November 2024
CreArt Community Centre was established seven years ago to address the lack of safe spaces for activities among black and migrant communities. CreArt is dedicated to fostering an inclusive community in Dudley, addressing health and social inequalities, racism, and discrimination.
At CreArt Community Centre they provide a diverse range of services aimed at empowering and supporting individuals in the Afro-Caribbean community including digital skills workshops, social prescribing, mental health support and youth groups.
We met with the organiser who is currently completing a psychotherapy course after realising there is a need for more support with a lot of the women who access CreArt services struggle with mental health, due to facing health and social inequalities, racism, and discrimination. The organisation is also well connected with Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
We heard that a lot of their attendees have mental health and feel stranded/alone in their community due to the language barrier, and once she has passed her psychotherapy course, she intends to deliver this service herself within the community in community languages.
There are also plans to put on mental health training for the peer leaders who are from Afghanistan, Cape Verde, Iran, and Portugal who will be able to help with CreArt community improve their health, well-being, and happiness.
The organisation used to offer free health checks for their members who were aged between 40 and 74 years old which was well received, and we have introduced CreArt to a provider who may be able to offer these health checks.
We recently spoke with a resident from Wolverhampton who wanted to talk to us about John’s campaign.
The campaign has a single, simple message: no one should enforce disconnection between family carers and those who need their expert knowledge and their love.
This principle is applicable everywhere. In the doctor's surgery, the A&E ward, the dementia assessment unit and the care home.
The resident we spoke to cares for his nan who has deteriorating rapidly since having dementia and has been starting to think about what would happen during hospital stays – especially with her having more accidents.
Recently he has been looking into John’s Campaign and he wants to express the importance of hospitals honouring carers rights to stay longer than normal visiting hours due to the benefits outlined in the campaign.
Many hospitals and care providers have signed up to agree to extending visiting hours, understanding that they are carers and needed.
In Wolverhampton, New Cross Hospital have now signed up, but it was said that they previously did not allow the carer we met to stay outside of visiting hours, asking for his application or proof.
After this conversation, our Involvement Team spoke to the lead commissioner for the dementia strategy around John’s Campaign and how we can raise awareness across the Black Country.
Recently we attended St Thomas’s Church in Mossley to celebrate the 200th location of drop-in centres across the Black Country, called ‘Places of Welcome’.
These are friendly places where local people can attend for a hot drink and something to eat. There is no pressure for them to pay for this refreshment and the groups are held weekly.
We spoke to a gentleman from Mossley Big Local who volunteers for the organisation. As well as craft sessions and coffee mornings, it hosts British Sign Language (BSL) sessions.
The gentleman was explaining that he has a hearing disability attends the support sessions in Mossley together with the residents to learn BSL. He explained how the Lighthouse Project delivers the training and since then, a lady who could only communicate via BSL has joined and has felt the most “included” she has ever felt in her life because everyone could sign to her – making her feel at ease.
He also explained how the area is really deprived community and Big Mossley are running a soup kitchen at the church where local people can pop into the church for a soup and a roll – including a warm. They are planning other soup drop-in sessions after Christmas.
During the festive period, Mossley Big Local are hosting a children’s Christmas Party which will give local children the opportunity to have a Christmas meal, see Santa and receive a present. They host this as some local children do not have the opportunity of a Christmas dinner.
Whilst visiting the celebratory event for the Places of Welcome at St Thomas’s church, we met a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands for Walsall, and we will be making contact to keep in touch about opportunities to get involved in projects of work from the ICB.
During one of our conversations, a lady was talking about how they feel that the NHS wastes a lot of money and gave the example of not being allowed to return surplus medications. After her husband sadly passed away, she had a large wheelchair and a CPAP machine that could be sent back, however Walsall Manor Hospital didn’t collect the items and therefore they would go to waste. She was worried that if this is happening all over the country, it could be costing the NHS billions.
Following several emails and telephone calls by our Involvement Specialist with the PALS Team and Walsall Posture and Mobility Service. Walsall Posture and Mobility Service have been in touch with the lady and are arranging to collect the wheelchair.
The PALS Team advised that the CPAP machine needs to be returned to Walsall Manor Hospital and have requested that the lady makes contact with the department to discuss how to arrange the return of this piece of equipment. Each piece of equipment from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has a sticker on it with return contact details.
The Involvement Specialist did follow up to contact the lady through Manor Farm Community Association and the lady did advise that she has received the information researched by the involvement specialist.
The Manager of Manor Farm CA said: “I have passed the information onto the lady; she was really grateful for it. Once again thank you for this information that you have followed up.”
December 2024
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