Author: Best Ask Joe

In this issue, you will find a snapshot of what we have been up to since our last issue and our latest opportunities.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Mahatma Gandhi

 

NOTES FROM OUR TRUSTEES BELOW

‘We meet four times a year, to discuss the needs and vision of Believe, and we would like to say welcome! to our new trustee, who recently joined Belive’

CHATHAM JCP JOBS FAIR

Theresa Hammond Founder and chair of Belive
Theresa Hammond Founder and chair of Belive

BELIVE at Chatham JCP Jobs Fair, Friday 23rd September 2022 Recruiting in our local community. In the New Year, we aim, to attend Sittingbourne JCP Jobs Fair.

Helen Whatley, MP for Faversham, and Mid Kent attended our zoom meeting on the 7th October 2022.

Following the zoom meeting, Helen wrote:

‘I really enjoyed meeting you and the other Trustees, and hearing all about Belive. I am planning to post something about Belive on International Day of Persons with Disabilities that falls on Saturday 3rd December, to promote the removal of barriers for people with disabilities and mention the support and volunteering opportunities available to people with learning disabilities, including local charity Belive’.

BELIVE HAS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FOLLOWING:

BELIVE Befriending Volunteer

BELIVE Trustee Volunteer

BELIVE Marketing Volunteer

BELIVE Minute Taker Volunteer

For more information please contact; Theresa Hammond-Chair:  07930938227 or, email: belivemedway@outlook.com

 

 

BELIVE’s 2nd year anniversary post COVID last year, at the Nucleus Art Centre Chatham. We had a great time, connecting face-face, with the beneficiaries, their families, trustees, volunteers, and guests

 

SEE WHAT SOME OF OUR BENEFICIARIES SAID ABOUT THEIR VOLUNTEERS

“I’m really having a lovely talk with Mark and I’m enjoying our video calls. He’s a really good mate”

“I like to talk to Dorothy because she’s friendly and someone to talk to about my problems and to see how she is. I’d like to see her face-to-face but it’s a bit too far because I haven’t got anyone to go with.” 

”JK says she enjoys talking to her befriender. Having someone to talk to on a weekly basis gives her something to look forward to and has helped reduce her loneliness and missing her mother.  Also, she would like to meet up with her befriender and participate in Belive’s group Activities when they start’

Thank you for your input with S.H, she enjoys talking with you.’ (Social worker)

 

Throughout this period, we at BELIVE, have been working to improve the lives of local people living with a mild-moderate learning disability, with our befriending services, e.g., telephone, zoom, or video Whatsapp, and supporting our diverse volunteers. We have been networking throughout Kent, e.g., we were invited to give a presentation at Romney Marsh Academy, visited the Chatham job center, did radio interviews at the Sunlight Centre, Gillingham, and Radio Ashford, and did several presentations via teams, to local authorities across Kent.  We are also passionate about introducing back our face-face support, following COVID, in the near future.  Befriending provides people with a new direction in life, and can lead to increased self-esteem, and self-confidence, reduce isolation, and loneliness, and improve mental health, that is our aim.  Befriending also offers supportive, reliable, relationships with our trained volunteers, to people who would otherwise be socially isolated, like our 2nd-year anniversary get-together! You can find out more about Belive, and much more on our website: www.belivemeday.com.

If you would like to get involved, please contact us at belivemedway@outlook.com.

 

Our operational times are Monday-Thursday, 10.00 am-4 pm.  We will be closing on Thursday 22nd, until Wednesday 4th January 2023, respectively

 

On behalf of Belive, we would like to say a big thank you to all our committed volunteers, fundraisers, volunteer, and non-volunteer support networks in Kent and Medway.

 

Wishing you all seasons’ greetings and a happy new year!

 

Look out for our Spring Newsletter in 2023!

 

“I like to talk to Dorothy because she’s friendly and someone to talk to about my problems and to see how she is. I’d like to see her face-to-face but it’s a bit too far because I haven’t got anyone to go with.” 

 Charlotte 

27/10/2020

“J.K says she enjoys talking to her befriender. Having someone to talk to on a weekly basis gives her something to look forward to and has helped reduce her loneliness and missing her mother.”

Also, she would like to meet up with her befriender and participate in Belvie’s group Activities when they start’
JKs story

Contact us

 

We are always looking for more people to join our team at Belive Medway. If you would like to get in contact with BELIVE to talk about volunteering, becoming a trustee, need a befriender or anything else. 

Email: belivemedway@outlook.com                               Phone: 079 7769 6658 

Our Befrienders

 

Our befrienders find volunteering and giving back to the community to be a rewarding activity. If you would like to make new friends, try something new, whether on a weekly or monthly basis, call us to out more. – Join our Team.

Read about some of our befrienders……. 

“I am a volunteer for Belive. I like animals, going to tourist attractions and gardening.  I enjoy meeting other people, have a good sense of humour and I’m keen to try something new.” Dorothy

“I am a volunteer for Belive. My hobbies include. Going to the gym, Gaming Swimming, Archery, Horse Riding, Watching good movies and Helping people.” Edward

“I’m looking forward to being able to support people in their homes, over the phone or on trips out. My hobbies include Zumba classes, walking and socialising, I also have a good sense of humour and a good listener,” Melanie

“I am a centric people person, Good communicator & listener. Good sense of humour and like meeting new people & new challenges. Cool under pressure.” Manprit

“I have been with believe for six months, what I really enjoy about being part of Believe is having a good rapport with volunteers and with everyone who’s part of believe circle, I also enjoy making a difference to our beneficiary’s. Seeing how beneficiary’s come out of their shell and share stories. Being a volunteer is very rewarding and I would highly recommend it to others to join. Kind Regards. ” Anastasia Kovaliova – Davies

“I have been volunteering for Belive for just over four months now and I have been enjoying every second of it. I strongly believe in this organization’s goals and try my best to support them in any way that I can. I admire how Belive set out to help individuals not only improve loneliness but also confidence and their general mental state. It has shown me how impactful the effect of just having a single conversation a week with another individual can have.

Talking with my beneficiary is an enjoyable and rewarding experience and I look forward to our weekly calls where we are able to talk comfortably and discuss anything that they may want to talk about. Belive is filled with friendly and passionate people who as a group share a lot of the same aims, especially when it comes to lending a hand to people in need. I have felt very supported since joining and I appreciate the effort that is made to provide training as well as a safe space to discuss any issues or ideas that we may have as individuals or as a group. All in all, Belive is a passionate and committed group of people who provide support to individuals with unique goals of their own.” Tamera Welsh

“This February, shortly after retiring, I knew that I wanted to get involved with Belive, to make a difference to people, in whatever way that I could.

After applying I was accepted for interview. Then followed online training sessions, and once I got the green light from Disclosure and Barring Services [DBS Check], I was ready to be allocated to my first beneficiary. I was very nervous about talking to my first beneficiary for the first time. Despite my Nursing career I wasn’t a trained Councillor, I felt I might not have all the necessary skills to be able to help someone. I soon realised that just providing time and space to someone on a regular basis just to chat can make a big difference, it can break the isolation. I was matched up to a beneficiary and had a profile that indicated overall, there were people in the community who needed someone to talk to on a regular basis. So, within a few weeks l had 3 befriending partnerships who l would contact regularly. Since then, l have befriended 3 people, two who are male, and a female. They have had a wide range of mental health problems from anxiety to a diagnosis of schizophrenia and who are from different backgrounds but have one thing in common, living alone and occasional social isolation. I regularly speak to them on various topics and have developed a strong friendship, just making contact by phone. It’s great to know they look forward to my calls, and l feel is doing something useful in my spare time now that I am retired. My next step is to meet one of my beneficiaries socially, which might mean going to a pub or having a coffee out or a similar activity. ” Jacques Beriro

Join our team

Contact Us

We are always looking for more people to join our team at Belive Medway. If you would like to get in contact with BELIVE to talk about volunteering, becoming a trustee, need a befriender or anything else. Email: belivemedway@outlook.com                               Phone: 079 7769 6658 

Volunteers

The Trustees

Trustee

 

The Trustees

Our trustees are recruited because they are committed to the purposes and aims of Belive, adhere to the policies and procedures of Belive and ethos of the charity commission.

Chair|Founder

I am Theresa Hammond, the founder and chair of Belive since 2018. I am a qualified Therapeutic counsellor and registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and BAATN (Black and Asian African Therapist Network). I currently work part-time in a safe environment with adults on a range of issues. With over 18 years of post-qualifying experience as a children and family social worker including safeguarding. I am a practice teacher and a mentor for training counsellors. In 2021, I initiated the petition for an Adult’s Disability Commissioner for England. (Please sign the petition – insert link here Petition · Adults Disability Commissioner for England · Change.org).

 

Trustee: Mark Lemmon

I joined Belive as a trustee in August 2019.  I have a business background and many years’ experience as a CEO, and MD of two national /international brands. Currently, I work as a non-executor director for a range of businesses, including my own business and franchise consultancy service, for new business start-up and business restructuring projects.

 

 

Trustee: Joe Wastell

I have been a trustee for Belive since 2019. I am also the founder of a Community Interest Group (CIC) called Disability Medway Network CIC. As a group, we both raise awareness and champion people with hidden and visible disabilities.

 

 

 

 

Trustee: Mark Anderson

I have been working with people who have a learning disability for over 20 years. I am a Registered Nurse (Learning Disabilities) and work as a manager of community learning disability services. I am passionate about promoting social inclusion for people with disabilities and tackling loneliness and isolation. I have been a Trustee for Belive since 2020.

 

 

 

Trustee: Dona Evans

My name is Dona Evans, I became a Belive Trustee in 2021. I have been an independent trainer since 2006. I deliver a wide selection of training courses for Health & Social Care organizations across Kent. My professional career prior to becoming a trainer spanned 20 years in the care sector, having the opportunity to work with a variety of client groups and in a variety of different roles that included 12 years in various management positions.

 

 

Trustee: Jacqui O’Shaughnessy

I have been a trustee for Belive for over 2 years.  My background is within the financial banking sector, I have worked in banking for over 25 years. I chose to get involved with Belive as I instantly could see the vision and passion Teresa had for the charity, I also found from personal experience that there wasn’t much help for people with mild to moderate disabilities, so I made the best decision to become a trustee.