdale Town Hall, and attending carers events like this one where they met the Rochdale Mayor. The feedback from the service has been very positive…. “The support she had received through Neelum and the integrated neighbourhood team was really positive. She spoke of Neelum’s very warm and helpful approach and said that she couldn’t have navigated all of the complexities of the benefits system etc. without her support, particularly as she was struggling emotionally at the time. The carer said she would have been lost without your services. At a time when things were really stressful Neelum helped her considerably to navigate really difficult and confusing systems.”
Social media We are trying to have more of a presence on social media, tweeting and showcasing everyday the things we are up to. If you don’t already do so, please follow us to keep up to date with our news as it happens. @XroadsTogether We have also just started using Instagram, so search for us ‘Crossroads Together’.
openPASS As a Crossroads Together customer you can now access our unique ‘openPASS System’ which has been designed around distant family carers, family members, social workers, and healthcare professionals. openPASS is a mobile app which provides the real time visibility of care plans, notes, messages and live records to authorised parties. The system provides an up to date picture of the care and support being provided at any given time within a person’s home. The openPASS System has been trialled by Crossroads Together over the last 12 months and is now available to all our customers across Greater Manchester. The openPASS System is a digital care management system used by all Crossroads Together Care Workers to record the care and support delivered in the community in people’s own homes and who are notified of any changes to the care plan or risk assessment in real-time. The new system will not only benefit distant carers for example, people living separately from the person they care for who need peace of mind that the people they love are safe and being looked after, it will also be of benefit to social workers and healthcare professionals who can access the service for free within the clients home. Through this new and unique system Crossroads Together records visit times, real-time specific tasks that have been carried out during visits, changes to care plans, details of meals or medication provided during visits and they can also send and respond to any messages and send alerts to any authorised parties.
Local office contact numbers
CONTACT US
Bolton: 01204 365025 Rochdale & Oldham: 01706 525361 Salford: 0161 787 9002 Stockport: 0161 432 7712 Trafford: 0161 905 1986
W: www.crossroadstogether.org.uk E:
[email protected] Social Media: @XroadsTogether A company limited by guarantee registered in England no 3219229 charity registration 1059911
