Author: Laura

Connex Participant – Verity

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Verity is an elderly tenant who has been receiving friendship calls for over 12 months. A lively character who loves social interaction. Covid has left her isolated and in desperate need of company. Connex has enabled her to get back out into the community, she has attended a tenant voice buffet lunch event where she had a great time and is looking forward to future events. During the event she was confident to speak with housing staff about issues she has and these are being looked into. Verity was referred to Energy Know How and Money Management and has received follow up appointments, she is over the moon with both services. Verity recently took part in some filming with Voluntary Action Rotherham. It is early days, but the Connex interventions have already made a massive difference to Verity’s mental health and general wellbeing.

Friendship Call Participant – George

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

George suffers with depression and anxiety since the death of his sister 4 years ago. They were very close and she was like a mother to him. He appears to have some form of PTSD and has gained a lot of weight which has reduced his confidence. George likes computers and gaming, his social life is mostly on media platforms. His Mum is waiting for a hip operation which is causing him stress.

06/08 – Had quite a long chat with George who seemed grateful for the call. He seems to be doing well, he is going to a gym session once a week and is going to start a yoga class as well shortly. So he is getting out a little. Plus he has a social carer who checks in with him too. He is looking forward and positive, spoke of taking driving lessons and also wants to look into doing some volunteering when he has worked on himself a little more.

20/08 – Good to catch up with George. He is now going to the gym twice a week which he enjoys and is keen to get out more, he would like information on anything RotherFed have planned going forward in terms of social activities / groups. His Mum’s hip operation is now scheduled for October so fingers crossed it happens after a couple of postponements due to COVID etc. We talked about what games we play on Xbox etc. and ended up on the phone for 50 minutes! Really enjoy chatting with him.

08/09 – George seemed to be in a positive frame of mind again which was great to hear. He has had a meeting about getting some permanent care in place for a few hours a week to help him with his anxiety and depression. He is also pleased about his Mum finally getting her operation and is helping his daughter with her baby. He should be receiving his provisional licence shortly so is looking forward to booking some driving lessons.

09/09 – Had a quick chat after calling to say I’d spoken to Nic and someone will be in touch soon about upcoming community / social events.

23/09 – Had a long chat with George which is always a pleasure. Chatted about music, TV, the Gym etc. He seemed in a good mood and is getting out for little walks and doing more exercise as is keen to lose a bit of weight.

08/10 – George was in good form. He’s getting out for walks and has some home care sorted finally to help him tidy his house up and do some redecorating. He’s gone to see a friend a couple of times recently and he also mentioned that RotherFed had been in touch about community / social stuff. He is keen to get involved.

25/10 – Had a long chat with George, he seems to be getting things in order with the help of the carers. He’s getting out and about, going shopping for food, new clothes etc. Unfortunately his Mum had her op cancelled again as she isn’t strong enough at the moment so would be a risk. Other than that he seems to be doing really well and spoke positively.

10/11 – Good catch up with George. The support he is getting is clearly working as he is getting out more and more. He’s been to the pub and has a trip to the bowling alley planned. His driving licence is also on it’s way which he is delighted about as it’s been a saga that’s gone on for months and months!

Friendship Call Volunteer – Sandra

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Sandra is an amazing volunteer with the project. She started during the pandemic and continues to make calls. Even though her priorities and other commitments have changed and her social options have opened up again, this is the one piece of volunteering she is keen to continue with.

When she first started with us Sandra was just keen to do something. Sandra loves being involved and says that this is such a valuable, rewarding, piece of work that she simply couldn’t give it up and will find ways to ensure she can always fit the calls in.

She makes 2 calls a week to 2 regulars and has built up such a rapport with the ladies that means sometimes she is on the phone for over an hour with each lady! Sandra will always volunteer to do extra training and has undertaken the 2 day Mental Health First Aid Course.

Friendship Call Participant – Lucy

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

Lucy was a self-referral into the service from the crisis team in July. Lucy had severe depression, due to previous abuse. Lucy lost her father and her mother is terminally ill and she is receiving abuse counselling. When I (Jane) made phone calls to Lucy, she was always tearful on the phone and it was evident that she was not coping well. I managed to stabilise her a bit and she was then transferred over to one of our volunteers. The report back from the volunteer was concerning as Lucy seemed to be going back and forth between a very tearful state to very infrequent good days. Both the volunteer and I continued to call her regularly – and here are some of the report backs from the volunteer over the last couple of week.

Lucy continues to be bright in mood and is motivated to change her life. She spoke about having been out with her eldest daughter and her granddaughter. She talked a little about the death of her mother and how this has impacted upon her life however, it is evident that she is now coming to terms with her bereavement and moving forward. When I called she had been getting ready to go out with her daughter so we cut our chat short to enable her to carry on with her plans. I have arranged to call her again early next week.

We only a brief chat as she was out walking around the Manvers Lake with her daughter and the dog. Lucy said she was feeling okay asked if I could contact her later this afternoon. I rang Lucy late afternoon she said how much she had enjoyed being out with her daughter today and that they had planned to visit the area again. Lucy chatted about things she had done in the last week had been putting some more new furniture together and that this had been keeping her mind occupied and distracted her from negative thoughts. We talked about the light show at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park that I am due to visit. Lucy was going to pass on details to her daughter as she felt she might like to visit the park. Lucy has requested further contact next week unable to set a firm date as she had not yet made any plans of her own.

Friendship Calls – Ras and John

Laura/ / Friendship Calls

John was referred to us in October. This was his assessment;

‘Suffers with Mental health, aggression, anxiety and depression. Tinkers in scrap metal, enjoys fishing. Does get really down and can get tearful on the phone, may also swear but this is only in desperation because of the depression, I found him to be a very open and honest young man, he also does have an addiction to Cannabis, would like a male volunteer as he says it will horrify him if he swore and there was a lady on the end of the phone’.

John was placed with Ras, and they have now built up a really good relationship on the phone with John really opening up to Ras and sharing everything he is going through. John has informed me that he really does enjoy the calls as it given him something to really look forward to because of everything he is going through. Here are a couple of report backs from Ras’s notes;


‘John was a bit down as he had been to the hospital with his ‘ex-missus” who is expecting a baby (she is 20 weeks pregnant). Looks like there may be a problem and she will have to go to Sheffield for a baby scan (some issue with the brain). John is trying to stay positive – and keeping focused on supporting his ex-missus during this difficult time. ‘

John had just got up and had his ex-missus (she is called Nicky) and the kids round. The eldest one is 9 today. He is still sleeping in a tent outside (he tells me that it is a 4-man tent) but he is okay as he has an electric heater plugged into the extension and also has plenty of warm bedding! Nicky has an appointment at the hospital next week for another scan and check on the baby – and John thinks she is having a check every 2 weeks to monitor the pregnancy.

Energy Case Study

Laura/ / In Your Community

Energy Know How attend the Rotherham foodbank at hope church every fortnight and I attended on 18th November 2021.

One of the first people to attend to collect their food parcel was a gentleman in his late 50’s. Whilst he was waiting for his food to be brought to him, I tried to engage him in conversation by commenting that it had dropped cold and just asked him “are you managing to keep warm?”

He did not answer immediately however, I could see from his face that this question had had a significant effect on him, and he composed himself and then said “no… to be honest I don’t know how I am going to manage the winter”

At this point his bags of food were brought to him and I got up and said to him, come with me… I walked with him to my car which was parked just outside the foodbank. I gave the gentleman a Winter Warmth Pack given to us by Greendoctors and which contained a blanket, hot water bottle, hat, gloves, socks, snood, led lightbulb and an insulated mug.

The chap then explained he was staying in emergency accommodation as all his belongings had been destroyed. He had lived in a flat and there had been a leak upstairs which brought down his ceiling – unfortunately, it was discovered there was asbestos in the ceiling so all his belongings were ruined and he was not allowed to have them back. He then said he was drinking tea and coffee from an old pot noodle carton.

He was very close to tears and just said – you will never know how much this means to me…

Although he was not given specific energy advice on this occasion, he was told that we attend the foodbank regularly and was given a leaflet with our contact details on. These details are also on display within the foodbank waiting area. He was encouraged to get in touch with us via the foodbank or directly when he is in more stable accommodation as we will be able to offer support with his energy needs and will be able to refer to other support organisations should he need them.

Energy Case Study

Laura/ / In Your Community

In the month of November, I met an individual at a local foodbank who only had the clothes on his back. I worked with the foodbank to get him an e-voucher for some food from their charity and some clothes more suitable for the weather, as the only had the clothes on his back. I invited him to our Money Talk event we had the week after, where we were offering advice along with free soup.

At the event, we had a few different organisations attend where we learned that this gentleman was having issues with his status. He has now self-referred to CAB where they are supporting him with this.

MOMGF Case Study

Laura/ / In Your Community

T at the Social Supermarket has completed his volunteer forms to become a volunteer with RotherFed. When we first met T, he wasn’t in a good place. He was in arrears with his Council Tax, which he has managed to pay off after learning how to budget better. He wasn’t in a good place with his mental health because of his money worries and issues with his property and landlord. He feels he is now on top of his other arrears after budgeting and arranging payment plans. We have managed to get him on the housing register with RMBC. The next step is to get him on medical priority due to his health issues, this should mean he will get a property that is more suitable for him and that is more affordable for him. He now volunteers at the Community Allotment in Rawmarsh, he regularly attends Job Club, and he comes along to all our events. It has been extremely rewarding to see how far T has come in the time that he has been involved with MOMGF.

East Herringthorpe Womens Safety Campaign

Laura/ / In Your Community

October saw the end of the women’s walking sessions and in November we got to take part in a self-defence session.

From the beginning of the project this group has been very hit and miss. There have been a lot of engagement from various sectors of the community, but just never at the same time!

Whilst it has been one of my more difficult projects, it has been so enjoyable! From theological discussions to ranting about the state of the parks due to folks not picking up after their dogs, I think at some point it has all been covered.

As part of the funding that RUCST had secured for this project we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to have a self-defence session run by the lovely Amy. She taught us the fundamental idea that if you are attacked, you should try and stay calm, defend yourself with minimal yet firm contact, but then try to get yourself away to somewhere safe….. Or basically kick them and run!

This project is being taken forward to Heart of the Community where I will be working with local residents and services to map areas of particular concern and working to try and improve the areas so that vulnerable people feel safer in their community.

As part of the project I have also worked with Cllr Eve Rose, Andrea Mason and Vicky Hilton from Artful to produce some banners, and took part in the Reclaim the Night event held in Rotherham Town Centre. Reclaim the Night is an annual event that takes place to highlight Womens’ safety issues in their communities.

Henley Residents Association

Laura/ / In Your Community

The Henley Residents Association group membership consists of 2 previous groups that have come together after their community activities came to a halt through lockdown. The group now consists of both Masbrough and Henley residents. Group members have been meeting regularly twice a week and have nineteen members. The group have also established a tuck shop of snacks that the group sell regularly from. The tuck shop sells drinks and snacks at about cost per unit to keep the group sustainable at each event and it has been a real success.

This came with its own issues as both groups ran activities differently in their old sessions. After the first couple of weeks there were issues with session times, prize pots and pricing of the snacks. The group have now settled into hosting their sessions and have already hosted several other events. On the 17th November Henley Residents Association hosted a Pie and Peas night which was highly successful and the attendance of the session reached the maximum capacity for the centre. The group had ‘The Green Pantry’ deliver freshly made heaps of pie peas and gravy. It was a great night.

Additionally the group planned a Christmas day trip to York Christmas Market 24th November. The group had successfully achieved a CLF funding bid of £455 with the support of RotherFed for a coach and parking to see the group have a wonderful day out for Christmas. Residents loved the day out saying, “It was nice to have things to look forward to after last Christmas” and ” It’s always good at York Christmas market”. After speaking with Jo who takes a lead in organising activities for the group, she said “the residents enjoyed the trip out and everyone had a really good time”.

It has been an eventful month for the group as they have also had visits from partners with the money management team, energy team, the RNN group for crafting and family history courses and a multi service quickly visit to be in held next month. Hopefully, the group will continue to go from strength to strength.