The power of caring, thanks to you
Aisha’s future is brighter,
and you’re part of it Page 6
New services breaking the mould • Page 3 Young carers tell us what it’s like • Page 4 Do something special • Page 10
Spring 2020
Fast Forward> Good news • Innovation • New projects
New Services: Listening To Young People
Hello! Welcome to this new-look spring edition of Quest. It’s your update on how your support is a vital part of what we do here at Quarriers. Every single person who makes a donation, volunteers, or contributes in any way shows how the power of the right support makes a difference we just couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you.
Page 2 • Quest Spring 2020
Quarriers’ new Home and Belonging Service in Renfrewshire will help care-experienced young people aged 16–25. We already work with care-experienced young people through our Coaching for Life services, so we asked for their ideas on what would help them to feel safe and secure in their own home, and to unlock their talents and abilities. That innovation has helped us create a service which will provide targeted support where it is needed most. With funding from the Life Changes Trust, Quarriers has led on creating an exciting new collaborative with five other partners to help provide the support young people have asked for. One-to-one support from a Quarriers Life Coach plays a vital role in this service. The Life Coach’s full focus is on the young person, helping them to identify personal needs and work on real plans for their present and future - because everyone deserves to feel a sense of home and belonging.
Why care? Quarriers Home and Belonging Service is fighting the very real impact of adversity on early life. The young people in most need have experienced a range of disadvantage, and might not have any support network from family. Young people we support told us how they felt to move into their own home after their care experience:
anxious
overwhelmed
scared
Home and Belonging partners • Engage Renfrewshire: providing volunteering opportunities.
• RAMH: providing mental health support.
• Impact Arts: helping young people make the place they live somewhere they are proud to call home.
• West College Scotland: providing courses in subjects young people want.
For them, to feel secure and settled takes much more than simply moving into their own place.
• Renfrewshire Council: supporting young people.
Helping young people feel… happier
healthier
connected
Appeals Update: Hope Not Just for Christmas
Fro m
We wanted to let you know that thanks to you, all the young people supported by Quarriers received personal gifts on the big day, and will also have access to help with basics throughout the year.
To
We know that hundreds of you were thinking of a young person with experience of homelessness over the festive season, after sending in your generous gifts to the annual Christmas Box of Hope Appeal.
Quest Spring 2020 • Page 3
Focus on> Young carers We’re delighted that Quarriers has been successful in retaining the provision of our Aberdeenshire Carer Support Service for Aberdeenshire Council, and will continue to support carers across the region over the next four years. Along with our other carers services in Moray and Glasgow, the service supports young carers to look after their health and wellbeing.
Lights, camera, action! Support workers need to understand the experiences of young carers, and who better to explain than young carers themselves? Aberdeenshire Carer Support Service has produced a brilliant new training resource that will help. Seventeen young carers learned how to create stop-motion animation using Stikbots and had great fun making scenery and props. They took still images of their Stikbots doing a range of actions and added sound effects and text, including a film title and credits.
After all, every good director needs to be recognised with their name on the big screen! The animation and film will be used by the service and will be available on the Aberdeenshire Council ALDO training site so that council staff who support young carers can gain a better understanding of the types of roles they provide. Watch the animations: http://bit.ly/3btacuK or www.youtube.com/ QuarriersCharity
44,000
young people under 18 are thought to have some kind of caring responsibility in Scotland.* These young people are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, stress and sleep disorders than their peers.**
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How you help Thanks to generous donations to Quarriers Summer Days appeal last year, 18 young carers supported by Quarriers in Aberdeenshire and Moray were treated to three amazing days of outdoor fun and festivities at the inspirational Scottish Young Carers Festival. Deep in the Fife countryside, over 400 young people from all over Scotland came together to experience activities like climbing and archery, make new friends, and of course take in the festival atmosphere!
They’re able to just be kids, without thinking of their caring responsibilities. One young woman was unrecognisable at the end of the three days – she had really come out of her shell, made friends and was having a blast just letting herself unwind and have fun!
Em ma ta kes on th e cli mbin g wa ll.
ca m pin g t a bi t o f ea b ’t e n b Yo u ca gig gles to o f ex ci ted n ts ti ll wit h lots from th e te g in m co h ea rd a ll h o urs. th e wee sm
Fiona Imlach, Family Wellbeing Worker
Sometimes young people find it really hard to let go and enjoy themselves, but Quarriers Family Wellbeing Workers were there to provide supportive chats as needed, and by the end of the trip all the young carers had the chance for some very important relaxation time. The team hopes to take more young people to the event this year. You can help by supporting the Quarriers Summer Days appeal in May.
*Source: Scotland’s Carers, official publication, 2015. **Source: Coping is difficult but I feel proud: Perspectives on mental health and wellbeing of young carers.
Find out more and watch videos by young people at the Scottish Young Carers Festival: www.carers.org/ scottish-young-carers-festival
Quest Spring 2020 • Page 5
Tomorrow’s child Aisha is one of hundreds of children who come to Quarriers respite service Countryview. Here, her mum Lorraine talks about caring for Aisha and why the right support from Quarriers could be vital for their future.
“Aisha was so, so wanted but from she was two weeks old I felt there was something wrong,” says Lorraine. “No one seemed to be listening to me until she was eight months old, and at a routine visit to the GP, a locum doctor asked ‘does her head often flop like that?’ Finally someone had noticed and we were referred for tests really quickly.”
I will never forget the day I got the results. You never ever think when you walk through a door that your life will never be the same. They told me she was severely disabled – my beautiful perfect wee girl. Aisha was diagnosed with Wolf Hirschhorn Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting one in 50,000 births and causing delayed growth and development, intellectual disability and seizures.
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Today, aged nine, Aisha doesn’t walk or talk, and her needs are complex, but despite all of the challenges she and Lorraine face every day, she’s a happy child with a wonderful mum who is fiercely committed to loving, nurturing and advocating for her wee girl.
“She’s really changed me” says Lorraine. “Before I had her, I was so impatient but I’ve learned so much from having her. When she was first diagnosed I was thinking things like ‘what gene therapy can I get her in America?’ but I’ve learned I can’t think like that and now I take every day as it comes. With Aisha, you get eye contact. There’s not much, but it’s there and I think she understands everything.”
I just adore her, she’s a wee snuggle and she loves cuddles. She has me wrapped around her little finger. She’s great, she’s so happy. Like any parent, Lorraine sometimes needs a break and that’s where Quarriers comes in. “Having Aisha can be so much hard work,” says Lorraine. “She’s nine and until recently I’d not had one night without her. How often do other kids go to grandparents? I was starting to feel ‘There’s got to be more to life.’ I love her, but I need a break too.” Happily, Lorraine has been able to apply for help with respite, and Aisha now attends Quarriers Countryview Service for 12 overnight visits a year. The team at Countryview is trained in the specialised areas necessary to care for children with complex needs, which includes administration
“Why should she not have great holidays and experiences to remember just like any other child?” – Lorraine
Aisha with her mum and big brother on a special trip to Lapland.
of medication, specialist diet and feeding techniques, and epilepsy awareness. Most importantly, they’re committed to providing the care when families need a break. When Lorraine talks about what those breaks mean to her, you realise how different life can be as a parent of a child with a disability. She says “When Aisha first went to Countryview, I missed her and that was so nice – to have that feeling. I’d never experienced missing her before because I’d never been away from her. I had always worked but had to give it up, and I miss the social side of life very much. When Aisha’s at respite, I’ve been able to have friends round. (continued overleaf) Quest Spring 2020 • Page 7
In it for the long run – respite care at Quarriers in numbers
Lorraine knows that as well as giving her opportunities for a much-needed break, having access to the service at Countryview could be important for her daughter’s future.
I think, ‘when I’m not here in 30/40 years’ time from now, who’s going to cuddle her?’
700 children
=10
The number of children with additional support needs who have been cared for at Quarriers Countryview Service.
13 years The period of time that Countryview could be offering support to families - children can attend from the age of five, right up to 18.
23 years Since the service opened Page 8 • Quest Spring 2020
“It’s not being morbid but when you’re the parent of a disabled child you’ve just got to think of the future. So I need Aisha to know other people that can do all the things for her that I do now. Aisha needs to get to know these faces and be familiar with them if I’m not around and I need to know that too.” Aisha’s prognosis is uncertain, but for Lorraine making connections with Quarriers now is vital. “When we got the place at Countryview I was so happy because it has such a great reputation, but also because it’s good that Aisha is getting to know Quarriers staff now. If she needs to move into adult accommodation when she’s older, I know Quarriers could be an option for us, and so getting to know people there just now could be very positive.” No matter what happens, there’s no doubt about the love and connection between mother and daughter. Lorraine says “None of it is her fault. She’s happy and I couldn’t get a better kid. She’ll always be my wee girl.”
Aisha with Quarriers Support Worker, Chloe
Photo by John Barbour
Donate monthly by text How it works: Text QUEST to 70085 to donate £3 a month. This costs £3 plus two standard rate messages. You will receive a confirmation text and welcome message. Each month, you will receive a thank you message following your £3 donation, but you can text STOP or SKIP to stop your donation or skip a month.
A regular donation to Quarriers means helping to provide care for children, adults and families in over 100 locations across Scotland. If you’re not a regular donor, please consider donating £3 a month by text. If you have any questions, please call 01505 690 875.
! Thank you Quest Spring 2020 • Page 9
Inspiration coming your way Bring connection, fun and achievement to someone’s life – yours! If you’ve been thinking about taking on a personal challenge or holding an event in aid of Quarriers, but the thought of it all is a bit daunting, we can help. We’re looking for special people to join Team Quarriers to raise funds – and awareness – for our important work of caring for people in difficult times. If that sounds like you, but you don’t know where to start, then the Quarriers Fundraising pack really packs a punch with lots of ideas, tips and practical advice to inspire you to do something really special.
Step one? Get your fundraising pack today! Quarriers Community Fundraising Team is here to help, and we have experience of all sorts of events and challenges. You can ALWAYS call us for a chat on 01505 616132
fundraising@ quarriers.org.uk
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Join the chats Join Quarriers Community Fundraising group on Facebook. Connect with Quarriers supporters like you, be inspired, and keep in touch. Find the group at www.facebook.com/ groups/Quarriers CommunityFundraising
Supporting Stars Our way of recognising amazing support And this issue our Supporting Star award goes to… Finish line legend Nicola Lee and the team from Quarriers ABC Supported Living. They’re stars because… Nicola and her colleagues ran the 5k Supernova Run at The Helix in Falkirk. They raised almost £500. The reason for getting involved? Nicola says “We wanted to raise money for much needed social events for the people we all support.
Their best moment? “I’d trained, so on the day, I thought to myself ‘d’you know what? I am going to personally push myself.’ And I did! It felt brilliant to have given myself a personal goal and then to hit that goal of achieving something. It was such an emotional night.” Could you be our next Supporting Star? There’s still time to join the next Supernova Run at The Helix on 20, 21 and 22 March. Or join the Quarriers Community Fundraising Facebook group for news of a November date. See our full range of events at www.quarriers.org.uk/ events Quest Spring 2020 • Page 11
Kiltwalk –
better by half! Dundee
Brilliant news! Sir Tom Hunter and the Hunter Foundation announced the unbelievably generous news that they will raise match funding for the Kiltwalk to 50% in 2020. That means for every single £1 you raise, the Hunter Foundation will add 50p to your total!
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
So if there’s just one life-changing, heart-warming, challenging but completely achievable event to take on in Scotland this year, it’s the Kiltwalk.
Glasgow • Sunday 26 April 2020 23, 15 or 6 miles
Dundee • Sunday 16 August 2020 25, 11 or 6 miles
Aberdeen • Sunday 7 June 2020 26, 15 or 5 miles
Edinburgh • Sunday 13 September 2020 24, 14.5 or 5 miles
Step by step, beat the challenge and help provide practical care where it’s needed. Glasgow
Quarriers is a registered Scottish Charity – No. SC001960 Quarriers Head Office, Quarriers Village, Bridge of Weir, PA11 3SX Tel: 01505 612224/616000