Happy Breaks

What Happy Breaks did

The activities delivered entailed 46 weekly sessions of; Yoga/Meditation/Keep fit facilitated by the bi-lingual instructor. These sessions were tailor-made and aimed at promoting the well-being of the target group. Music and singing sessions. Most of the older carers from minority ethnic communities are shy and need huge encouragement to come out and unmask their hidden musical and singing talent. This activity provided them environment they felt comfortable sharing and learning cultural music and songs in their first language.

Coffee afternoon sessions. Each session lasted for a minimum of two hours. The staff and volunteers prepared snacks for them and encouraged and supported them to share other fun activities during the session, such as storytelling, life experience, crossword, Ludo and card games. People from other statutory and third-sector agencies were invited to come along and facilitate discussion over matters that were directly relevant to the carers and those cared for and other services available for them in the community.

3 group day outings, a coach for 52 people was hired, and the day outings were facilitated with the assistance of sessional staff and volunteers. The route and place to visit were decided with consultation with the carers and cared for which reflected the best value for money. The activities quoted above, except day outings, took place at ASRA premises at the ASRA venue at Community Central Hall, 304 Maryhill Road, Glasgow G20 7YE. The organisation hired a part of the CCH that comprised one small and one medium-sized hall and a shared kitchen.

We recruited and trained three sessional support workers and 3 volunteers who were provided with adequate training that included equality, confidentiality, effective communication and awareness of carers and cared for rights. The project provided support to 23 carers and 22 cared for who were socially disadvantaged and experienced poverty and inequality. Most of them fell within the category of groups of protected characteristics. Most of them lived an isolated life. They had become vulnerable and required urgent support to be able to sustain good quality and dignified care.

What ASRA has learned

The target group had gone through a difficult time during the pandemic. Following coronavirus restrictions phased out, the vulnerable members of the community living in isolation suffered anxiety and fear of the pandemic return. Not knowing if there would be any long-term negative impacts of COVID-19, they needed enhanced and sustainable support to regain and maintain physical and mental strength by accessing activities they had tried and found benefits in the past. The project targeted carers most needing support, especially those on the verge of becoming dependent upon the State, as reflected in its early intervention and preventative measures.

The project found the Short Breaks consultation and evaluation toolkit extremely helpful. The support improved the project's evaluation and monitoring procedure. The outcomes were measured through consistent interaction with the participants, drawing their feedback/comments on how strongly they agreed/disagreed that the results were being met. The questionnaires designed were simple and translated into mostly spoken ethnic languages amongst target users. Staff and volunteers assisted participants with limited English to complete monitoring and evaluation information.

How ASRA has benefitted from the funding

The funding and support received from the Short Breaks Fund helped the organisation build/strengthen its managerial skills, knowledge, and capacity. Budget templates and training in managing finances assisted the project in improving its capacity for planning and budgeting. It improved the project's capacity to recruit, train and manage staff and volunteers to work with vulnerable people in a multicultural environment. The organisation consolidated existing partnership work and, through networking, developed new partnership(s) or links. Publicity material such as posters and leaflets displayed in local community venues and delivered through doors in the target neighbourhoods, presentations in local community network meetings, and advertisements on the local community radio in Glasgow assisted the project in extending its links with other community service providers. The project strengthened its ties with other groups, such as the Glasgow Carers Forum and other befriending and volunteer projects through cross-referrals and sharing of resources, in particular the resources that are limited like space, staff, volunteers and equipment that can be utilised/shared with others who have the same goals and serve communities affected by similar issues.