CheeRing
is in it’s
Seventh Year!
“The
title CheeRing really
lives up to its name for me, it
brings comfort, friendliness and
shows that somebody cares”
Service
User Comment
Myra
Houlding
writes:
“Right
from the start, CheeRing has
been one of those projects that Maldon (Essex) Mind
“invented” as a direct
result of our cutting edge work in mental health right across North
Essex.
Being firmly on the ground with our continually expanding NERIL
helpline, we
fully understood how significant a factor isolation was for people of
all ages in
the development of depression and more serious mental health problems.
This
becomes
particularly true for
Older People. The mere process of ageing ultimately brings with it a
general
decline in mobility and physical health and often leaves a perfectly
well
person suddenly bereaved after the traumatic loss of a loved partner.
The
support and friendships of a work environment or clubs and social
groups can
also disappear. These problems facing older people can move them more
and more
from a happy and participative mainstream life, into isolation and
anxiety. These
increasing concerns have now become a major health and social issue for
professionals and the community at large.
CheeRing
has
provided professional
befriending from a dedicated team member of staff and has continued to
be an
innovational model since its inception in 2000. Cost effective, it is
practical, easy to deliver from our Villa One office and has changed
little
over the years despite the complications in securing the funding for it
through
complex and often difficult arrangements, district by district. We are
delighted to report in this Annual Review that CheeRing has received a
private grant
to extend into the Braintree District and has received a commitment
from the
Earls Colne Practice Based Cluster Group of GPs to support the scheme
particularly within their wide catchment area within the Mid Essex PCT.
We can
also report that we are in early stages of discussion with the MOAT
Housing
Association to pilot the provision of CheeRing support to a small
number of
carefully selected residents.
With
development currently extending Braintree district, CheeRing will now
have
a presence in 4 of the 8 local authority districts of North Essex. This
is an enormous
achievement and we are very grateful to
all the statutory and grant giving bodies that have helped us to fund
this
development, but the future for sustaining each individual scheme on a
district
basis requires the continued support of partners from each district.
With the
recent changes that have occurred within Adult Social Care at Local
Authority
and the reconfiguration of Primary Care Trusts,
we are now finding it more difficult to find known routes for financial
partnership and security.
By
the end
of this year we anticipate that we
will
collectively be providing a service to over 90 people weekly.
Friendship,
support, practical advice and a safety net extend right down the phone
line and
into the homes of people who have fallen outside other avenues of
regular
support”
