NewsletterAUGUST 2018

2 From the Editor

2 Barnet Mencap’sBusiness Plan

3 Focus on …Learning DisabilityWeek4-6 News & Events —Fundraising

Members’ Reviews

Fit And Active

New Logo

7 Being . . . KrishnaLockhart

8 Photo Finish

8 Diary Dates

8 How to find us

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Children at the Open Door Teddy Bear’s Picnic in Victoria Park

If you go down to the woods today, you’resure of a big surprise…

Planning ahead for 2018-21In April, Barnet Mencap agreed its new Business Plan

for 2018-21. People with learning disabilities, carers, staffand trustees all had a chance to say what the organisationshould be doing over the next three years.

People told us what was needed for people to liveactive, healthy lifestyles, reduce isolation and developfriendships. They said how important it is for people to besafe, have support to live independently, get jobs andenjoy good health.

The Business Plan looks at the changingdemographics in Barnet and how the Children andFamilies Act and Care Act have helped us to put moreemphasis on prevention and early intervention, and howwe will work within the ongoing austerity.

Barnet Mencap will develop its current services andsupport including parenting programmes; advice andinformation for parent carers and adults with learningdisabilities and autism; short breaks; support to liveindependently; leisure and learning activities and QualityChecks. We will continue to support volunteers andensure parents and carers have a voice.

There are new areas where we want to expand ourwork or do better; for people with autism; to support carersto plan for the future; and young people preparing foradulthood. We want to tackle hate crime, and improvepeople’s access to justice.

To achieve all of this, Barnet Mencap will continue towork closely with other organisations, especially RoyalMencap, Healthwatch, and other local voluntaryorganisations. We will continue to campaign to influencepublic opinion and policies to improve the lives of peoplewith learning disabilities and their families.

Staff and trustees will be working hard to ensure theplan succeeds. They will do more to get feedback frompeople who use the services, monitor plans, manage therisks and ensure Barnet Mencap has the money it needsto carry out its work.

At the AGM, we will report on how well we are doingand answer people’s questions.

Please contact us if you want a copy of the BusinessPlan and we can email or post it to you.

The long hot summer has reusmed.There is still time to enjoy activitiesoutdoors before our thoughts turn to theautumn.

Lots of sport and fitness activitiesare available and the new Fit andActive Barnet (FAB) campaign will helpeveryone to know what is going on.Residents are able to get a FAB card,which helps with the costs and thedetails are on page 6.

Please take a look at Holly’sarticle on fundraising. She highlightsthe great successes we’ve had thisyear, but I would also echo Holly’s pointthat we do need more families tosupport the fundraising events. Lots ofthe things Barnet Mencap needs orwants to do are not covered by thegrants and contracts, so raising moneythrough events is a huge help to us.

Learning Disability Week was achance to focus on improvinghealthcare for people with learningdisabilities. Campaigning on this issuewill continue to be a high priority forBarnet Mencap. We want more peopleto get annual health checks and theright care if they go into hospital.

The AGM will be held on 21st

November this year. I would urge allmembers to come along and find outwhat we have achieved, and to hearfrom some of the people who benefitfrom Barnet Mencap’s support. We arevery keen that more people join theorganisation. If you support our workthen please consider becoming amember. Membersip gives you a say inhow we develop Barnet Mencap andhelps the organisation to thrive.

Contact Project Support onprojectsupport@barnetmencap.org.ukto join up.

Ray Booth

From theEditor

PAGE 2

This year, Learning Disability Week wasall about health with a big focus on theMencap ‘Treat Me Well’ campaign. This aimsto make simple changes in hospital care thatcan make a big difference – bettercommunication, more time and clearerinformation.

Throughout the week, we ran severalevents across the Royal Free NHS Trust.Tuesday saw our amazing volunteers,Youssef, Hamid and Xavier get 34 people topledge to make a reasonable adjustment intheir ward or department; 4 peopleadditionally signed up to be ambassadorsincluding Debbie Sanders, Chief Nurse.

Wednesday took Barnet Mencap to BarnetHospital, with Makaton lessons and talks fromAeren giving her experience of going tohospital as a person with a learning disability

and Maria speaking about what works andwhat doesn’t work during hospital visits from aparent’s point of view. There was a greatturnout with staff pledging to use Makaton andbasic language, give longer appointments andhospital passports to give people with learningdisabilities a friendlier hospital experience.

The week finished with an awareness-raising presentation on learning disabilities atthe Royal Free A&E department and anothervisit to Barnet Hospital to get more staff topledge their support. The week was a fantasticstep in the right direction to making a bigdifference to the hospital experience. Thankyou to all of our wonderful staff and volunteerswho gave up their time to campaign and to allof the staff across the Trust who pledged tomake simple changes. We look forward toseeing these actions put in place.

PAGE 3

THE BIG

PICTURE

Learning Disability WeekFocuson...

Photos from our Learning Disability Week events across the the Royal Free NHS Trust, where we had stalls to promote awareness, aswell as getting staff to pledge to make reasonable adjustments.

PAGE 4

News&Events

Focus on FundraisingFUNDRAISING We’ve also won the Tesco Groundworks

Bags of Help scheme, receiving £4000towards setting up a new project providingactivities for the 11-25 age range. Thank youto everyone who used their blue tokens tovote for us; your support is enabling us toprovide a range of new experiences forchildren and young adults across theborough, including a summer adventurecamp which we are holding in August. Inaddition, we’ve also received £500 from thegreen token scheme at Asda Colindale –again thank you to everyone for yoursupport.

Last year we supported approximately280 adults, 420 children and 400 carersacross Barnet. We cannot do this alone orwithout the funds needed to provide thislevel of service. We are extremely grateful toall of our external supporters who help us in

so manyways,but wealsoneedsupportfrom thepeopleandfamilieswe workwith.Moneyraisedgoestowardspayingfor:

● Children’s Services● COPs● Working for you● Take a Break● Sherrick House● Adults Holidays● 11-25 year old activities

Your support is vital to Barnet Mencapand plays a crucial role in the work we do.

Fundraising has continued to be busy forBarnet Mencap with several events takingplace over the last six months. We’ve held aFamily Fun Day in partnership with Mill HillRFC; an Alice in Wonderland themedAfternoon tea which was sponsored byTesco Ballards Lane); and a quiz nightsupported by the Old Finchleans FC.

We kicked off our programme ofchallenge events with 3 of our clientsrunning their first 5k back in March, raisingover £250 in sponsorship in the process.Thank you to ASM, who sponsored one oftheir employees, Gary Bishop, £200 to runthe 5k for Barnet Mencap. This was shortlyfollowed by three of our Barnet Mencap Staffmembers Sophie, Terri-Anne and Holly whogave up their bank holiday to run the Vitality10k. The team raised over £600 for BarnetMencap in the process.

It’s been an extremely good period forgrants and community funds. We’ve beenawarded £9,500 from the Big Lottery Fund,allowing us to continue much neededsupport and play activities for children andfamilies aged 0-8.

News&Events

PAGE 5

As a regular feature, we askour service users to review anevent or performance theyhave attended through ourprojects. Here’s what AerenFitzgerald had to say about theLet’s Rock Festival.

Let’s Rock Festival is a retromusic festival celebrating all things 80s. Heldat Clapham Common, the day saw non-stopacts delivering fantastic performances.

There was a great atmospherethroughout the day, the sun was out, and

Alongside the success we’ve seen infundraising we’ve also had several setbacks.We’ve seen poor attendance at events andthe lack of ticket sales recently resulted in theFamily Farm Day being cancelled. sixmonths of planning from both Barnet Mencapand Sweettree Farm had gone into the event,costs had been incurred and 16 members ofstaff had agreed to volunteer their time on aSaturday. Similarly, nearly half the peoplewho had booked in for Quiz night did notattend, costing Barnet Mencap money.

Barnet Mencap needs your support andwe want to work with you on what works foryou as individuals and families and what youwould like to see us do with fundraising.There are many ways you can support:

● Tin Collecting● Holding your own event (e.g. coffee

morning or similar)● Signing up to a challenge event● Providing us with links to

organisations who would like tosupport our cause

We would love to hear your views and willbe holding a meeting soon at the office todiscuss ideas for fundraising going forwards.Email Holly atholly.wilson@barnetmencap.org.uk or callthe office 0208 349 3842 if you would like toattend or to get involved in future activities.

Let’s Rock FestivalMEMBERS’ REVIEWS

everyone just wanted to enjoy themselvesand have a good time. The crowd was brightand colourful, with many dressed up for theoccasion – think neon, wigs and glitter!

I liked the different variety of food anddrink on offer and the fact that there was asection for children so they didn’t get bored.The festival has a family-friendly feel and nomatter what your tastes, there is somethingto entertain you.

The day saw an array of incredible bandsand performers take to the stage. The Fizzwere one of the first bands and the crowdwent wild when they performed ‘Making YourMind Up’ complete with a skirt pull! Shortlyafter, Technotronic burst on stage, hyper andwith so much energy, the crowd couldn’t stopjumping up and down and grooving whilstthey were on.

Go West were towards the end and werereally cool, performing hits such as We Close

Our Eyes. However, they did cheat slightlyperforming some modern songs; Sex on Firewas thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd but diddetract from the 80s vibe.

My favourite two acts of the day wereTiffany and From the Jam; they were bothawesome and the crowd loved them, reallycoming alive when they were on stage.

It was an amazing experience. I woulddefinitely go next year and recommend it toothers. To sum the day up in one word…ROCKTASTIC!

PAGE 6

News&Events

Being active is easy, fun and social. Itcan also be a great way of reducing stressand lifting your mood as well as reducingthe risk of serious illness; strengtheningmuscles and bones and improving yourhealth.

Despite the benefits, we understand thatthere are often numerous barriers in theway, which prevent you from leading a moreactive and healthy lifestyle.

Barnet Mencap are supporting Fit andActive Barnet (FAB), which is designed tohelp you on a journey to a more fit andactive you, and leave you feeling fab.

Visit the FAB Hub (see link below)where you will find an activity finder to helpyou locate an activity that is right for youand much more. You could try waterworkouts, health walks or basketball as wellas a range of fitness classes, cycling andtennis; there are a whole range of activitiesfor people of all ages and abilities. The FABhub will show you useful tips to increaseyour activity such as reducing the amount oftime you are sitting down and it provideslinks to other advice such as the ChiefMedical Officer’s factsheets on physicalactivity at different ages.

Feel Fab with Barnet’s Fit& Active Campaign

FIT AND ACTIVE

Left: The Fit and Active campaignfeatures this photo, taken at one ofthe rugby sessions at Mill Hill RugbyClub which we help to organise.Above: How our new logo will look

What’s more, Barnet residents canregister for a FREE FAB Card; offeringexclusive access to a range of benefitsincluding leisure discounts and more. It’squick and easy to sign up by visitingwww.better.org.uk/fab-hub or by poppinginto your local Barnet Better LeisureCentre.

Working together to help you #feelfab

A Change of ImageNEW LOGO

We have been working on refreshing thelook of Barnet Mencap and that is startingwith our website and logo.

Over the summer we will be meetinggroups of clients and families to show themour new website and to collect feedbackbefore it goes live. If you would like to beinvolved in one of these groups please doget in touch with us at Hendon Lane (contactdetails are on the back page).

We are also refreshing our logo, keepingtrue to our own ethos and values, and wehope to launch the new logo alongside ournew website. You will see the new logo rollout over the late summer and autumn on ourstationery and signs and we hope you likethe fresher, more contemporary look.

M y name is Krishna Lockhart. I am 24years old. I have a wide range ofinterests. I enjoy playing online

multiplayer video games as you can meetpeople from all over the globe in a fun andinteractive way.

Some of the people I have spoken tohave been in some very hostile anddangerous areas where you never know ifyou’re going to speak to them the next day,others live in the middle of nowhere inbeautiful countryside. It’s interesting to talk tothese people and hear their stories. Whowould have thought playing a video game,one of the most anti-social things, can alsobe one of the most social.

I also enjoy listening to music rangingfrom Jazz, Old school funk and disco tomodern-day Techno and house.

Before I started volunteering I worked atthe Iceland in East Finchley for a year and ahalf, but I never felt like it was the thing forme and in the end, I had to leave. I enjoyplaying basketball when the weather is good,

Being...

PAGE 7

and I am feeling up to it, being 6 foot 4,basketball was something everyone said Ishould do at a young age and it kind of grewon me as I got older. I enjoy cycling and evenwent on a course to learn how to maintainand repair bikes.

I started doing a weekly session ofDungeons and Dragons with some friends Imet through Mencap and its one of thosethings I never thought could be so fun.

I found out I was Autistic last Novemberand my family told me I should see BarnetMencap. As a result I was pointed in thedirection of the Autism Service. I for one hadno interest in going but after some naggingand pushing I went to my first workshop. Istarted talking to like-minded people andslowly saw the similarities between myselfand everyone in the group.

I was asked by one of the staff membersof Barnet Mencap if I would be interesting indoing some volunteering work for them dueto my performance in the group; I agreed. Istarted off with working at office-basedsessions such as the afternoon tea and theover-50s nosh nights. Gradually I moved onto volunteering at external events like goingto Southend for a trip to the seaside.

I really enjoy the work I do with the clientswho come down; they are all nice, interestingand interactive people and getting to knowthem all has been fun. A lot of the fun helpingin these sessions comes from enjoying thetime with the clients who all come in wantingto have a good time. It’s nice to be able tohave the time to get involved with theactivities too which make the wholeexperience amazing. It makes me feelfantastic to be able to have the chance to dowork that revolves around helping andsupporting people with disabilities and like-minded attitudes.

I look forward to continuing volunteeringat Barnet Mencap and with the experience Ihave gained, progressing to a paid position.

PAGE 8

Photo

Finish

A group of our service users enjoying the sunshine at the Let’s Rock Festival

Thursday 30th August 2018Barnet Mencap Summer CelebrationEverybody is invited to our picnic and gamesafternoon to celebrate Barnet Mencap, ourclients, staff and the work we do!12 - 3pm at Victoria Park (meet near the cafe), Long Lane N3 2PU

Wednesday 21st November 2018Barnet Mencap’s AGMEverybody is welcome to come along to our Annual General Meeting10:30am - 12:30pm at St Paul’s Centre, Long Lane Finchley N3 2PU

Friday 7th December 2018Barnet Mencap’s Christmas PartyMembers, service users, staff, friends and families are invited to ourChristmas Party!7:30pm onwards at Old Finchleians Football Club, 12 Southover,N12 7JE

To book, or for more information about any of these events, pleasecontact Project Support on 020 8349 3842 orprojectsupport@barnetmencap.org.uk

How to find us35 Hendon Lane, Finchley, London N3 1RTTel: 020 8349 3842 Fax: 020 8349 2192Email:projectsupport@barnetmencap.org.ukWebsite: www.barnetmencap.org.uk

Like Barnet Mencap on Facebook

Follow @barnetmencap on Twitter

Barnet Mencap Registered Charity No.1089388 Company Registration No.4274621

The next newsletter, with all the latest news and features, will appear in November 2018

Diary Dates

General Information

You can also view this newsletter on your computer! It’s on our website inthe ‘Newsletters’ section, or please email james.wheatley@barnetmencap.org.ukto be added to the emailing list, so you’ll save paper and never miss an issue!