Thistle Foundation

Last week, CCPS published an executive report of their Social Care Benchmarking report, which explores the issues we currently face in recruitment and retention in the social care sector.

The findings of this report, unfortunately, do not come as a surprise. For years now, recruitment and retention in social care has been an ongoing issue that is compounded by the cost-of-living crisis. It has made current rates of pay in the social care sector unsustainable.

We stand with CCPS and our colleagues and call for the Scottish Government to take action on Fair Work in September’s Programme for Government. We must ensure that we attract the best possible people to work in social care because these are the people who are providing skilled support and working alongside our friends, family, colleagues and neighbours in local communities across Scotland. It’s not an option, it’s a necessity.

You can read the full executive summary on the CCPS website - link in the comments.

Staffing crisis deepens as 81% of providers report recruitment needs as higher or same as previous year | Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland 26 July 2024 Staffing crisis deepens as 81% of providers report recruitment needs as higher or same as previous year Almost two-thirds of not-for-profit social care organisations have increased recruitment spend but vacancy rates remain unsustainably high, according to new research published today A...

Congratulations to our newest graduating group from Thistle Academy! Last week we enjoyed celebrating the group and all they have learned, hearing from them what had stuck out to them:

“This training has really helped to bring out the best in me. It has made me more courageous, and it also helped me to focus on my strengths and on [other] people's strengths.” – Merilatode

Well done to our runners at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival last month, Carrie (pictured here) and Keith, who collectively raised £860 for Thistle!

Feeling inspired to run for Thistle next year? Why not sign up now and set yourself a goal for 2025? Follow the link in the comments to find out more!

A massive thank you to British Geological Survey for their support in holding monthly bake sales to raise funds for Thistle! So far they have raised over £550 and we're only halfway through the year 🙌

Join our friends at get2gether this Thursday for their pride themed Big Night Out!

Gorgie Social Club, 22 McLeod St, Edinburgh EH11 2NH
7-11pm

🤩 Coming up this week Pride themed Big Night Out!

📍Gorgie Social Club
📅Thursday 13th of June
⏰7 - 11pm
💰Pay what you can

Can't wait to see you there!

"Having a volunteer like Lorna help us out with hand-written messages of gratitude to donors means that we can convey to our supporters how much we value the gifts they give.

Thank you, Lorna, for all the work you’ve been putting in!"

Today we celebrate 80 years of Thistle and all that has been achieved in that time! Our organisation was set up by Sir Francis and Lady Tudsbery to support ex-service men to live in their own homes, surrounded by family, friends and community. This ethos, 80 years ago, was innovative and groundbreaking and this person-centred approach to supporting people to live in their own homes, in their own communities continues to run through everything we do to this day.

“Adele shared her story at a recent event with other professionals - this resulted in a cheer at the end.

Everyone in the room will remember her and the work we do - all thanks to her honesty and openness and for being Adele.”

Remembering those who fought so bravely 80 years ago.

Today marks the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, a day when we gather to honour the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom.

Join us in paying tribute to those who served to protect our freedoms and in remembering the over 22,000 British and Commonwealth personnel who gave their lives.

in 1944 Allied forces launched a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. Over 130,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history. This pivotal moment laid the groundwork for the liberation of Western Europe and was a major turning point in the Second World War.

Please join us in pausing to remember the unforgettable sacrifices that were made on the beaches on D-Day in what became the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Our amazing volunteers support Thistle and people living with long-term health conditions in a range of different ways, including supporting with our fundraising events. Thank you for all you do ❤️‍🔥

It's and we'd like to start of with thanking our amazing volunteers for all they do at Thistle! 🙌⭐

“At Thistle our volunteers take on a range of roles, from offering peer support, delivering classes, and group-based activity, to supporting in our office at the Centre. Our volunteers are the beating heart of what we do, they bring to life what it means to be truly person-centred and offer support that has such a positive and, in some cases, life changing, impact on the lives of the people we work alongside. On behalf of everyone at Thistle,
THANK YOU, for everything you do for us and for people living with long term health conditions in Edinburgh and beyond.” - Mark Hoolahan, CEO

A huge thank you to Edinburgh Community Bookshop for making us their charity of the month for June and supporting our ambition of a world of inclusion, free of isolation and loneliness, where a health crisis doesn’t mean a life crisis.

They are donating all of their sales profits this month, to Thistle, which will help us to support people in Edinburgh and beyond who are living with long-term health conditions and challenging life circumstances. Why not drop by, pick up a book (enjoy the café 😊) and support Thistle at the same time? They can be found at 179-181 Great Junction Street, Edinburgh, EH6 5LQ. Happy shopping!

Last week we had visitors from Spain at our Centre of Wellbeing to find out more about why our person-centred approach to support is so important for the people we work alongside.

Colleagues from our Supported Living teams spoke to our visitors about their experience of working alongside people, and the importance of citizenship, the ability to live independently and of having a dedicated team that is focused on supporting people to live life their way. Our visitors also met people we support, who spoke about their experiences of living in their own homes, in their own community.

This was part of a national visit organised by Radical Visions, that also involved colleagues from C-Change, Inclusion Glasgow, Penumbra Mental Health, Enable, Neighbourhood Networks and In Control Scotland.

Shout out to Carrie Hunter, one of our Thistle Team, who is running the 5K at the Marathon Festival to raise money for Thistle!

When reflecting about why she chose to sign up, Carrie said: “I wanted to get fitter so signed up to the gym. Then I heard about the Edinburgh marathon so thought I would give myself a little push.”

Support Carrie through her donation page, linked in the comments! 🏃🙌

“A Thistle Health & Wellbeing Practitioner soon called me and had a conversation about what was important to me and what I wanted to be different in my life. It was a game changer.”

Read more about Patrick's story through the link in the comment!

It's Scottish Learning Disability Week 2024 and this year the theme is Digital Inclusion.

But why is digital inclusion important? The last few decades have rapidly increased our reliance on technology for staying informed and accessing the things we need to live well in society. That's why at Thistle we recognise the need to give digital options for everyone we support where we can. Working towards our vision that a health crisis doesn't become a life crisis.

Keep an eye out for more information and stories on how we try to stay digitally inclusive at Thistle!

Benefact Group is offering one charity in the UK, the opportunity to win £5,000 to support health and wellbeing work! Entries close at midnight tonight (26th Apr) and entry is simple, just follow the link below, click ‘Nominate a charity for £5,000’, in the search bar enter ‘Thistle Foundation’ and then add your details.

If we win, this money will go to our health and wellbeing team who work alongside people living with long-term conditions, like Callum, "Thistle is a light at the end of the tunnel – the support has given me a framework to manage my illness. If I’m going through a tough patch, we try to stabilise my activity levels so I can manage. If I feel I’ve a bit of capacity that’s opened up, then we explore ways to approach that. Their completely personalised approach has been really beneficial for me."

Nominate a charity - Movement for Good Nominate a charity for a Movement for Good award now.

Our latest group from Thistle Academy graduated this week and we couldn't be happier for them! They will now transition into their teams and get to practically apply all that they have learned in the last 6 weeks.

Read about what one of the participants enjoyed the most about the course:
"The experience at Thistle Academy has been enlightening. We had a great time. We learnt all forms of different things through training, especially the epilepsy training which was really eye opening for every one of us." - Adikemi

Lunch With Friends!

This Month, our member Philip is hosting 'Lunch with Friends'.

Join Philip for chats and enjoy lunch with friends!

📅Thursday 11th April
🕒1pm - 3pm
💰Bring money for lunch (£12)

The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland

This week, 19 of our supported living colleagues celebrated the completion of Person-Centred Principles into Practice. This is a course for colleagues who have been with Thistle for more than a year and aims to develop our skills in understanding self, coaching conversations and making a difference through our work.

Thanks to everyone on the course who shared how they found it, their joy at meeting people from other teams and sharing practice, and importantly, their learnings and what they’re taking from the course. In particular, we loved the discussion around what it means to actively listen, and that ‘lightbulb moment’ where all of the learning just fell into place.

Special thanks to Emma McKendrick who gave a speech at the celebration. Emma works at Thistle and is also someone we support, and she talked to colleagues about what it truly means to be person-centred, “Listening is a vital part of making a difference. Today, during our discussions everyone mentioned it. It’s so important because you don’t just listen with your ears, you listen with your eyes and your heart. Not everyone knows what their contribution is. We are here to listen; to support people take their place as active citizens and human beings.”

With thanks to valued partners like National Lottery Community Fund Scotland we are supporting people to live well with their long-term conditions, "During my journey with long COVID, I lost my identity and my confidence. Thistle's support changed all that and made me find my worth and my value again." ♥️👇

With thanks to funders like The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland we are supporting people in Scotland to live well with their long-term conditions, “Through Thistle I found ways to accept my new reality a bit more. It helped me find value in my new circumstances, find a way to manage it and develop a real quality of life. During my journey with long Covid, I lost my identity and my confidence. Thistle’s support changed all that and made me find my worth and my value again.” ❤️

Hear more from Alicia via the post below. 👇

Being a mum of two and the CEO of an organisation that deals with innovation, my life before the pandemic was pretty fast paced. I would often commute to London for my job and was used to exercising daily to stay active.

But all of that changed after a trip down to London in December 2021, when I contracted COVID-19. I was really ill over Christmas, but at the time I thought I’d have two weeks of feeling rubbish then I’d be okay. I was very wrong.

I tried to go back to work, but found I couldn’t structure a sentence. I kept thinking, ‘I just need a few more days'. It was affecting me physically, but the main impact was cognitive.

I was finding it hard to drive, I couldn’t put the children to bed, I couldn’t cook, I couldn’t exercise. It was absolutely terrifying and it seemed like there was no help at all.

On days when I could absorb a bit of information, I was trying to understand what was happening to me. There was a recognition that there was this thing, Long Covid, and that people were starting to look into it.

But when I went to the GPs, the response was just ‘we’ll sign you off work’. I didn’t want to be signed off; I wanted to be helped! I was generally used to being listened to in life, at my job, but I was in this situation where nobody seemed to be believing me. I felt desperate and unheard.

I was desperate for help, so when I came across Thistle Foundation on a Long COVID
website I reached out and asked for support.

I spoke to a wellbeing practitioner on the phone and that conversation changed everything. Back then, it felt like being alone in a really cold, choppy sea, where the water’s coming out of your mouth

Speaking to the practitioner for the first time felt like somebody giving me something to hold on to. I started to think, ‘I can do this.’ My situation hadn't changed, but someone was helping me and so I could start to see a way out of it.

The recognition and validation I got from speaking with my practitioner was incredible. I couldn’t believe that finally, somebody actually believed what was happening to me, without me having to try and prove myself. I was being listened to and I knew someone really cared.

I started on a Lifestyle Management Course and was relieved to finally meet people facing the same challenges as me.

When you live with a health condition, you can feel totally out of control. You don’t know what’s going to happen to you.

During my journey with Long Covid, I lost my identity and my confidence. Thistle’s support changed all that and made me find my worth and my value again.

- Alicia

Thistle Foundation recently received over £149,000 in funding to continue delivering support to people like Alicia living with the effects of Long COVID and other long term health conditions.

A really important part of learning at the Thistle Academy is understanding the importance of protecting the people we support as well as themselves.
This is why all our academy groups get full training on how to wear and use PPE! 😷

Part of our Thistle Academy course includes getting to know our Thistle Coaches and Practice Development Facilitators who lead our teams and find out where would be the best fit for people.

Last week the Thistle Academy got to show off their 'Best Selfie' to our coaches in the form of posters 🙌

📣Our Centre of Wellbeing will be closed on Friday 29th March and Monday 1st April. The Centre will resume normal opening hours on Tuesday 2nd April.

For those who celebrate it, we wish you a happy Easter weekend! ⭐

This World Down Syndrome Day, we highly recommend listening again to BBC Radio 4's Today programme: https://lnkd.in/e8VpVjNQ (circ. 2hr 45 mins in) on which Reuben and Manni Coe discussed Reuben's experience of living in a home for adults with learning disabilities which left Reuben isolated from the things and people he loved. It's a beautiful story of repair and recovery in which love plays a central role, and looks at how finding the right, person-centred support, can be life changing.

Come and grab your seat at the table. Steering Group is back on zoom AND at Thistle Foundation and we want to hear what matters to you. Come and join the conversation!