What’s been happening at Daisy?
Daisy Inclusive UK are proactive in adapting our service provision to encompass the extraordinary and challenging circumstances surrounding the Covid19 pandemic. We have developed a wraparound support service that is catering to the needs and requirements of disabled and vulnerable people and families in our community. The strategy includes the delivery of essential food parcels, befriending service, benefits advice, health and nutrition, physical activity sessions, all of which will help to tackle the rise in poverty, mental and physical health issues and the impact of loneliness and isolation. We are also helping to support victims of disability hate crime and incidents, through the pandemic there has been an increase in anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and hate crime in general with referrals to our service increasing by 100%.
The Daisy Inclusive UK Covid19 intervention strategy has been active since the government announced a lockdown and stricter rules surrounding isolation and contact. Many other charities and organisations have been significantly impacted as a result covid19, with many having to discontinue their support or face closures and job losses, leaving many vulnerable people in the community without a support network. Daisy Inclusive UK have continued to offer our bespoke and personalised support to those most at risk in our community. Our team has seen a significant increase in the number of referrals to our services, with many people having lost the support network they require to meet their basic needs. We have rallied together to ensure that no vulnerable person slips through the net due to their disability, vulnerability or social-economic circumstances.
During the Covid19 pandemic and the increased risk to our beneficiaries and people living in the local community it was inevitable that there would be an increase in mental health issues including anxiety and depression, a decrease in health and wellbeing and due to shielding, many people would become socially isolated and may feel the effects long after the pandemic is over. We have supported people living in the local community through weekly phone calls (daily if required) and through this communication, we established the needs and requirements of the individuals living in our community. Until the government policies and procedures allowed face to face support, the team offered personalised support utilising social media and skype/zoom tailoring health and fitness plans to the individual’s abilities and requirements. This social interaction was key to combating loneliness and improve health and wellbeing. As we have been proactive rather than reactive, we have hit the ground running and was able to continue to deliver our much needed service. With thanks to local and national funders we were able to keep key front line staff in place and purchase much needed resources to support people in our community.
As the lockdown restrictions and rules around social distancing eased, we developed our Project Isolation to Inclusion.
Our Project Isolation to Inclusion is supporting those in the community who are struggling to adapt to the new normal. Many of our beneficiaries were originally referred to us as they had previously been socially isolated, with some having slipped through the net of adult social care. It was our concern that social isolation would be having a significant impact on their mental health. We knew that strategies would need to be implemented to support them back into society once the lockdown and shielding restrictions were lifted and society began to return to a sense of normality. We are working with the hardest to reach and lonely in our community, helping prepare them for what changes may be implemented over the coming months. Through this intervention, we can ensure that we lessen the risk of isolation, loneliness, inactivity and the impact it had on an individual’s mental and physical health. This early intervention will be key in preparing beneficiaries and families to prepare to be active within their community once again. Further funding is required to enable us to deliver this necessary intervention.
Without the support from Daisy Inclusive UK many of the disabled and vulnerable people and families living in our community would have struggled to adapt to the changes that covid19 has brought to the way we live our everyday lives. For many families and vulnerable people living in our community our food and essentials delivery has been a lifeline of support, with many children and young people in our community living in food poverty. Our advice and guidance has been vital in ensuring that people in our community are receiving the best support to help them financially through this difficult time.
Our SMILE team, Mini SMILE team, Disability Hate crime Officers, support workers and support staff have ensured that people in our community are staying fit and active, looking after their health and wellbeing, continuing with their personal development and are given the best chances to reach their true potential. We have also supported young people in our community to continue with their education and learning, delivering educational resources and help and support. In addition to supporting elderly and vulnerable people with weekly food parcels we have opened the centre for those that able to leave their house to take part in community activities such as bingo and friendship groups. For those who are isolated at home we are maintaining our daily phone calls and a befriending service, so they do not have to go through this alone.
All face to face activities and sessions follow governmental policies and guidelines, in fact, we go above and beyond this to ensure that all our staff, beneficiaries and people in the community are safe, protected and are physically and mentally active.
In the event of a local or national lockdown or changes in governmental policies, our team have put in place contingency plans to ensure that we are still able to support those in the community who need it most. Delivery of support and engagement activities will return to remote support utilising Zoom, Facebook and Skype. Face to face delivery will continue where possible and safe to do so. We are dynamic and flexible in our delivery and in regards to further lockdown restrictions we will revert back to our Covid19 intervention strategy.
We are proud to say that ‘Daisy Inclusive UK is the can do charity, that makes it happen’.
In times of crisis, it is fantastic to see how the community comes together and achieves the unachievable.
A big thank you to the Morgan Foundation, Liverpool City Council, The National Lottery Community Fund, CAF, LRC Cares, BBC Children in Need, PH Holt, OPCC, Sports England, ESF, Street games, Youth and Play and Duchy of Lancaster and all the other help and support from the LFC Foundation, The Rotunda, LCVS and Liverpool City Council.