00:00 well. Hi ladies we're here in Shiffnal and it's the MHA charity, Live Later Life Well
00:06 and what's happening today? A bit of an event going on? Today's session is open morning, we want
00:12 to show everybody what we do, where we are and how to reach us basically. We've got people coming that
00:17 will help signpost and will refer into us. Yeah well I mean I'm new to MHA so you've just
00:24 been having a little chat off camera. It's basically supporting the more senior community.
00:29 That's it, that's the word. That's the word isn't it. Officially if you're over 55 you can come.
00:35 You know what I'm not far off but the list of stuff that you do here is fantastic.
00:42 You alright chap? He's off, he's off. Desperate to get on our video there.
00:48 And yeah the list of stuff you do just run kind of through what the ethos is and the sort of
00:53 things you do here then ladies. Well we support people that are living at home. Yeah. So they're
00:58 not in a care home, well they could be in sheltered accommodation but they want to try
01:03 and remain independent as much as possible. Even from the family really, give the family a little
01:08 bit of a break. So we organise events and activities here in this venue that we can get them to.
01:14 We've got transport available if needed with the Shiffnal shuttle we're using or volunteer drivers.
01:20 We've got some great volunteer drivers that will pick people up and bring them to groups.
01:24 We're always looking for volunteer drivers. Yeah.
01:27 How you doing ladies? Come on you could say hello. How you doing? Good thank you. Good cool. So we're
01:35 just doing a bit of in for the shop she's star. Rachel and Hayley have just been filling us in on
01:38 what goes on here. You are the work engine in a fashion, you're the volunteers.
01:44 Complete with amazing cakes. So what is it you girls get out of it then? Why do you come and
01:51 spend your time here? Go on. Gives me a purpose. Yeah. I've recently had a transplant so I wasn't
01:58 able to work. Yeah. So I found that really difficult being at home doing nothing. But
02:02 I wasn't well enough to work but I was well enough to volunteer. So this kind of gave me a sense of
02:06 purpose to get up in the morning again and give me something to look forward to and feel like I
02:10 was needed. Yeah. So that's what it's done for me. That's fantastic. So yeah. And ladies anyone else
02:16 want to chip in? Yes well yeah once you've retired it gives you purpose to get up in the morning
02:23 again and it's lovely to meet everybody and the members here are absolutely fantastic. Yeah. And
02:29 all the volunteers and we all get on so well together. Yeah so you've got that whole. You've
02:35 got that nice social click and I should imagine you go home and put your feet up and think you
02:40 know what I've changed people's lives today haven't you. Do you know what I mean. You really
02:44 have. Yeah. So fantastic work ladies. Anybody else want to chip in? My husband was a member. Yeah.
02:52 And they looked after him really well. Yeah. And so it's a way of giving back. Yeah. So some people
02:59 have kind of found the MHA via what they do and then they've ended up getting roped into
03:05 doing the hard work. Well thank you ladies. Thank you. So we have a friendship group on a Monday
03:13 with light lunch and game bingo or something. Yeah bingo or maybe a quiz. Yeah. You know some
03:18 kind of activity. Tuesday. Fish and chip supper. Tuesday. Chippy Tuesday is lunch actually. Yeah.
03:26 Tuesday we run a dementia group. Yeah. And the idea is it can give some carers a bit of
03:31 breast fight. If the person with dementia feels certain criteria they're not you know if they're
03:38 able to sit and join a group. Yeah. We do that on a Tuesday. That's really good. Yeah. It's very well
03:43 building. Very well. Yeah. Also on a Tuesday. Yeah. Chippy Tuesday. Wednesday we have a mini
03:50 trip or a little outing. Yeah. Last time we went to Tong Church. Yeah. We had a tour of all the
03:56 history there. It was very interesting. Yeah. And we went and had some lunch in Tong as well.
04:00 That was lovely. Thursday's the busy day. Thursdays we have an armchair exercise class. Yeah. Seated
04:07 so that they can all join in. It doesn't stop anybody. Yeah. And it's not weight loss. It's
04:13 to keep your joints moving and your muscles working. And it's a bit of support. Yeah.
04:18 Then we do a full lunch. We've got a team of volunteers that cook the lunch for us.
04:22 And then in the afternoon we have a social afternoon with a guest speaker or a quiz or a
04:28 game or a seated netball perhaps or seated bowls. I think, did you do netball last time?
04:33 We did netball last week. Yeah. So Billy, how you doing chap? I'm alright. Cool. And you're a member
04:40 of MHA. Yeah. So you come down and get involved in some of the events and stuff they have. Yeah.
04:45 And what's it meant for you having somewhere like MHA and the stuff they put on here? It's
04:51 so, it's marvellous. Yeah. Like the people you talk to and the help you get. Yeah. Has it made
05:01 a difference to your life? It has to my life, yeah. So if it wasn't for MHA, what would it,
05:08 how would life be for you? You know, more lonely, isolated? Not lonely. Yeah. No, I do a lot of
05:15 drawing. Oh do you? Yeah. Yeah. Alright, fair do chap. There's one in, a couple in there, I've done.
05:21 Oh, so you exhibit your artwork here as well? Yeah, more or less. I've got a load in those.
05:27 Yeah, yeah. Well thank you Billy, thank you buddy. Yeah. And then in addition to that we've got
05:34 tele-family friending. We have some, we have a couple of volunteers that go and help people do
05:39 their shopping if they're not able to go and do that themselves. Yeah. So you'll do trips to the
05:43 garden centres, David Austin Rosies, that kind of stuff. Yeah, our next trip is to, we're going on
05:49 the narrowboat. Yeah. In sort of Compton Way in Wolverhampton. Oh wow, yeah. Yeah, going along the
05:54 canal. That's in May. Yeah. It's another trip we're doing. These people have got a better social
05:58 life than me. I'm looking forward to being able to. I'm also a bit nervous to say that. I have to.
06:01 Yeah. Yeah. But it's very important isn't it, because you know, when you become elderly and
06:08 or senior, well I could say it's not necessarily that old really, you have to be, but you know,
06:13 you can find yourself looking around and in quite a lonely spot sometimes can't you,
06:18 which can affect you in so many ways. Even the volunteering. I still do that. I was at home
06:24 for a few days. Yeah. And it gets you out, gives you friends. Yeah. Quite often people have lost
06:30 someone. Like my mother actually comes to the groups now. Yeah. And she lost my dad quite a
06:35 few years ago and wasn't getting out so much. So I encouraged her to come here and she comes
06:40 every week now. Yeah. Loves it. Yeah. So it's... We do a diners group as well. That's quite,
06:45 that's a bit different. We set it up with the white tablecloths and flowers and things.
06:50 Yeah. I cook the three course meal in the evening or we do it as a Sunday roast.
06:53 Hello ladies. So you represent Gold Standard Care. Is that right? We do. Cool. That's your,
07:01 your project, your baby. Yeah. And so a number of the people you look after, they kind of make,
07:08 make use of the services here. Should we say that way? Yeah. They do. They love it here,
07:12 don't they? Yeah. It's absolutely their lifeline. I mean, some of our customers come three times a
07:17 week. Some just come once a week. They benefit from the fish and chips group on a Wednesday.
07:22 Cinnamonite on the evenings that they do. They really enjoy that. But it absolutely is their
07:27 lifeline. It really, really is. Yeah. I mean, we've had somewhere like this, it would be a
07:32 very different life for them, wouldn't it? You know, quite isolated it can be when you're...
07:36 It's really lonely for them, especially like, we haven't got any family, so it's what they look
07:42 forward to when they see that these are their family. So it is, it's really good to be here
07:46 today. I mean, I don't know about you girls. I'm looking at the list of what goes on here and I'm
07:50 thinking I need to up my social life. They've got a better social life than us. They really have.
07:54 They really have. Yeah. And you know, when they don't have a club, they get fish and chips
07:59 delivered as well. So yeah, it's a really good community spirit here. Cool, thank you.
08:05 So how is all this funded? The members do pay a small contribution to everything they access.
08:13 Yeah. Every service they use is small. It does not cover it. Unfortunately, as a charity,
08:19 most of my work is done for funding bids and reliance on trusts and donations
08:25 and fundraising activities. Yeah. It's always an ongoing thing. We're always needing to raise our
08:32 money. We are linking up recently. We have linked up with a lot of the local businesses through the
08:36 Love Shifnal and we're getting support. So, for example, Woods Dry Cleaners cleaned all the table
08:43 cloths for us from the diners group. Yeah. Which we really appreciate. Rachel the Flower Girl's
08:48 doing us a demonstration, a fundraising event doing the demonstration for us. And the Park
08:54 House are giving us a discount on the room to use for that night. That sort of helps, doesn't it?
08:59 Adam from Fields pays for all the printing of air by a quarterly newsletter. Yeah, fantastic. Which
09:06 goes out to all our members and it's used for publicity. Actually, they appreciate the newsletters
09:11 a lot. Yeah. Telling people what's on. It gives handy phone numbers for people they might need
09:16 and things like that. Yeah. Little stories in there. But also there's a programme of events
09:20 so they can work out if they like once a month for lunch, if they like fish or not, they'll come on
09:24 that week. Yeah, fantastic.
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