| (click here
to go to main news page) CHOICES AND CHANGES IN HAGAR'S LIFE
Hagar goes out at least twice a day, visiting shops, cafes or a local pub. She goes for walks to a local park or to the marshes, visiting horses at the Lea Valley Riding centre. She attends her weekly session of hydrotherapy and enjoys parties and The Beautiful Octopus Club. She enjoys travelling by car but also uses public transport. Last year, for the first time in her life, Hagar went on holiday. This year she is going again. Hagar’s life has changed beyond recognition and her future looks very promising. Anna Bohach A BIT OF A DO
Hymie displayed some of his artwork and gave a speech to everyone on how he loves painting and hopes to continue doing more. His paintings were greatly admired and some were purchased. He was also approached about painting the new Hackney Play Bus. A profitable time could be ahead for Hymie. The day ended with moving tributes to Brain Payne who died last year and to Charlie Adams who died in February. Charlie's wife, Dorothy was at the event. Ian Bond MAKING
PLANS WITH SIMON The Person Centred Planning Co-ordinator from St. Leonard's Care Management Team thought it would be a good idea for Simon to have a Person Centred Planning Party at his house. As his keyworker, I was involved in helping Simon to organise the party. The party gave Simon the opportunity to invite his friends and family members. The aim of the event was to provide an informal platform for guests to compile information about Simon from one another's experiences of knowing him. We wanted people to relax & not feel pressured into making an input if they didn't want to. Simon invited some of his friends to come along. The community psychiatric nurse from St. Leonards also turned up as he knows Simon very well. His Mum was also invited but unfortunately could not make it. HILT volunteer Jay was present as he supports Simon with social activities. The information gathered on the flip charts will then be collated to form a plan to help Simon make informed choices & give him the confidence to express his desires and achieve his long and short-term goals. Syed Ahmed VISITING
PARTY On the 15th of April the HILT Service User Group met at Rotheley House. Rotheley House is a large supported housing scheme where service users live in their own flats and receive support from staff and volunteers. The meeting was also attended by Fran Pearson (Local Councillor) and Sandra Howard (Head of Hackney's Adult Services) as well as Susan Storrar and Sharon Patrick form the HILT Management Committee. Savaas , Franklin and Alan, who all live at Rotheley House, were able to attend the meeting with the service users group. They then were able to show Fran and Sandra around Rotheley House. The tour included the roof garden area, that hopefully will be developed later this year. they showed Fran and Sandra into their own flats and around the communal areas in the rest of Rotheley House. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. Steve Lawlor A
TALE OF TWO FRANKS Spring is in the air…and for HILT’s Outreach service users that often means having the chance to engage in some outdoor parties and activities. First up was a Barbeque Party hosted by Karl. Cooking and serving duties were performed by The Two Franks. Frank Hofmann and Franck Ribes are also respectively known as German Frank and French Franck. Both are volunteers at different Hilt projects.
Barbeques became a regular thing at some of the Outreach projects last year with different houses taking turn at playing host. The pattern looks set to repeat again this year. The Two Franks have declined to comment about whether they will be available for further bookings. Richard Brattan |
Hagar
has been supported by waking night staff for most of her life.
Because she didn’t sleep well, the night worker would provide
things for her to do when she was awake so that others would not
be woken and their sleep disturbed. She was usually tired and
irritable during the day, unsteady on her feet and prone to catnapping.
She could not focus on any activity even for a short time, was
prone to accidents and displayed highly challenging behaviour.
This in turn resulted in Hagar missing out on community presence.
Over
a year ago, the waking nights at Hagar’s home were turned
into sleep ins. Sleep in staff retire into the sleep in room at
11pm, observing her movement on a CCTV, only leaving the sleep
in room if she may be at risk. With many false starts Hagar got
used to there being nothing else going on at night and gradually
started to take herself off to bed without help from staff. Hagar
sleeps now between 5 and 7 hours each night. She wakes up refreshed
and able to participate in various activities at home and in the
community.
The
Annual 'BIG DO' was held on the 13th April, and many HILT service
users were in attendance. This year, the focus was on 'Person
Centred Planning', and how service users are developing in areas
of their choosing. Betty Steingold told everyone how she was supported
to fulfil her dream of a foreign holiday, and how much she had
enjoyed her recent trip to Tenerife. 
Simon
was very relaxed and danced to the music he had chosen to play.
Simon also wanted to share the food he likes so we ordered curried
goat & rice from the local Carribbean take away. There were
plenty of cakes, crisps, drinks to choose from. The variety of
food helped to make it an eventful evening. Nji, the Co-ordinator
put sheets of flip charts on the wall and, casually, as we enjoyed
our food, we all popped round to the sheets and contributed our
thoughts about Simon.
It was very interesting to learn of the exciting work that the
Service Users Group have been involved in. For example, contributing
to the changes in the way that HILT recruit staff. Service users
have been doing this by advising on the expectations that they
have of staff, and by giving examples of ways that they want to
be supported and have their individual lifestyles and needs recognised
and catered for.
While
The Two Franks were stoking up the Barbie, Karl played the role
of perfect host to the max by dancing and chatting with his guests.
The weather wasn’t at all bad for the time of year. Karl
has promised a repeat of the event very soon.