Claire Cunliffe reports on the impact made by Denbigh-based Cymryd Rhan in helping people live independent lives
THIS EDITION’S THEME of Beyond Housing provides a good opportunity to highlight the tremendous work providers such as Cymryd Rhan deliver through Supporting People funding.
Cymryd Rhan is an organisation that helps people to live active, independent lives by providing whatever support they need. It works across Mid and North Wales delivering support beyond basic housing requirements though floating support and supported housing. This includes: health and personal care; managing a tenancy; household tasks; safety in the home; managing money and communication (including bills and letters); playing sports; jobs and volunteering; and facilitating friendships.
Recently the Homelessness and Supporting People Network paid a visit to its office in Denbigh to learn more about the types of projects it runs. Two of Cymryd Rhan’s invaluable projects are funded by Supporting People: Street Crêd and ABBA. The Street Crêd project was set up two years ago to support adults (18+) with learning difficulties. It identifies individuals who may not have been previously known to authorities but who are extremely vulnerable. As a result when people are referred to Street Crêd, often through family members, they have reached crisis point and are in desperate need of assistance.
The Street Crêd project offers six months tenancy-related support in which they work to build capability so individuals may go on to lead more independent lives. For example, support workers liaise with other agencies to ensure individuals are receiving the correct level of welfare support and employment advice. This is important in a context where there is little support for securing meaningful work for those with a learning difficulty. Cymryd Rhan’s approach to support work is creative and extremely person centred which encourages independence and capability and reduces dependency.
This approach is equally effective in Cymryd Rhan’s other Supporting People funded project: ABBA. This provides tenancy- related support to individuals with memory difficulties; the service, therefore, largely caters to older people and those suffering with dementia. However, it should be noted that as there are other conditions that can cause memory problems, there is no minimum age attached to this project.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case a poem is found to have the same effect. A person the ABBA project supports wrote a poem about the support he received from Cymryd Rhan and it conveys better than this article ever could how much the support changed his life. The poem shows how the support provided by the ABBA project support workers really does go far beyond housing.
An Ode to Nicola
Oh! Nicola dear Nicola,
The ABBA queen,
The sweetest girl,
One has ever seen.
She gives me her time,
And listens to me,
Doesn’t cost me a penny,
All friendly and free.
Her years are young,
But experiences old,
Sometimes bossy
But I put that on hold.
Thank you Nicola,
For being so kind,
As far as I am concerned,
You are one of a kind.
You have made me feel better,
Might need you no more,
But I’ll always remember,
You mopping my floor
Just a little laugh,
But you mean much more.
Written by Zaman Mead 31/08/13
Claire Cunliffe is Homelessness and Supporting People Network project officer at the Welsh Local Government Association. With thanks to Rachel Hughes of Cymryd Rhan and Rachel McCartney & Donna Evans from NPT CBC