Did you know that our Health & Wellbeing workers provide support to a number of local people who have Diabetes?
For Diabetes Awareness Week, Eram put together information packs for all of our Diabetes patients, to help support them in managing their Diabetes during hot weather, and in eating well with Diabetes. She also included our latest activity schedule, so that people are aware of all the groups they could get involved with.
DWB’s Diabetes information packs
If you’d like to read the Diabetes information that Eram sent out, you can download the leaflets here:
Read more about how our Link Workers can help support people living with Diabetes by looking at Mrs H’s story here.
We work closely with Diabetes UK Sheffield to offer support to the local community in living with and managing Diabetes. They have a number of events planned for Diabetes Awareness Week, listed here:
Yvonne, Jo and Saada from the DWB team were excited to attend the official launch of Beat The Street Sheffield recently.
Saada, Jo and Yvonne at the Beat The Street launch
The launch took place at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park on 19th May 2021. The city-wide physical activity game was launched at an event attended by organisers, local dignitaries, council representatives and Oasis Academy Don Valley.
Beat the Street gets underway from 16th June to 28th July 2021 and challenges schools, workplaces and community groups to clock up as many active travel miles as possible during the six week-game. Beat the Street is open to anyone of any age and ability – children and adults alike. More than 450 beeping and flashing sensors called ‘Beat Boxes’ will be placed on lampposts around the area for the duration of the game.
Pupils from the Don Valley Oasis Academy take part in the opening event
Players simply tap one of these Beat Boxes with their special card to start their journey. Walk, cycle, run, scoot, wheel or roll to the next one on the map within an hour to score 10 points. The further players go and the more Beat Boxes they tap, the more points they will score.
Darnall Well Being will have a number of Beat The Street cards to give out to our service users and volunteers, so that they can join with our staff in scoring points for Darnall Well Being!
Jo from DWB tries out her BTS card
Over the course of the six-week competition, the teams that clock up the highest number of points will win vouchers for sports equipment or books, and there are ‘lucky tap’ prizes given out to individuals during the game. There are also leaderboards for the highest number of average points, meaning that teams of all sizes are in with a chance of winning prizes.
Beat the Street was developed by Dr William Bird, a GP who wanted to get people active and to get communities walking together. Since it was developed in 2010, more than a million people have played the game across 103 towns and cities across the UK and internationally. Beat the Street Sheffield is brought to you by Move More and Sheffield City Council. It is delivered by Intelligent Health, with funding from the National Lottery and Sport England, and local partners.
For more information about the forthcoming Beat the Street game, visit www.beatthestreet.me/sheffield or follow @BTSSheffield on social media for more information.
On Saturday 22nd May 2021 Jo-Anne van Levesley, one of our Senior Health and Wellbeing Workers, visited Lilian Beasley to do a doorstep collection – outside, distanced, and Covid safe!
After knocking on the door, and retiring to the gate, Jo was greeted with a fabulous donation of fifteen knitted, embroidered and decorated Twiddlemuffs. Each one is unique, and tenderly prepared as a gift and donation to support clients and carers with Dementia. These will be used in our sessions, Cafes and allotment work, as we are preparing to reopen and venture out to meet face to face, once Lockdown is lifted.
Twiddlemuffs donated by Lilian Beasley
Thanks abound to Lilian Beasley, from a branch of Sheffield MU – who has worked so hard creating these for us.
They have been a real help and a project that has been ongoing for me through times of isolating, and not being able to get out and about in the time of lockdown. I have missed my groups and church, and am looking forward to getting out and connecting with family and friends again very soon
Lillian Beasley, on making the Twiddlemuffs
New Dementia Activity Packs
Jo has been busy putting together yet another amazing activity pack for our Dementia clients and their carers. These will be delivered through their doors, giving them plenty to keep them busy and amused whilst at home.
Walking is good for our minds, bodies and neighbourhoods. Spring is a perfect time to get out and get walking – and it’s FREE!!!
Walking has so many benefits for our wellbeing, including:-
Physical Wellbeing
Good for our heart, muscles and joints, and can lower risk of some conditions e.g. dementia, certain cancers, diabetes, heart disease and depression. Walking can also help you lose weight.
Mental Wellbeing
Walking gives you energy, helps you feel happy, can reduce stress, improves self-esteem, helps you feel more positive and can relieve anxiety and depression.
Connections
It’s a great way to socialise and connect with others, and all the family can get involved. It’s also a great way to connect with nature and discover new places.
It is recommended that adults get 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week, and just 20 minutes walking per day can make a huge difference to our health and wellbeing. Why not try taking a walk at lunchtime or in a morning and feel the benefits yourself? Another great thing about walking is that you can incorporate it into your daily life e.g. walking to school or shops, walking and talking with friends or taking the stairs instead of a lift etc. Build your strength, start small and work your way up to longer walks if you need to, going at your own pace.
Cherry blossom tree in High Hazels Park
There are lots of easy to access places to walk in and around Darnall and Tinsley e.g. High Hazels Park, Tinsley Park golf course, Bowden Wood, so why not take a visit? The link below is a walk starting from Darnall Community Park – it is just over 2 miles long, taking in the Canal and Olympic Legacy Park: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1wjGjDuwYYjumW2ZQcVTqOz3RDu5qo1zr&usp=sharing
If you fancy a group walk, why not join our Health Walk in Darnall on a Mondays at 11.00am(ring 0114 249 6315 to register) or watch this space for new group walks coming soon.
We are keen to encourage connecting with nature whilst walking and have attached a daily diary to help motivate you to get started or increase your walking, not just in May but beyond. Challenge yourself to do 20 minutes walking as part of your daily exercise.
Did you know that 10-16 May 2021 is Mental Health Awareness Week? The theme this year is #ConnectWithNature.
Mental health issues can affect anyone, and Mental Health Awareness Week is an opportunity for people to talk about any aspect of mental health. This year’s theme is nature. Nature has benefits for our mental health and wellbeing. Nature can reduce stress and help bring connection with the world and each other.
Cherry blossom trees in High Hazels Park
At Darnall Well Being, we are encouraging people to connect with nature; that could be by combining this with the benefits of physical activity and getting out for a walk, sitting in your garden, looking out of your window or looking after any plants you have in your home. Next time you connect with nature, have a think about what you hear, smell or see. We would love you to share this with us – send us your pictures or let us know how it made you feel and any benefits it had. Send any photos to dwb.enquiries@darnallwellbeing.org.uk Or tag us in your photos on social media: @darnallwb
Our leaflet with more details about this, and about useful contacts who can help with mental health support, is available to download here:
If you’d like to get out for a walk, but feel a bit hesitant after the past year of lockdowns, please contact us and we can welcome you along to our Monday walking group in High Hazels Park. The group follows two different routes, so you can choose the route that is best suited to you. Group members have said have said that coming back to walking with us post-lockdown has helped their confidence to get back out for walks, after isolating for some time. Sam, who is in his 80s, was so happy to be back on the group walks that he came running with his walking stick to get there on time!
On our Health Walk on Monday 10th May, group members took time to see and hear the birds and squirrels around them, and to smell the wet grass and blossom in the park. Building those connections with the natural world around us is just one way that nature can help with our mental wellbeing – the Wildlife Trusts list some other ways nature helps too:
Paul, one of our volunteers, suggested an unusual, fun activity to help connect with nature – why not build your own hedgehog house?! Information on how to do that here:
And if you need some inspiration for other things you can do to take care of your mental health, the Mental Health Foundation have come up with this helpful poster, packed full of suggestions:
Darnall Well Being is the Lead Body for the People Keeping Well (PKW) initiative for Darnall, Tinsley, Acres Hill and Handsworth.
We are pleased to announce that applications for Community Activities (A) and Dementia Activity (B) Small Grants are invited from local groups for activities in the local areas listed above.
Community Activity (A)
This funding can be applied for to support the following:-
Build the capacity of local groups to either improve their delivery or reach
Help provide some new equipment or resources.
Address a gap in provision in the area
Support groups that are encouraging people to connect and move more.
Applications may include requests for funding to make groups Covid safe or to purchase equipment to run group activities remotely
Dementia Activity (B)
This funding can be applied for to support the following:-
Reviewing existing Dementia Activity
Make a Group activity Dementia Friendly
Provide a Dementia Activity
Provide equipment to assist with Dementia Activity (this funding is for groups and applications regarding individuals are not allowed)
Applications may include requests for funding to make groups Covid safe or to purchase equipment to run group activities remotely
Terms
Projects MUST be for the benefit of residents within:
Darnall, Tinsley, Acres Hill and Handsworth
The fund is for groups only (not individuals).
Must have own bank account
One Application per organisation
Funding awarded needs to be spent in full and evidence provided with a Report and Receipts by the dates indicated for each fund.
Applying:
Complete the following form and return it to enquiries@darnallwellbeing.org.uk
by 12 noon Friday 21st May 2021.
Timescales:
Closing Date for Applications: 12 noon Friday 21st May 2021.
Organisations will be notified of the outcome by w/c 7th June
The Dementia Activities (b) grant to be spent by 6th December 2021 and monitoring submitted by noon 13th December.
Community Activities (a) grant to be spent by 28th February 2022 and monitoring submitted noon Friday 12th March 2022.
Any Questions?
If you’d like to have a talk about your idea before you apply, or want any advice then please get in touch via email enquiries@darnallwellbeing.org.uk leaving your phone number or ring 0114 249 6315 and someone from the Team will call you back.
Printed copies of the Community Connector ready to be delivered
Spring edition of the Community Newsletter for Darnall Ward
Once again, a group of local organisations in the Darnall ward have been working in partnership on a newsletter for the benefit of the whole community. If you live in Attercliffe, Darnall, Tinsley and Handsworth, watch out for the The Community Connector arriving through your letterbox before Easter! All the pages are also available to view further down this page – or you can download a copy to print here:
Our AGM took place online on 22nd February 2021, covering the period 1st April 2019 – 31st March 2020.
Zoom screenshot from our AGM
It was a simpler meeting than our normal celebrations, keeping to the main business required, namely appointments and our annual report for the above period, consisting of a report of the Chair of DWB, report of the Project Manager (Maternity Cover) of DWB and presentation of the 2019-2020 Accounts.
We also took the opportunity to record thanks to Jean Pickering, who has stood down as a trustee after a number of years. Other trustees talked about how much they had enjoyed working with Jean, describing her as “consistently engaged and supportive” and “an absolute stalwart” – descriptions which were met with plenty of agreement from others on the call. Although no longer a trustee, Jean remains an active volunteer for DWB and is looking forward to getting back to helping to run our health walks as soon as it is safe to do so!
Jean Pickering with her thank you flowers from DWB
This AGM was quieter than our usual large meetings, but we hope to celebrate our 21st year in Darnall later in 2021 with a much bigger event – watch this space!
We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic person for the post of Move More Development Worker. Would you like the opportunity to help address health inequalities and improve lives at a local level? Are you passionate about working with communities by leading on group activities that improve the health and wellbeing of people?
Join Us – credit Getty Images/iStockPhoto
The post holder will:
Deliver a range of activities that may include one-to-one work and leading on group activities that improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the area served.
Key in championing user involvement and engaging and supporting volunteers to build skills and confidence within the locality.
Work closely with health professionals, service providers, local community, voluntary and faith organisations to enable clients to achieve improved and sustainable physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Work to enable Darnall Well Being to quickly redesign its physical activity offer, within its pre-existing People Keeping Well, Community Wellbeing Programme, to engage and meet the needs of adults across the Darnall and Tinsley areas of Sheffield.
The successful candidate will work in the Darnall, Tinsley and Acres Hill areas of Sheffield (S9).
We are looking for someone who enjoys a challenge, well organised and able to act on their own initiative. This is a fantastic opportunity to join an exceptional team and an organisation with good standing both locally and citywide.
For more information, please see the job description and contact details below:
In autumn 2020, Sheffield Mind reached out to us at Darnall Well Being with an idea to bring a number of people together safely, in a weekly Art Therapy group.
Art from one of the sessions
Sessions took place on Zoom, run by Paula Rolston, an art therapist from Sheffield Mind, supported by Sarah from DWB. The group ran for 8 weeks and the art-making exercises enabled the participants to express, explore together, and understand some of their emotions at a challenging time. Each group member used simple drawing materials from home, having these ‘at the ready’ each week.
How it worked
After the initial warm-up or check-in, participants would reflect on a given theme through art-making. Microphones were muted, and around 20 minutes were spent ‘together on screen’, quietly drawing or painting. The themes of connection, identity, self-care and hope were explored throughout the course. Following the art-making each week, members would share their work on screen, reflecting upon its meaning for them. People spoke of home, of loss and precious memories. They spoke of how the pandemic had impacted upon them, and they connected with one another sharing words of encouragement and advice on self-care.
Artwork from the sessions
Artwork produced by participants in Art Therapy
We had some great feedback from the course
This was a highlight and refuge for me.
I found the confidence to draw, something I didn’t think I could do. Expressing my feelings through art was completely new to me. I discovered that if you draw something you miss, it brings you relief. It helps you understand your feelings about that thing.
I’d like to say that art therapy does not stop here for me. Now I know what to do if I want to reduce my stress level and how to relax. I am going to use it with my 2 boys who have difficulty controlling their anger.
I was encouraged by a friend to join the group. I’d been at a low point, sad, anxious and in a bad mood. Participating in the group changed my mood.
I loved this course so much; will there be another? Especially now during this coronavirus pandemic when I need to socialise. To encourage me and to help me learn new things.
My message of hope for me and my friends here is that there is light at the end of the tunnel…… Don’t give up.
We hope to be able to run more Art Therapy sessions with Sheffield Mind in 2021.
Please contact us if you would like to join in future.
Darnall Well Being is holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 22nd February 2021, 10-11:30am.
Our October 2019 AGM
We will be reporting on the activity that took place between April 2019 and the end of March 2020.
Unfortunately we will not be holding our usual festivities due to the current Covid restrictions. We will be following the usual business format of an AGM. We hope to do a celebration when restrictions allow.
Monday 18th January 2021 is known as Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year – but did you know that this idea came from an ad campaign to sell holidays and isn’t actually true?
Photo by Hector J Rivas on Unsplash
We know it’s really important to look after our mental health every day of the year, and to help us all through what may be an especially difficult time of year in lockdown, we have put together some useful support and contacts to help with mental health and wellbeing.
Help is available
There are plenty of ways that you can speak to someone, if you’re struggling – don’t suffer in silence! If you need to speak to someone urgently, please see the options here. The following are also local organisations who can help:
Sheffield Flourish run a number of groups and help people to support themselves with their mental health.
There are a number of apps and websites that you can use to help manage your mental health – some great, free examples are:
You could use the NHS Your Mind Plan to help you manage your mental health – and Sheffield Flourish have also produced a Mental Health Toolkit that you can use to support yourself with your wellbeing.
NHS Catch It – helps you learn how to manage feelings like anxiety and depression
Finally, be kind to yourself and try to make some time every day to do something that you enjoy, even if that’s as simple as walking around the block or reading a book for a while. Spring will be here before we know it!
Some Darnall Well Being staff challenged themselves to walk or run 25 miles in December 2020.
Inspired by a challenge started by Manor & Castle Development Trust, DWB staff Claire, Lucie, Sarah, Fran, Milda, Yvonne and Lucy committed to walking or running an extra 25 miles in December 2020. The idea was to help them get outside and keep active during the darker, colder winter days – watch the video to see how they got on!
We hope our efforts will encourage others to get out for a daily walk, whatever the weather. Since a new national lockdown was announced on 5th January 2021, please remember to exercise in accordance with the guidelines:
You can continue to leave the house for exercise, and you may exercise alone, with one other person, or with your household or support bubble. Exercise outside the home should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area. You should maintain social distancing throughout.
DWB were happy to support Healthy Holidays again in Christmas 2020, thanks to funding from People Keeping Well.
We worked in partnership with five local schools – Tinsley Meadows, High Hazels Academy, Phillimore, Acres Hill and Oasis Academy Don Valley to identify families to receive the food hampers and activity packs. Forty two families were identified by schools, with a further eighteen by DWB. These hampers will reach a total of one hundred and seventy-six children this Christmas.
The hampers contained the ingredients for four meals, along with recipes to cook simple, healthy family meals: omelette, pasta and tuna, vegetable curry and jacket potato. The activity packs included board games and Christmas themed colouring sheets and puzzles.
Some of the Healthy Hampers contents
The Community Champions at Morrisons Catcliffe were very supportive and generous in helping us get the contents of the hampers together. The hampers were then packed by some of our staff and volunteers over the weekend of 12th and 13th December. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us do this, including Graham from Tinsley Forum and Kinder from Attercliffe & Darnall Centre of Mission, who helped deliver the hampers to the five schools!
They came and are lovely. Our families were very grateful. Thank you to you and all the staff who made this possible.
Alison Blakemore, Deputy Head, Phillimore Community Primary School
The schools distributed the hampers directly to families at each school, and DWB staff distributed to other families we identified who would really benefit from receiving one. We were happy to be sent a photo of the first meal cooked by one Tinsley family almost as soon as they received their hamper!
Pasta cooked by a family in Tinsley, using hamper ingredients and recipe
Just wanted to say thank you for the food parcels – our families were thrilled. The parcels will be a big help to families over the Christmas break.
Shanaz Begum, Pastoral Officer, High Hazels Academy
We will be back delivering Healthy Holidays in the February half-term, when we hope to also be delivering some face to face activities. Watch this space!
A group of local organisations in the Darnall ward have been working in partnership this winter on a newsletter for the benefit of the whole community. If you live in Attercliffe, Darnall, Tinsley and Handsworth, watch out for the first edition of The Community Connector arriving week commencing 14th December! All the pages are available to view further down this page – or you can download a copy to print here:
To encourage people to get out and about over the winter months, there is also a 12 Days of Christmas MoveMore calendar, and we’ve set up a painted pebble hunt in four local parks. 200 colourful pebbles have been hidden in High Hazels Park, Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, Tinsley Green and Handsworth Community Park. If you find one, we’d love you to take a photo and share it on social media, tagging @darnallwb and using the hashtag #CommunityConnector.
Our top tip for finding them is to search high and low for them – they could be under benches, on trees, below bushes or on playground equipment!
14th November 2020 is World Diabetes Day, so we want to share with you some of the Diabetes support that we have continued to provide throughout Covid-19.
In March 2020, we had to stop our Diabetes group meetings, along with all of our other face to face activities. However, our Health and Wellbeing Workers have remained in regular contact with the Diabetes group ever since, to make sure they were coping well and managing Diabetes with all the additional stress around them during Covid-19.
Our service has also remained open for those who need it most, so we have continued to receive new referrals from different sources (both medical and social), requesting support to help people to manage Diabetes.
Our Health and Wellbeing Workers support people with Diabetes in a variety of ways, according to each individual’s needs and abilities. Some people need information on how to manage or prevent Diabetes, so we are able to provide them up to date information and uesful links. Others need more than just information, so where possible, we’ve been providing online one to one support via WhatsApp or Zoom. At these sessions, we’ve been able to share our resources and information, and support clients in setting realistic and achievable goals for Diabetes self-management
We’ve had some lovely feedback from some of the people we’ve supported during this time:
Really great job you are doing, we feel supported and get help when we need.
Thank you , I feel prevention is what I can do for myself from Diabetes , I will keep in touch if I need more information our struggling.
Client who we recently helped with Volunteer language support via WhatsApp)
When the Practice nurse referred me to you to lose weight and manage Diabetes, I thought how will it work in this critical time and lockdown? But DWB found the best way to support me. I appreciate the help and support I get – thank you.
Mrs W;
Some useful information and links to Diabetes UK Sheffield are attached below for you to use:
As the days get shorter and we approach the second national lockdown, we wanted to share some thoughts on how we can all prepare for coping with this as well as possible.
Ideas for preparing for winter lockdown
Our Volunteer worker, Sarah, created the beautiful wheel of ideas above – why not see if you can do something for each colour on the wheel?
Self care Suggestions
High Hazels Park walk in the sunshine
Here are a few thoughts from us here at Darnall Well Being on handling lockdown number 2:
You got through the first one – you can get through this one
Reflect and learn from your experiences last time
With winter mornings and evenings, it will feel tougher, so try and take a break and get some sunlight whilst you can.
This won’t last forever, even if it feels like it right now.
It’s totally normal to feel anxious or sad, no matter what your circumstances
Be kind to yourself
Winter Preparation
To help everyone make sure they are ready for the colder weather, Ahsan, one of our fabulous volunteers, has helpfully put together this little booklet with ideas of things to do to get ready for winter.
Covid Community Hub – offering telephone advice and information
Regular wellbeing phone calls and doorstep visits where possible, for those that need it the most
Regular activity packs through the post
Regular (Zoom) conference calls for our volunteers – with the prospect of more opportunities to connect online for our group members before long.
Link Workers can still offer one to one support for people with long-term conditions like diabetes and chronic pain management, help with improving physical and mental wellbeing, as well as signposting to other services where needed.
New Ways November
And finally, you could use this month to try out some new ways of looking at things, using the calendar below from Action for Happiness – see what a difference it could make to how you feel!
Sue Griffiths (far left), with others from DWB on the Healthy Holidays project
It has been great to be part of the Healthy Holidays project with DWB. After being in lockdown since March it was my first contact with the public and also DWB’s first face to face project. I played a part in the distribution of hampers by welcoming families, ensuring social distancing and sanitising were rules were followed, and face coverings were worn. Being part of a small team of volunteers, working with Shide, gave me the opportunity to see the dedication and care DWB give to volunteers, as well as to service users. I’ve always known this, as I have been involved with DWB for many years and benefited from their training and opportunities. Working on the project, has not only helped me to overcome my own health restrictions, but helping the most vulnerable families in the community, working alongside other volunteers, has been an important first step for everyone involved; a shared experience in these strange times. New friends have been made, new skills learned, and I look forward to the next steps with DWB.
I work as Business and Finance Support Officer at Darnall Well Being, which most of you might think is a boring job. But not here! It is never boring at Darnall Well Being, as no two days are the same. Yes, most of my duties are desk based, but when we’re in the office, I also get to interact with our lovely volunteers, when they are staffing the DWB enquiry desk, or I help support our activity groups if we are slightly short on staff. Since 23rd March, because of Covid 19, all of our team started to work from home. And my working day couldn’t be more different to what I was used to. Initially, I helped to make staff comfortable to work from home, ordered extra equipment we needed, and tried to support with any issues that arose. The biggest challenge for me was (and I am sure a lot of you can relate to this!) working from home – juggling home schooling for 3 children and trying to protect my husband’s time, as he was also working from home.
Whilst the kids were at home, my day would start at 7.30, when I set up my work station on our dining table, to be able to work in peace for about an hour and a half. Then it was breakfast time, where I was surrounded by the kids with their bowls of cereal. After the breakfast chaos, all my working days were similar, whether I was trying to juggle work with maths equations and English perfect tenses during the school term, or with casual bake offs, constant negotiations and peace keeping skills during the holidays. My favourite part of work during lockdown was making the activity packs, which we’ve been sending to all of our users, as this was a way to still keep in touch with people in the community that we care about.
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