Helping the people of Darnall and Tinsley stay healthy
These popular dance sessions are a fun way for women to get fit and have fun together. No experience required – the group is open to all women, so if you’d like to have a go, please get in touch to come along and join in!
From Father Christmas visiting Carers’ Group to games with staff and volunteers, Christmas wreath making to wrapping books for local children, we’ve found plenty of ways to get in the festive spirit this year! Have a look at our short video to see what we got up to….
We have collaborated again with Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park to put together and print this free community newsletter, which will be available to pick up from community venues from mid-December 2023.
Thanks to community organisations and groups around Darnall, Tinsley, Attercliffe and Handsworth, we’ve produced another 16 pages packed full of information and stories, as well as lots of support that’s available around the area. We’re also grateful to local resident, Shabir Aziz, for writing a personal piece about arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, and where to seek support locally.
If you’d like to share something in the next edition (planned for Easter 2024), please get in touch at communityconnectordarnall@gmail.com.
Working with our partners at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, we have pulled together another edition of the local newsletter, containing 16 pages of news, opportunities and information from local groups and organisations.
Thanks to funding from Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, 500 copies have been printed and will be available to pick up from local venues from mid-September 2023. Alternatively, you can read it online below. Or you can contact us if you would like a copy!
Key Responsibilities:
In this role, you will play a crucial role in the following areas:
Qualifications and Skills:
The ideal candidate will be:
By joining our team, you can enjoy:
Location: Darnall Primary Care Centre, 290 Main Road, Darnall, Sheffield, S9 4QH
Hours: 28 hours per week
Annual Leave: 25 days plus bank holidays (pro rata)
Salary: £25,500 per annum (pro rata)
How to Apply:
For further details or to request an application package, please reach out to Fran Arnold or Lucy Melleney at 0114 249 6315 or email dwb.admin@darnallwellbeing.org.uk.
To find out more about Darnall Well Being, please visit our website at www.darnallwellbeing.org.uk.
Application Deadline: Applications must be received by 12 noon on Monday, 11th September 2023.
Interviews: Interviews are scheduled for the week commencing 18th September 2023.
Join us in making a lasting impact on the Darnall and Tinsley communities. Your commitment can make a difference.
DWB’s Jo-Anne van Levesley and a number of our brilliant volunteers ran the sessions, which provide opportunities and support for people with Dementia and their families to get involved at Darnall Allotment Project, in all sorts of different ways. It is a community plot at Infield Lane allotment site, maintained and run by Darnall Allotment Project members, along with grower, Sarah Emberson.
On The Plot sessions this year included opportunities to work with clay, paint and many other mediums. The intense weather affected three sessions by taking us indoors, and even led to one cancellation – but the newly built shelter at the plot provided some very timely cover from a lot of the rain.
Three sessions were spent creating clay models, thanks to support from Brett, a potter, and resident gardener/grower on the site with his own plot, too. Another enjoyable activity was taking the time to create their own drawings and paintings of flowers and hollyhocks on the plot.
Participants also helped out with tasks around the plot, including, planting vegetables, working on the raised beds, doing general weeding, and watering. At one early session, they planted lettuce seeds together in a raised bed, and then made colanders to take their plants home to grow on the window sill. Everyone reported enjoying harvesting and eating the results at later sessions. “I never realised just how easy it is, how different the lettuce tasted to shop bought – and you can keep going throughout the winter, too…”
At the first and final session for this summer, we shared stories via the Out Of The Box storytelling, an approach that Jo has been learning, using compost and sand. Using the theme of “Down Memory Lane”, this helped participants to think about topics together, including “How do you feel about your community?” and “What have these sessions meant to you?”.
“It has been one of the best things for me. I feel totally relaxed and de-stressed here – I am better able to cope, sharing time with others has made me feeI better. I highly recommend coming; it has been one of the best things we have done together”.
Pat, On The Plot participant
From clay roses and ducks, to wooden men climbing beanstalks, the sessions brought all kinds of creativity and art to the plot this summer. We look forward to bringing the sessions back next year! Thank you to People Keeping Well for their funding and support for these much needed sessions!
Hidden along Infield Lane, at the top of High Hazels Park in Darnall, is a community allotment, packed full of all kinds of plants. On Tuesday 18th July, on a very wet afternoon, a group gathered at the allotment to celebrate the official opening of a new outdoor shelter, which has been built at the plot thanks to funding from the East Local Area Committee.
Participants from Darnall Well Being’s “On The Plot” sessions and the weekly Grow Together allotment group, along with some of the allotment’s founding members, were joined by local councillors Mary Lea, Zahira Naz and Mazher Iqbal to mark the occasion – and the new shelter provided much needed cover from the afternoon’s rain!
Dr Jack Czauderna, a retired Darnall GP and founder of local community organisation Darnall Well Being, opened proceedings by talking about his vision for health across the whole of Darnall. He pointed out that health isn’t just about not being ill; it’s about growing plants, being outdoors, nutritious food, mental wellbeing and so much more. Sixteen years ago, Jack worked with local resident Alamara “Cookie” Munshi to take on the community plot, and he recalls Cookie saying from the very early days that if only they had a shelter, they could offer art sessions and other activities.
Jack said, “For a long time, there was very little indoor space on the plot at all – just a small shed and a polytunnel. Thank you to Darnall Well Being for successfully applying for funding to help get this shelter built at last.”
The ribbon to officially open the shelter was cut by Cookie, and the shelter has been named “Cookie’s Corner”, in recognition of her vision all that time ago of what a shelter could bring. As Cookie noted, “People have come and gone at the plot, and all have taken away inspiration about how to de-stress from the time they’ve spent here. The more that people come, the more they love it and the more they want to do on the plot.”
Sarah Emberson, who works at the allotment as well as for Green City Action, said, “It’s really exciting to get this shelter built – it completely opens up what we can do.” It will provide shelter from the rain, wind and sun, and is available to book by anyone who wishes to use it for an activity. Some activities have already taken place using the shelter, including a Green Social Prescribing visit to the plot, organised by Darnall Well Being for local women, and a strawberry cream tea, which was open to the public.
Darnall Allotment Project is open to the public to come and get involved in helping to run it on Fridays from 10am to 1pm. The “On The Plot” sessions are specifically for people with Dementia and their carers, and are run on Tuesday afternoons by Darnall Well Being’s Jo-Anne van Levesley with support from volunteers. The sessions are open to local people with Dementia and their carers. Other events are also held at the plot, including annual apple juicing and Christmas wreath making sessions.
You can find out about future events at the allotment via their Facebook page.
There is more information about our Dementia activities at the allotment and elsewhere on our website here.
Our team nominated Jo-Anne van Levesley for Sheffield City Council’s Dignity Awards, for people working in adult health and social care, and we’re so pleased to say that she was announced at the awards event on 10th July 2023 as the winner in the category “Connected and Engaged – Everyone can connect with communities that care and support them”.
The Dignity Awards celebrate outstanding examples of best practice in adult social care and support in Sheffield, and we really felt that Jo was a worthy candidate! Our nomination is below, and the judges said it really illustrated that Jo puts clients at the centre of her practice. They were particularly impressed that Jo helps her clients in non-judgemental ways, giving them happy memories and fun things to do.
The awards ceremony was a lovely event, celebrating real embodiments of dedication and care across the city. Jo was presented with her award by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Colin Ross.
Jo is responsible for delivering Darnall Well Being’s support for people living with Dementia and their carers in Darnall ward. She runs Dementia Cafe in Handsworth with volunteers. Aware of the need to break down stigmas around Dementia in the BAME community, she also started Dementia Café in Darnall, with language support. She runs an online carers’ support group and a weekly session at Darnall Allotment Project for people with Dementia and carers, too.
Jo is dedicated to her work, treating referrals as she would want her own family to be treated, ensuring they feel comfortable and welcome. In January to March 2023 alone, Jo made 32 wellbeing calls, saw 48 people in person, and made 98 calls to 20 new clients. Feedback for her support on these calls – “The way you work is very professional and caring – sensitivity in a situation like this makes all the difference”. LO (carer)
Jo regularly seeks feedback from attendees and volunteers about what people find helpful and how sessions can be improved. The impact is clear from the high regular attendance at all sessions. “Jo has the unique ability to encourage, entertain and motivate people to take part in activities, whilst remaining professional, allowing her to be a trusted source of knowledge and support, and a source of fun and freedom,” Sarah, student attendee.
Participants are full of praise for Jo’s groups:
“like one big happy family” JR (volunteer at Dementia Café/allotment)
“best thing we’ve ever done – so pleased I’ve brought him here” (B and D, Dementia Café attendees)
“You are the only place that treat us all properly, nan and the family … so very impressed with the care, dedication, and sheer life you breathe into clients and carers.” JK (carer)
“This provision is good for Dad – I feel supported too, right from the first phone call… You even had thought about our fast – thank you” R (Carer)
Jo has spotted opportunities to link external projects with her groups, e.g. Sheffield University’s Hack The Hug project and Out Of The Box storytelling. She also encourages participants to take part in our other activities, and arranged for Dementia contacts to attend the World Seniors Snooker Tour in Sheffield, as well as organising an annual seaside trip for service users and carers.
She is recognised by others as being a key contact in the city. She is an Alzheimers Society Dementia Friends Ambassador, and provides Dementia Friends training for our team and partner organisations.
To increase awareness of available support, Jo helped to create videos with herself and café attendees, in English and Arabic, sharing what people can expect from Dementia cafe and encourage them to come and seek support – from local sessions and from city-wide services. Jo is open and approachable, with a passion for involvement and inclusivity. “She places the people she supports at the centre of everything she does. Her enthusiasm and genuine care for those within the group is the backbone to its success,” Natalie, OT student
We’re happy to share that we are running two Collaborative Conversations events:
We are keen to involve lots of people from Darnall and Tinsley in these event.
To give some background to Collaborative Conversations – the purpose of Collaborative Conversations is to learn from Sheffield’s voluntary and community sector, looking at how we understand what local people need and want, how we join up together and how we build trusted relationships with local communities. As part of the Collaborative Conversations programme, Yvonne on the DWB team has designed these sessions, which value the views and experiences of local people living in Darnall ward on the future of Sheffield. This approach to building collaboration will be shared with decision-makers in Sheffield and put into practice to identify city goals for Sheffield. The events will be attended by decision makers, in collaboration with VAS.
In March 2023, we welcomed people from the communities in Darnall and Tinsley to two Covid community memorial events, which gave us all an opportunity to share experiences from the pandemic. Representatives and resources from Sheffield Mind, Compassionate Sheffield and IAPT were there, sharing support and guidance for anyone who wanted help with managing their feelings.
We provided craft resources for people to create a memory book and gave everyone a candle and holder, which we lit together as a joint act of remembrance of lost loved ones, led by local faith leaders. We also provided food for everyone to eat together. A member of our team used her Out of the Box storytelling training to help some attendees to talk about their experiences. And we filmed interviews with some people sharing their Covid memories, as well as encouraging people to share their memories verbally and on paper in communal memory books.
Both events were very positively received by the communities and were well attended. People sat around tables and got to know one another throughout the events, as well as catching up with old friends/connections. The craft activities really helped people to talk about what they’d been through and share their memories with each other and in our videos/memory books.
We had faith leaders, Sheffield Mind and Compassionate Sheffield at the events, recognising that the topic might trigger painful memories for some people, so we had support on hand for people who needed it. This was really helpful to a number of people, and when Sheffield Mind were with us in Darnall, this led to 3 referrals to their bereavement support services, for people who were struggling with their grief.
We had a lot of positive feedback at both sessions about how needed people felt these events had been: “We felt forgotten, and now you have made our hearts so happy”, “really enjoyed meeting new people”, “today is very helpful – it got me out of the house to meet others – and that’s helpful!” and “today has been really good, enabling people to get together again”.
Watch the videos from both events here:
On 6th June 2023, 15 of our volunteers joined Yvonne, Jo and Fran at DWB’s office for a celebration event. As well as sharing information and ideas, they also had some fun taking part in an activity about the importance of good communication, using some very long telephone tubes!
There was a group discussion about what people enjoy about volunteering with us, and the volunteers came up with quite a list:
The volunteers also heard a thank you message from Gareth Johnstone, DWB Chair:
Thank you for everything you do for Darnall Well Being. Your time and effort has a real and positive outcome for our community. With your help we are changing lives, increasing opportunities, and improving health. You are valued members of the team, and greatly appreciated.
After talking about what they would like to do with DWB in future (with ideas ranging from accredited mental health first aid training to regular socialising opportunities, like a book club), the volunteers ate lunch together and got to know one another more.
No matter what your fitness level, you’ll be able to join in with our Health Walk group. Supported by our staff and volunteers, the group is a great opportunity to explore the beautiful High Hazels Park whilst getting to know others in the community. There are also opportunities to find out about the plants in the park and to try mindfulness activities, to help your mental wellbeing.
All followed by refreshments back at Darnall Primary Care Centre, if you choose to come back with us!
In March 2024, local GP Dr Farrell joined our Health Walk group and here’s what he had to say about his experience with us:
I joined the Health Walk on 18th Mar, meeting Saada and Teresa, and was really impressed by the relaxed, yet motivating manner in which all participants were engaged in the walk. The opportunity for everyone to meet each other, talk openly about anything that came to mind, and take rests whenever they fancied meant we all got good exercise in without any stress. The often passionate discussions (e.g. nationalising essential services) while having tea and biscuits back at DPCC afterwards was a welcome reminder of how engaged people are with their communities. Without this group, it is likely many of the participants would not find the motivation and confidence to get out into the park and walk the High Hazels hills!
Dr Farrell, GP
Thanks to funding from Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and local charity 500 Together, we have been able to print 1,000 copies of the latest edition of the Community Connector. This will be available to pick up from locations around Darnall and Tinsley, including at Darnall Library, local GP surgeries, Darnall Family Centre and from numerous local groups. Darnall Well Being staff and volunteers will be giving copies to participants of our groups and services, and we plan to deliver copies to some streets in the area, too.
If you prefer to read it online, you can download it here:
Or read on below:
We are two Occupational Therapy students from Sheffield Hallam University currently on placement at Darnall Wellbeing. We planned a new persistent pain support group, starting off by holding an information gathering session to ensure that future group sessions will meet participants’ needs. We were careful not to replicate services that already exist and focused on creating a support group, and not a pain management program as this is already provided by the NHS and is above our current skill set as students.
We were pleased to have a good turnout for the first session. We were joined by people living with persistent pain and healthcare professionals also interested in the group. The session began with some basic information about persistent pain. We defined persistent pain as pain that lasts after normal tissue healing time (usually after 12 weeks) in which other treatments have been unsuccessful.
The high prevalence of persistent pain in the local community was highlighted in order to help reduce the stigma and isolation of living with persistent pain, as participants realised that many people can live well with persistent pain.
We discussed when pain is helpful and unhelpful. The purpose of pain signals are to protect us from damaging our bodies. However, sometimes when the body has healed, the body systems that lead to the experience of pain stay ‘awake’ and ‘on alert’, tricking the brain into still feeling pain.
Benefits of a persistent pain support group include participants being able to share their experiences of living with persistent pain and supporting each other, whilst increasing their social interaction.
To facilitate social interaction we led an icebreaker activity in which we asked participants to use coloured air-dry clay to create a shape that represents their experience of persistent pain. Some participants took a literal approach by creating a human figure indicating where they feel pain, while others took a more abstract approach. Participants were invited to share their experiences of persistent pain with the group. It was highlighted that participants felt sharing and listening to others experiences of persistent pain made them feel less stigmatised, less alone, and more positive about their ability to live well with persistent pain. This activity encouraged frank discussion about issues such as the challenges of expressing concerns to health professionals due to short appointment times, as well as the uncertainty and confusion regarding the benefits and side effects of taking pain medication.
The session finished with a discussion about what participants wanted out of future sessions, ending in the collection of feedback. Suggestions for the content of future sessions were voted upon to ensure a co-productive approach.
We are pleased to share that we have been selected to be one of three Sheffield Youth – Neighbourhoods and Communities Area Hubs, and so we are recruiting an Area Hub Coordinator and two Youth Workers for our hub. These roles will be based in Darnall and Tinsley, with Darnall Well Being and our partner organisations Tinsley Forum and DESA.
SY-NC aims to have:
SY-NC plans to achieve this by
So our Area Hub Coordinator will develop trust, build the local youth service and multi-agency relationships, and deliver youth-led community development which tackles exploitation in the area. The Area Hub Coordinator will manage the two Youth Workers.
If you would like to apply for one of these job opportunities, then please download the job description and application form below.
If you have any questions about the roles, please contact us on admin@darnallwellbeing.org.uk or 0114 249 6315.
Key dates
Area Coordinator Role:
Trainee Youth Worker Role
Applications to be received via email – admin@darnallwellbeing.org.uk
Today’s event went really well, as there were people from different organisations present. It was a welcoming environment, as Mike first had us introduce who we are and where we volunteer, what we have learnt, our skills and qualities of a community champion.
We had in attendance speakers and volunteers from Flower Estate Family Action (FEFA) and Compassionate Sheffield (who spoke on compassion and tips on how to become a compassionate Community Champion). There was also a speaker from Healthwatch Sheffield who educated us on identifying the symptoms of Long Covid, and she also mentioned Healthwatch is working to see that more referrals are made for Black and Asian minority groups. Present also were a group of retired nurses who are for the Black community.
Also, we had a self care session taken by Ruth, a therapist. She emphasised that it’s important that as community champions, we take care of ourselves as much as we care for the communities. She also took us on a memory jar journey, where we wrote out 5 memories we’ve had and then, using salt and coloured chalks, we created different colours in a jar as a representation of our memories. We went home with this jar.
In all, it was a great event.