Hello Everyone
So this is my last week at work for 2020, what a year it has been. I have never been so proud of the amazing carers of Tower Hamlets, not only have you continued providing excellent care to your loved ones but did it with stamina, respect, and unconditional love.
Here’s to a better 2021 and happier new year.
Don’t forget
15th Dec: The Tuesday Social Club – virtual Christmas Party 2pm to 3.30pm
16th Dec: Day Service Provision Consultation 2pm to 3pm
17th Dec: Exercise & Chill with Casey 11am to 12 noon
18th Dec: Shared Reading for Carers – Christmas Story 11am to 12 noon
Act now to avoid further Covid-19 restrictions
Covid-19 cases are rising in east London. Follow the tier 2 high alert rules to protect each other and avoid further restrictions when the government reviews the London alert level next week.
Sticking to the rules is vital in the fight against Covid-19. In particular, avoiding mixing with people you don’t live with, in an indoor setting, is a very powerful way to keep each other safe and protect your Christmas Bubble.
Covid-19 and the festive period
The lights are on, the trees are up – but this Christmas isn’t going to be normal. Covid-19 is still a very real risk and cases are rising in east London, including Tower Hamlets.
The government is lifting restrictions on social mixing for five days, between 23 – 27 December. During this time, up to three households can form a ‘Christmas Bubble’, allowing each household to spend time together in one home (if you choose to).
Please make sure you follow the rules so we can continue keeping our borough safe beyond Christmas and into 2021. It’s vital we remain vigilant and play our part in limiting any further spread of Covid-19.
Meals for children in need during Christmas and February school holidays
We will be providing meals for children in need across the borough over the Christmas break and February half-term.
Our Tackling Poverty team are working with Tesco and Asda to provide vouchers worth £25 to spend on food over the Christmas period.
Any child who is eligible for statutory free school meals during term time will receive support.
Self-isolation support payments help hundreds of residents
So far, we have paid £237,500 to vulnerable residents who have had to self-isolate due to Covid-19. This means that 475 residents on low incomes have successfully applied for the £500 payment.
Payments were introduced by the government in September to support people on low incomes in high risk areas. Self-isolation, when identified as a positive Covid-19 case or having been in contact with a positive Covid-19 case, became a legal requirement from the end of September, so this fund aims to help those who are unable to work from home and would lose money by self-isolating.
We have also provided additional crisis and hardship grants for food and fuel through the resident support scheme, and relaxed the criteria, allowing people to apply multiple times.
Free Healthy Start vouchers for families
Did you know you can receive vouchers up to £12.40 per week that can be used on food and milk? Depending on the age of your child or children, you can access:
- £6.20 per week for each baby under the age of one
- £3.10 per week for each child aged between two to four-years-old
- Plus £3.10 per week if you are pregnant (from week 10)
Each voucher is worth £3.10, and you are entitled to several vouchers, depending on your family size. The vouchers can be spent on a range of food and milk items including fruit and vegetables, pulses and milk and can be used in major supermarket chains, local shops, and market stalls within Tower Hamlets.
The payments will rise from £3.10 to £4.25 a week from April 2021 meaning you could take home up to £17 per week.
Galop is Proud to Launch the LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Survivor’s Forum
Galop is proud to launch LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Survivor’s Forum as part of its National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline Service. The Forum, which will go live on Thursday, December 10th, 2020, is a safe, anonymous, online space for LGBT+ people who have been affected by domestic abuse. The forum will allow users to share their experiences, support one another and receive information and support from the team at the National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline.
The forum introduces peer-to-peer support into the service offered by the National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline. Historically, domestic violence services have demonstrated how vital peer support spaces are for survivors of abuse. There are very few spaces where LGBT+ people can come together and share their experiences with abuse and receive support from those with the lived experience of being LGBT+. The LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Survivors Forum will provide this safe space for LGBT+ people to support one another.
You can access the forum here: LGBT+ Survivors Forum
How does the forum work and how are users kept safe?
The forum is accessible to all LGBT+ survivors of domestic abuse so that they can read valuable information about abuse even if they do not feel ready to register and post themselves. In order to keep every user of the forum anonymous, all posts are moderated before they are made visible on the forum. This includes checks for identifying information (which is then edited out), abusive or harmful behaviour, and on the welfare of the poster.
The helpline team moderators can see the e-mails of users, so we can reach out to anyone if we’re concerned about their welfare or their behaviour on the forum. Our central focus is ensuring the forum is always safe and supportive for everyone that uses it, and at every stage of design and development, the needs of domestic abuse survivors and their safety have been key.
If someone wants to register, they can click ‘Join’ at the top of the forum, enter some demographic information that helps us understand who is accessing the forum, and register with an e-mail address and username. This is then checked by the team to ensure they can’t be identified from the username. The user is then sent a confirmation link, which takes them to set their password. This means no user is ever e-mailed their login details.
Important Numbers:
Unpaid carers can still access FREE PPE supplies. If you would like to receive PPE, Please contact the Carers Centre on 0207 790 1765 or Ayeda directly.
Domestic Violence Duty Line: 020 7364 4986 between 9am – 5pm.Victim Support: 020 7364 2448/7957
Just wishing everyone a peaceful, safe and week and remember if you need information and advice from the Carers Centre just email enquiries@ccth.org.uk
Tony Collins-Moore
Carers Academy Manager
Opening hours
Monday - Friday – 9.30am – 5pm
Saturday and Sunday – Closed
Follow us
