News and Events

Local Hero for Dundee
On Friday 1st July 2011, Cathy Hamilton, our Project Manager, travelled to Edinburgh to take part in the riding procession to the Scottish Parliament.
Cathy was selected as a ‘Local Hero’ by Shona Robison MSP on the basis of her outstanding record of service to the local community.
Her Majesty the Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Presiding Officers and the First Minister greeted the arrival of the riding procession in front of the Scottish Parliament building for a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new session of Parliament.
During the official photo call on 24th June, Shona Robison said: “I’m delighted to announce that my ‘Local Hero’ is Cathy who is at the centre of carers’ services in Tayside and who I know from my previous role as Minister for Public Health”.

 

Cathy and Shona after the event

 

 

Principles Into Practice Award 2011

Carer Support and Involvement
On Friday 18th March, Cathy Hamilton, our Project Manager, accompanied by three carers attended an Awards Ceremony for the 'Principles Into Practice Awards' in Glasgow.
Tayside Carers Support Project had been shortlisted for this award, together with the Carseview Centre, Dundee, and both Cathy and Val Johnson, Operational Manager for the Carseview Centre, delivered a joint presentation on their successful partnership working, outcomes and achievements. Later in the afternoon, following questions from the floor, it was announced that they had won the award, which was thrilling!
We would like to thank our carers for all their hard work in helping to achieve this award through excellent collaborative working practice with the Carseview Centre - we will continue to grow in this area!

For more information please visit the Principles in Practice website:
http://www.principlesintopractice.net/

 

Cathy and Val after they’d received the award

 

Blackbird DVD Launch

An event was held at Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre on Wednesday 25th May to launch a ground breaking film called ‘Blackbird’ which is aimed at young people who live with a parent who has a mental illness. Tayside Carers Support Project commissioned the film to raise awareness of the issues that young people face in this situation. The DVD was launched by Carolyn Little, Chairperson of Support in Mind Scotland along with Cathy Hamilton, Project Manager of Tayside Carers Support Project and was funded through grants from Dundee City Council and The Alexander Moncur Trust.
The audience consisted of doctors, healthcare workers, teachers and other interested parties, including Tim Mineard of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
The film received excellent reviews from the attendees and the overwhelming feeling was that it should be launched nationally to assist teachers, health staff, social workers and others involved in the mental health field.

Carolyn Little, Cathy Hamilton and Tim Mineard

 

Dundee Health and Wellbeing Day

Thanks to Dundee City Council, we were given some funding to hold a Wellbeing Day for our Dundee Carers, which took place at Discovery Point on 31st March 2011.
We had presentations and workshops by Dr Karen Adam and Jackie Dow called 'Making Things Happen with PDSA' which stands for Plan, Do, Study then Act.
Examples were given of how this worked, then the carers were asked to participate in a workshop to explore what they as a group would like to organise. They really participated in this with great enthusiasm, and a few good ideas came to light.
We then heard from Val Johnson and Lorraine Brown from the Carseview Centre, about how our efforts working alongside them led us to sharing a joint award from the Mental Welfare Commission, the 'Principles into Practice Network 2011' for good practice.
We had a very tasty lunch, and then on to the fun workshops, which consisted of jewellery making and designing items with felt.
There was definitely a buzz in the air, and the evaluation for this day was very positive. The carers are looking forward to their next event.

                         

Carers enjoying the jewellery and felt workshops

 

Angus Health & Wellbeing Day

On Wednesday 23rd March 2011 we held a Health & Wellbeing Day at the Meadowbank Inn, Arbroath. Eighteen carers came along and enjoyed a full programme throughout the day. In the morning we heard presentations on the Welfare Rights Services, Augment (a mental health service user-led organisation) and Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) from Cathy and Vicki (TCSP).
Following a buffet lunch, the carers thoroughly enjoyed participating in the fun workshops, which included felt jewellery making, creative paper crafts and pottery. Our Health & Wellbeing Days provide some respite from their caring role and enable them to catch up with other carers. The evaluation from the day was very positive, with the carers asking for another Health & Wellbeing Day soon!

                                
Some carers enjoying the ‘fun’ activities

 

Perth & Kinross carers event

Perth and Kinross carers had to have their ‘Christmas dinner’ in January. It was changed to a lunch time and was held in the Isle of Skye Hotel, Perth. The dinner had been postponed from December because of the bad weather. The event was well attended and it was a good chance to catch up and relax with friends.

A group of happy carers who attended the lunch

The Project is funded by, but is independent of, NHS and local authority services.