Stay Alive
Public Health Suffolk's suicide prevention campaign, Suffolk Lives Matter sets out to support people across the county who may be struggling with their mental health and who may even be contemplating suicide. Please watch and listen to the video link below to find out more about the support available.
The Samaritans
Helpline: 116 123
Website:www.samaritans.org
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. Whatever you're going through, Samaritans are available to help 24 hours a day. They won't judge you and they won't share what you tell them with anyone else. You can get in touch by telephone, email or letter.
Suffolk Mind
Helpline: 0300 111 6000
Website: www.suffolkmind.org.uk
Suffolk Mind is the mental health charity for Suffolk. They provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. Suffolk MIND have collated some advice to help anyone struggling during this particular time, click HERE for more information.
The Silver Line
Helpline: 0800 4 70 80 90
Website: www.thesilverline.org.uk
The Silver Line is a confidential, free helpline for older people across the UK open every day and night of the year. Their specially trained helpline staff offer information, friendship and advice, link callers to local groups and services and offer regular befriending calls. If callers would like to be put in touch with Silver Line Friends, they can receive a regular weekly friendship call or email.
Age UK Suffolk
Sadly, The charity Age UK Suffolk closed on Friday 24th July due to the impact of Covid-19.
In the meantime, for links to support, advice and information visit: www.suffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/age-uk-suffolk/
Suffolk Family Carers
Helpline/Information Hub: 01473 835477
Website: www.suffolkfamilycarers.org
Suffolk Family Carers is an established charity, helping family carers of all ages across Suffolk get the support they need. Their friendly staff are available to provide information, advice and guidance or just offer a reassuring voice throughout a difficult time.
Suffolk Good Neighbour Scheme
Website: www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/making-your-voice-heard/network/suffolk-good-neighbour-schemes/
Good Neighbour Schemes are local voluntary groups who support those in need of help in their community by offering support with a range of everyday tasks. At present there are a number of schemes across Suffolk, serving dozens of parishes and tens of thousands of people. To find out about schemes in your local area, visit the Community Action Suffolk website.
ACE Anglia
Thank you to ACE Anglia, who have put together two useful documents helping us all to understand how to use Zoom and Microsoft Team. Both platforms can help us to be better connected with family and friends during this time.
Home But Not Alone
A new Suffolk-focused community service has been set up to support people who need help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Called 'Home But Not Alone', the service has been launched to help connect people who want to volunteer in their communities with neighbours who are most in need.
The telephone number for those in genuine need of help is freephone 0800 876 6926 and will be staffed from 9am to 5pm, seven days a week.
Kooth
Kooth provides young people (from 11 years) in Suffolk with safe and secure access to support with their emotional health and wellbeing needs from a professional team of qualified counsellors. Young people can drop in for one-to-one instant text-based chats or book a session in advance. Kooth also offers access to moderated online forums, opportunities to read and contribute to self-help articles and access to tools such as journals and goal trackers.
Due to coronavirus, the two Suffolk NHS clinical commissioning groups and Public Health Suffolk have decided to make Kooth available to more young people, by extending it to all young adults up to the age of 25 years old.
Make, Do and Friends
Make, Do & Friends is a partnership project between Suffolk Artlink, Dance East and the Rural Coffee Caravan.
Together they have devised programmes of creative social events for adults (55+) in villages and towns in Mid Suffolk and Babergh. Whilst we are unable to meet face-to-face, the artists involved are delivering creative events on their blog site. For more information and to go to their site, Click HERE
Wellbeing Suffolk
The Wellbeing Suffolk service is offering a range of free online courses and webinars to support people feeling low in mood or stressed during this time. The courses include:
- Coping with Worry during Coronavirus Times
- Everyday Wellbeing with Coronavirus Support
- Improving Your Sleep
- Coping with Bereavement during Coronavirus
and much more...
Click HERE to access these courses for free!
There are also a range of social events which you can access, including the 'Cuppa and a Chat Social' which is a great place to go and have a conversation with others, get anything off your chest, or relieve any feelings of loneliness. The Cuppa and a Chat socials are currently taking place virtually during COVID-19. For more information, visit the Wellbeing Suffolk website: https://www.wellbeingnands.co.uk/suffolk/social-events/.
NEW Government Guidance on Community Activity Provision for children over 5 years
Following the Prime Minister's confirmation that holiday clubs will now be allowed to reopen during the summer holidays, the Department for Education has published two pieces of guidance on GOV.UK about community activities, holiday and after-school clubs as well as other out-of-school provision for children over the age of 5.
The guidance informs providers of the protective measures that need to be in place to ensure that such settings can open as safely as possible, and the practical steps they can take to minimise the risk to children, staff and parents who attend their settings by reducing the risk of infection and transmission of the virus. Alongside this guidance has been published for parents and carers on the precautions they should be taking if they are thinking of sending their child to any provision over the summer period.
Please find links to the guidance below: