Fraserburgh LLCP event 28/8/19 at FCSC
Attendees: Shirley Buchan- NHS, Marjorie Griffith- Home start, Sharon Mellin-HT North School Martin Robertson-CLD, Claire Needler-Home-Hame-дом- Dom Project Co-ordinator, George Rutten-NHS , Alex Scrimgeour- Community Warden, Alia Gatt-Community Warden, Debra Campbell-CPO, Pearl Morrison-Network Librarian, Carol Balcombe-Team manager Adult & Criminal Justice, Denise Whyte- Employability Support, Claire Levitt-PEF Leader Fraserburgh Academy, Peter Kennedy-Employability Support, Heather Zacha- NESCOL, Student Support Worker, Debbie Rennie-Aberdeenshire Food bank Service.
Several apologies were received
Guest Speakers
Karen Buchan- & Gareth Smith- DWP, Brendan McCabe – Aberdeen City VSA
Workshop Facilitator – Melanie Johnston – CLD, Cost of the school day
Brendan – VSA has the most residential beds for people with mental health issues. There have been more and more referrals for older people, ages ranges from 21 – 80-year olds.
Brendan shared paperwork VSA use with individuals to set short /long term goals using the recovery wheel.
There have been talks about opening a new service– Supported accommodation with 15 flats.
Work to a recovery model: which is about supporting people with mental health issues to reach the best they can be.
Recovery approach becoming adopted into all mental health problems moving away from medical model. Staff are encouraged to think out of the box, not just about getting better but helping achieve tasks e.g. booking a holiday. 1 person had a goal of just opening a window, it will just be small steps all the way through, he is now in a position where he can leave his home, do general everyday tasks like shopping & interacts with other residents.
Recovery wheel – partners were asked to have a go at filling out the wheel either thinking about themselves or someone they know; this helps to identify areas on which to work on.
We looked at indicator choice, control & Communication sheet. Brendan gave examples from the practice to demonstrate how the paperwork is used in real life situations.
Work Through Process – We never say, “you can’t do something” and we look at steps and alternatives to helping people to achieve their goals & reach their potential.
VSA shared links to Web sites which will be shared with partners
Karen & Gareth DWP – There has been changes to Universal Credit – its digital & personalised, takes account of changes in earnings. There is support available on a 1-1 basis at the Job Centre also, The Foyer Learning House run IT & support for people looking to get back into work, they can help with developing skills they already have, have access to a dedicated work coach and support small steps back into employment. There is also budget & debt advice available from Foyer. DWP & also have a portfolio of disability friendly employers
Fair Start Scotland – They provide person centred approach and can help with forms etc.
DWP – Driving agenda for Disabilities Confident – employer & leader event will be held in October, paperwork, flyers etc shared.
Both presentations were well received, partners were engaged and asked lots of questions
After the morning presentation partners used Lunch Break to network and ask more questions from speakers.
Afternoon workshop with Melanie Johnston – Melanie talked about the stark statistics around child poverty which has increased already from 12% in Nov 2018 to 14%, in Aberdeenshire.
Over the last 7 years 55% of children have experienced at least 1 year of living in poverty, 22% in the Fraserburgh area.
Melanie gave us just a short snapshot of the cost of school day training which normally takes a whole day.
After the Afternoon Workshop partners took the opportunity to talk about priorities and we have set up meeting to look at specific topics (foodbanks)
Date of next meeting 6th November at 9.30 am in FCSC
Aberdeenshire Learning Communities Partnership (ALCP) 