June—August2016 Sandwell Go To Blackpool! Recently the service users from our Sandwell services joined our Birmingham and South Staffordshire residents, to go on a summer day trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The service users had all previously requested to go to Blackpool for a day trip at their last service user consultation, so we were happy to arrange for this to happen. Our service users and staff had a really enjoyable day out enjoying the sunshine, seaside views, ice cream, fish & chips and having a go on the variety of arcade attractions on the three different piers.

Sandwell Visit Blackpool!

Tony from Dove Close 2 loves to try new things and go on lots of different trips out. So whilst in Blackpool, Tony fancied trying a temporary tattoo. Here’s Tony showing off his new tattoo!

Here’s Emma from Dove Close 1 after she scored a winning shot on a pier football game. Emma received a prize for her sporting efforts. Emma treated herself whilst in Blackpool to an adorable new toy dog. Anthony had a great time day out socialising with his peers and enjoying everything Blackpool has to offer.

Emma’s Birthday!

Recently Emma from Dove Close 2, celebrated her 41st birthday. Emma chose to celebrate by arranging a birthday party at her home and invited all of her friends and support staff from Creative Support. To the right, Emma is helping to ar range and prepare a delicious looking buffet for all of her guests to enjoy. We hope you had a wonderful 41st birthday Emma!

Hub Activity Sessions

Just to remind our service users and support staff. We have lots of exciting and creative Hub Activities scheduled over the next few months. Please let Lizzie know at least three days before a scheduled activity, whether you wish to attend.

Date & Time

Activity

Staff Member

Location

Cost

2nd September

Droitwitch Canal Lizzie Minchener Droitwich to Trip Ladywood Canal

Est: £10.75 pp plus travel

24th September 5—7pm

Jewellery Making Niaomi Gillies Workshop

Water Street Office

£3 per person

8th October 5—7pm

Tie Dye Workshop & Marbling Artwork

Jeanette Derbyshire

Water Street Office

£3 per person

28th October 5—7pm

70s, 80s and 90s Theme Disco

Gemma Cooper

Water Street Office

£3 per person

West Midlands Sports Day!

On the 9th August, the West Midlands learning disabilities and mental health services from Birmingham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton joined forces to put on a brilliant sports day. We held this sports day as part of a nationwide campaign by Creative Support, to celebrate the Rio Olympics and other major sporting events that have taken place this summer. We welcomed volunteers from our partners at the National Citizenship Service and The Challenge, who facilitated lots of activities on the day. Service users commented that they really liked meeting other service users from different services and areas. Service users also loved interacting and meeting the fantastic volunteers that helped out on the day.

West Midlands Sports Day!

Overall service users had a fantastic day trying out the sports activities, fete games and enjoying the huge BBQ that was on offer. A big thank you to everyone that helped out on the day! We can’t wait to organise another big event for our service users. If you have any suggestions about any event or trip ideas, please contact Lizzie on: [email protected]

Adam Goes To Kinver!

Adam, one of our outreach service users recently went on fun adventure with his support worker. The pair went to visit a National Trust site, Kinver Edge near Stourbridge and Kidderminster. Adam regularly goes on trips and visits to new places in the West Midlands. Adam explored Kinver and walked along the nature trails, saw the beautiful views and viewed the famous and historic rock houses, which are houses carved intp the local rock cliffs.

Mike Goes To The Zoo!

Recently, Mike from Dove Close 2 was supported to go on a day trip of his choosing to visit Dudley Zoo in the Black Country. Mike had a great day out and enjoyed his time with his support worker looking around the zoo seeing all his favourite animals too!

Previous Hub Sessions!

As you know, we regularly hold activity hub sessions at our Water Street office. Recently we’ve had an afternoon of baking lots of delicious cakes and treats, which service users from our Birmingham and Sanndwell services attended. Afterwards, everyone was allowed to take their freshly baked goods home to proudly show off.

Photo Art Session! One of our talented Senior Support Workers, Niaomi held a photo art session as part of our activity hubs. Service users from our Birmingham and Sandwell services joined in , and had their photo taken and decorated their own photo frames, to take away at the end of the day.

70s and 80s Disco! We recently had a 70s and 80s themed disco complete with lots of refreshments on offer. We also got to make our own 70s and 80s icon masks, e..g. David Bowie.

What’s On In Sandwell?

Sandwell Park Farm West Bromwich 10am—4.30pm daily £2.50 fee Visit this Victorian working farm to see a museum, tearooms and animals

Sandwell Valley Country Park Nature Reserve West Bromwich 10am—5pm £3 fee Visit the nature reserve to see lots of wildlife, swans,

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Keep On Moving Disabled Sports Club The Dolphin Centre, Bromsgrove, £3 fee 11am-12.30pm Fridays Multi sports designed for people with disabilities

Proms In The Park 11th Sept 2pm—6pm Haden Hill House Museum, Cradley Heath Free Bring a picnic and listen to easy listening music Weekly Gardening Group Oak House Museum, West Bromwich, Tuesday 10am—1pm. Join a volunteer group and help garden the grounds.

Service User Consultation On the 17th June, Lizzie and Gemma held a Service User Consultation for our Birmingham and Sandwell service users. This was an opportunity for our service users to let us know their thoughts on Creative Support’s services, voice any feedback or concerns and let us know what trips and activities they would like to attend. Overall, the feedback was generally positive. Service users were encouraged to fill in a Service User Satisfaction Questionnaire too. All service users were satisfied either all the time or most of the time with the support they receive. We also received great feedback about the recent trips that we’ve been attending. There were lots of compliments from service users about the support they receive, Chris from Marley Gardens, described his staff members as ‘very good’. Mark, an outreach service user, said ‘Emma is really good– I can talk to her and she listens to me’. A Sandwell resident said that he’s ‘always consulted about anything’’. Most service users have involvement with local facilities and groups in the community, although one Birmingham resident would like to explore options with community groups, activities, leisure centers and sports activities. We received lots of suggestions of future trips an d activity hub sessions that service users would like to get involved in. We’ll do our best to make sure this happens throughout the course of the year. Remember, if you ever have any suggestions or concerns you can always speak to your designated Key Worker or alternatively speak to the Water Street office on 0121 200 3147. If you have any suggestions or ideas for trips, events or activities, please email Lizzie at: [email protected]

Adam Goes to Wroxeter Adam, one of our outreach services in Sandwell has been going on more trips and adventures over the last couple of weeks. Lately, Adam went to visit Wroxeter Roman Villas with his key worker, Dominic. At Wroxeter Roman Villas, Adam learnt all about Wroxeter’s history as the fourth largest Roman city in the UK. Visited the historic bath house, old city ruins and the on site museum. The site itse lf is very large with loads to see and there are characters in traditional Roman dress around the vacinity too. Wroxeter Roman City is a great attraction to visit and Adam had a thoroughly enjoyable time there. If you would like to visit, you can ask your support worker to assist you with this. http://www.englishheritage.org.uk/visit/places/ wroxeter-roman-city/things-todo/