So today is my birthday, am I feeling good about visiting the shelter on my birthday? Do I think I am gaining an extra halo no not particularly, but it does feel nice to be doing something different. Cake is an important factor on ones birthday and if you’re not interested in eating cake then I believe life must be very dull for you. Is cake universal symbol of celebration, I studied anthropology…I should know this, but I don’t, all I know is that it should, or at least chocolate cake should be. I decided to pick up 2 cakes these are large slabs of square shaped chocolate cake with sprinkles. I can dish this out to everyone and hopefully guarantee some smiles.
Chocolate cake should be universal
I’m early on my arrival to Kings Cross, which is where the shelter is based, and I pop into a book store just off the Euston Road, two pounds a book very exciting especially the art books. It’s my birthday so what the heck, let s indulged … Half an hour later two chocolate cakes and a bag of rather heavy art books I slowly walk toward towards the hostel. I remember there being a shortage of pencils, magazines, not even a blooming rubber at that art therapy secession. Jesus! This is an art therapy session you’d should at least let people have the opportunity to rub out! ;)
Running for the bus
Today I arrived late and I missed the introduction meeting. I make apologetic excuses about traffic and not knowing that I was required to be there 30 minutes before each session starts.
I am not sure if I did know this or not ..Hmmm… and I haven’t had any formal acknowledgement that I have been accepted for the volunteer training. I don’t know why and I begin to feel unsettled.
I mumble about this to one of other volunteers who I met yesterday – she replied ‘if you’re not feeling with it don’t come at all … I hastily replied back, no, that there wasn’t a problem with me and I wave my hand as to dismiss her words and said oh u know bureaucracy — politics, she laughed and a looked at me funnily. She is right though; it is not good to bring your worries into any profession and especially in a volunteering place where a ‘make it happen attitude’ is pretty important. You’re there to offer something good not to moan or come across as anxious. This is all very well in theory, but I guess I am also one of those irritatingly well-intentioned people and if others don’t see that it bothers me. Nauseating I know…
Flying ants and volunteering
Posted on: April 22, 2011
Flying ants well in this case perhaps it's a kneeling ant
I haven’t volunteered for a while ( that means a very long time) and I thought that if I was going to start opening new opportunities for volunteers I had better re-evaluate my volunteering skills first. I am volunteering at a small organisation in Kings cross, for confidentiality reasons I will not be disclosing the name of the organisation or of the people I meet.
Day 1: I am in a basement and there is a hall that has been sectioned into two rooms and a kitchen. I am placed in the main room where there are a couple of activities set out for the service users. Today is Friday and the focus of the service users, are for people who are refugees or homeless.
I look around phew, there is an art table. By that I mean a stack of magazines/paper/pots paint and a box of crayons. This is something that I know and like doing–the activity is called art “therapy” …well I’ll give it ago. I think the idea is that you use art as a medium of communication and it enables you to indirectly communicate and build trust between you and the other. Lets hope my art doesn’t do the opposite. Read the rest of this entry »
Glass ceiling
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about why more women aren’t involved in politics. Ever since the general election, the hot topic for discussion is definitely focussed on this issue, but working women in politics (or a lack thereof) is definitely tied to other pressing social concerns, such as how to support working parents, cutting child tax credits, flexible working hours and improving nurseries. Giving families a choice of childcare options they can feel comfortable about is the name of the day.
A couple of Sundays ago I was up at the Hampstead women-only bathing pool, chatting to my friend Emilia, who has recently returned from visiting her family in Sweden. While on holiday, she was drawn out of curiosity to an article in a local newspaper all about what the Swedes think about the English. This Swedish newspaper was quick to highlight the lack of female MPs and representatives in the UK parliament. Why indeed is this the case, we asked ourselves? And so began our discussion in the light of recent political events.
Putting me first
Posted on: June 22, 2010
"Your eligibility ...hmm ...it may take some time"
In previous blogs I have touched on the issue of eligibility in social care, but it’s time to devote some serious time and space to the question of how assessment and access to care services are not always as fair as they first appear.
Councils should not operate care provision services based on eligibility: full stop. I believe that councils should prioritise funding for everyone who requires home care support, and money should be allocated for those needs.
Instead of offering complex assessments that often vary according to the eligibility criteria set by each council, it would be more sensible, and much fairer, to determine an assessment that is proportionate to the needs and circumstances of each individual. This can only be achieved if regulated needs assessment criteria are adopted as standard procedure across the UK.
Prioritising need in the context of Putting People First
You can swim can't you?
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