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Inside this issue:

Welcome 1

Social Meetings 1

Social Meetings 2

Action for Brain Injury Week 2

Carers Week 2018 3

HealthWatch Bradford 4

Theatre of the Oppressed 5

Mental Health Awareness 5

Diary 6

WELCOME!

May / June 2018

Patron - Dr Elizabeth Stoppard, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Airedale General Hospital, Keighley

improving life after brain injury

Headway Bradford Newsletter

07856 076 866

Headway_bradford @hotmail.co.uk

Headway Bradford

CPB 3

c/o Kirkgate Centre

39A Kirkgate

Shipley

West Yorkshire

BD18 3EH

May / June 2018

Spring at last! Warmer days ahead, more colour around with green shoots and flowers blooming, and longer daylight hours to look forward to!

We can't tell you what the spring weather will be like ….. but we can tell you what Headway Bradford is doing over the next couple of months, tell you about Action for Brain Injury Week in May and Carers Week in June.

We hope you will find the other news and information both interesting and useful.

“Don't knock the weather: nine-tenths of people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.” Kin Hubbard.

Annual General Meeting Tuesday May 8th 2018, 10.30am to 12 noon at the Kirkgate Centre, 39A Kirkgate, Shipley, BD18

3EH.

Do come and join us if you can for our AGM. The meet-ing will be chaired by Diane Derbyshire, Headway Net-work Support Co-ordinator for Yorkshire, Humber and East Midlands, who is at present Acting Chair of Headway Bradford.

Hear the Chair's Annual Re-port

Hear the Treasurer's Annual Report

Ask questions, make sug-gestions and comments

Help to vote in the commit-tee (only people for whom we hold a Membership Form can vote)

Watch part of a film being made by member Susan Quick about her visits to Senegal, West Africa to run theatre workshops with disa-bled people (more infor-

mation further on in the newsletter)

Stay and enjoy a sandwich lunch with us at the end.

www.headwaybradford.org.uk

National Free Helpline

0808 800 2244

helpline@headway.org.uk Shipley Social Meetings Tuesday 12th June 2018, 10.30am to 12 noon at the Kirkgate Centre, 39A Kirkgate, Shipley, BD18

3EH.

This month a representa-tive from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance will be coming to tell us more about the great work they do helping to save lives.

Among Headway Bradford members are some who were airlifted to hospital by YAA at the time they suf-fered their brain injury. We hope you will come and join us – it's sure to be an inter-esting morning.

Refreshments will be served at the beginning of the meeting and we will hold our usual raffle for those who wish to buy a ticket – they are £1 a strip.

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BRADFORD COFFEE MORNINGS

Bradford Coffee Mornings 10.30am – 12 noon at The Alham-bra, Morley Street, Bradford, BD7

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The dates of the next two Coffee Mornings, held in the Pit Bar, are:

Thursday 17 May 2018 – As this one falls during Action for Brain

Injury Week, it will have a 'Hats for Headway' flavour. Perhaps you would like to try on one of our hats as well as have a cuppa (both tea and coffee available) and a chat!

Thursday 21 June 2018 – Drop in for a cuppa and a chat or to ask for information.

To find the Pit Bar, go up the first flight of stairs inside the entrance and turn right – our group meets over to the left. If you require the Level Entrance, this can be found a short way up the right hand side of the outside of the building. It is on the same level as the Pit Bar and the toilets for disabled people. As this entrance is kept locked for se-curity reasons, please tap on the

window just before you reach the

entrance to attract our attention. Alternatively, ask at the Booking Office inside the main entrance for the door to be unlocked before making your way up to it.

Please come and see us when you first arrive as we will give you a voucher so that you can have your first cuppa free of charge. Scones, biscuits and sandwiches are also on sale at very reasonable prices. Occasionally matinee performances are held at The Alhambra on the third Thursday of the month. This means the Pit Bar is unavailable so we sometimes need to change the day or week of the Coffee Morning. As this may happen at short notice, please check for any changes be-fore coming along.

INVITATION TO DAY OUT AT CLIFFE CASTLE

Cliffe Castle

Spring Gardens Lane,

Keighley

BD20 6LH

Tuesday 10 July 2018

You are all invited to join us for this visit to Cliffe Castle, Keighley. Please bring a picnic lunch with you. Enjoy a stroll round the grounds or go round the museum (admission free). Full details about the day and how to book is on the enclosed Information Sheet.

ACTION FOR BRAIN INJURY WEEK: MAY 2018

Action for Brain Injury Week 14 –

20 May 2018

Each year Action for Brain Injury Week is organised by Headway and used to raise awareness about brain injury and it's life-changing effects on survivors, their families and friends living life after brain injury with courage and determina-tion. 'You, me and brain injury' is the theme of the week this year, and the results of Headway's sur-vey about how brain injury changes relationships will be published that week.

More information about this can be found at www.headway.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/you-me-and-

brain-injury/

Headway Bradford is helping to raise awareness by having infor-mation stands on three days that week:

Monday 14 May – Airedale Hospi-tal, Steeton, Keighley

Tuesday 15 May – Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford

Friday 18 May – The Broadway, Bradford

As well as having leaflets available, the hats decorated by members will be on display, helping to draw at-tention to our stand.

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May / June 2018

CARERS WEEK 2018

Across the UK today 6.5 million people are carers, supporting a loved one who is older/frail, disa-bled or seriously ill – that works out at 1 in 8 people who care, unpaid, for family and friends, and, of course, includes those who care for someone who survived a brain inju-ry. Carers Week is all about people who give of their time and energy to care for someone who needs their support – the care they provide is invaluable.

Nationally:

Carers UK making life better for

carers

Carers UK runs Carers Week annu-ally as a campaign to raise aware-ness of caring, highlight the chal-lenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to fami-lies and communities throughout the UK. This year Carers UK are looking at all the ways carers can be supported to stay 'Healthy and Connected', building communities which support carers to look after their loved ones well, while recog-nising that they are individuals with

health and wellbeing needs of their own.

The Carers UK website: www.carersuk.org is full of useful information for carers, and carers can take part in the 'State of Caring Survey 2018' on the Home Page.

Carers Week page: www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/carersweek

Carers Week 2017 Research Sum-mary: www.carersuk.org/images/Downloads/CarersWeekResearchSum-mary_Unembargoed.pdf

Adviceline: 0808 808 7777 open Mondays and Tuesdays 10am – 4pm

Postal address: 20 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4LX

Telephone: 020 7378 4999

Email: Website contains a form to contact Carers UK by email.

Locally:

Carers' Resource

Carers' Resource is a local special-ist carers centre for the Bradford & Airedale, Harrogate & Ripon, and Craven districts of Yorkshire. They provide support for carers no matter what their age, race, religion or needs.

As a carer, you have the same rights to a free assessment of your needs and to support as the person you care for. A Carers Assessment looks at the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of the carer to find out whether you are eligible for support. To arrange an assess-ment, you would need to ring one of these numbers, depending on where you live:

City of Bradford Metropolitan Dis-trict Council – 01274 435400

Leeds City Council – 0113 380 4300

North Yorkshire County Council – 01609 780780

Calderdale Council – 01422 393000

The Carers' Resource factsheet 'What's involved in a carer's as-sessment?' gives a lot of infor-mation about the assessment, and can be downloaded at www.carersresource.org. If you

would like a printed copy, please contact Headway Bradford by phone 07856 076 866 or email headway_bradford@hotmail.co.uk – we'd be happy to send you a copy. Alternatively you can contact Carers' Resource directly:

Bradford & Airedale 01274 449660 15 Park View Court, St Paul's Road, Shipley, BD18 3DZ

Harrogate 01423 500555 11 North Park Road, Harrogate, HG1 5PD

Ripon 01765 690222 Community House, Sharrow View, Allhallow-gate, Ripon, HG4 1LE

NEW FACTSHEET: AGING CARERS

As well as facing countless practical challenges on a daily basis while supporting their loved ones, ageing carers also wonder who will care for their loved one when they are gone.

This new Headway factsheet offers some suggestions to help ageing carers plan for the future.

The factsheet is available to download at www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/information-library/ - it's in the 'Family issues and rela-tionships' section. If you would like a printed copy, please contact Headway Bradford by phone 07856 076 866 or email headway_bradford@hotmail.co.uk so we can post one out to you.

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THE WAY AHEAD CONFERENCE

The Way Ahead Conference

Friday 29 June – Sunday 1 July

2018

Yarnfield Park Conference Cen-tre, Yarnfield, Stone, Stafford-

shire, ST15 ONL

Early Bird price of £140 available

until 1 June 2018!

The Way Ahead weekend, held an-nually by Headway UK, brings to-gether over 300 delegates and speakers, including brain injury sur-vivors, family members, carers, trustees, committee members, staff and volunteers from Headway groups and branches across the UK

to enjoy a weekend of learning at workshops, sharing information and socialising in a relaxing and wel-coming environment.

Yarnfield Park is located in the heart of the Midlands between Birming-ham and Manchester.

If you would like more information about the weekend, please contact Headway Bradford by phone 07856 076 866 or email head-way_bradford@hotmail.co.uk

Places can be booked at https://headwayuk.wufoo.eu/forms/the-way-ahead-2018-booking-form/

NORTHERN POWERGRID: PRIORITY REGISTER

Northern Powergrid is the Electricity Distribution Network Operator who makes sure the electricity bought from energy suppliers gets safely to the 8 million people across the North East, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. If your power ever gets interrupted, they are there 365 days a year to fix it.

Northern Powergrid operates a Pri-ority Services Register, which vul-nerable customers can sign up to so that Northern Powergrid can offer

pro-active support to them in a pow-er cut. Customers who are eligible to sign up include those who need the power on for medical reasons, are elderly, have children under 5, are sick or disabled or have trouble communicating.

With this newsletter we are sending the following: Northern Powergrid leaflet 'Do you, or someone you know, need ex-tra support during a power cut?' This leaflet contains tear-off form to

enable you to sign up to their Priori-ty Services Register.

Northern Powergrid booklet 'A guide to what to do in a power

cut'.

If any of you who receive this news-letter by email would like printed copies of the above leaflet and booklet, please contact Headway Bradford by phone 07856 076 866 or email head-way_bradford@hotmail.co.uk and we will post copies out to you.

HEALTHWATCH, BRADFORD & DISTRICT

At our March Shipley Social Meeting, Paula Smith, Development Worker with Healthwatch Bradford & Dis-trict, gave an interesting talk about what Healthwatch does. One of the things Paula mentioned is that peo-ple who are having difficulty finding an NHS Dentist can ask Healthwatch for names of dental practices who are taking on new patients. So that we could let you all know what Healthwatch is about, Paula has sent the following information …..

'Healthwatch Bradford is an independent organisation set up to help local people get the best from health and social care services across the district. We are a con-sumer champion and are here to give people a voice – improving services

today and shaping them for the future.

Our sole purpose is to help make care better for peo-ple. We are here to

Listen to what people think about the services they use

Share people's views with those that have the power to make change happen

Signpost to the services that are available locally

Healthwatch will make a difference if people talk to us, work with us, and take part. There are lots of ways to get involved. To find out more or to have your say:

Visit: www.healthwatchbradford.co.uk

Tel: 01535 665 258

Email: info@healthwatchbradford.co.uk'

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THEATRE WORK SHOPS IN AFRICA

Susan Quick, member of Head-way Bradford, went to West Africa last year to run theatre workshops with disabled people in Senegal. She is in the process of making a film about the impact of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed on the lives of disabled people in England and in Africa, and will show part of the film at the Head-way Bradford AGM to be held on Tuesday 8 May. The film can also be seen at www.YouTubeEnablingTheatreatK

adduYaraafTheatreoftheOppressed.

Susan tells us she first trained with Boal before the car accident in 1995, which left her with a head injury. On the first page of his last book, The Aesthetics of the Op-pressed, Boal wrote

'I'd met Susan Quick at a work-shop I led in Derry, Northern Ire-land. She liked my teaching so much she taught it in war torn Afri-can countries where she worked for seven years. Returning home, having faced bombs and grenades abroad … her car, in darkest win-ter ice span off the road. Being left partly paralysed did not stop her from doing theatre. She went on to lead workshops for others

like herself who had some kind of physical or mental disability.'

Susan says that Boal's methods help people challenge issues which oppress. People in the au-dience are invited to take the place of the central character and show how they would challenge the problem that is disabling him/her. Susan used this method with people that society considers disa-bled, to challenge that view.

HEALTH & WELLBEING DAY

Health and Wellbeing Day

Tuesday 10 April 2018

It was lovely to see new faces as well as people who come regularly at our Health and Wellbeing Day – thank you so much for coming along and helping to make the day a success. The photos below show you what went on during the event, which was rounded off with half an hour of seated exercise led by Poonam Joshi of EXTEND.

Our grateful thanks go to Diane Derbyshire (Acting Chair and Headway Network Support Co-ordinator for Yorkshire, Humber and East Midlands), who took the main responsibility for organising the day, Freda Lightfoot, who pro-vided hand massage, Judith Howe, who provided painting with inks, Nadine Thompson (Committee Member), who provided nail paint-ing, and Asda Shipley, who provid-ed the healthy snacks and good-for-your-brain food.

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK: MAY 2018

To mark this week, Bradford & Dis-trict Disabled People's Forum (BDPF) and Equality Together are jointly holding a Soup and Chat event on Monday 14 May in the Chaat Cafe at Manningham Mills, Lillycroft Road, Bradford, BD9 5BD. For further information, please contact BDPF in one of the following ways:

Telephone: 01274 481590

Text: 07807 593248

Email: info@disabledpf.org.uk

More information about BDPF can be found on their website http://disabledpf.org.uk

More information about Equality Together can be found on their

website www.equalitytogether.org.uk or They can also be contacted by telephone on 01274 594173.

COLLECTION DAY IN QUEENSBURY

Queensbury 1940's Day Sunday 24 June 2018 at Black Dyke Mill, Queensbury

Headway Bradford will be holding a fundraising stall at this event. It is also another opportunity for us to raise awareness about brain injury. If you attend the event, do look for our stall and say 'hello' to us.

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improving life after brain injury

Heading 2

Bradford

About Headway Bradford

Headway Bradford is a local branch of Headway UK and is run by a small committee of volunteers who have either had an injury themselves or are a family member or carer. We also have legal and health care professionals who volunteer. Our aim is to provide support to help rebuild lives after brain injury.

Headway—the brain injury association is a Registered Charity No 1025852 and a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 2346893.

Our national free telephone Helpline number is:

0808 800 2244 Open Monday—Friday 9am—5pm

(charges from mobiles may

Headway Bradford Diary

Tuesday 8 May 2018

Annual General Meeting 10.30am – 12 noon at the Kirkgate Centre, Shipley.

Monday 14 May 2018

Information stand at Airedale Hospital: Raising awareness in Action for Brain Injury Week 14 – 20 May

Tuesday 15 May 2018

Information stand, Bradford Royal Infirmary: Raising awareness in Action for Brain Injury Week 14 – 20 May

Thursday 17 May 2018

Bradford Coffee Morning 10.30am – 12 noon, The Pit Bar, The Alhambra, Bradford. 'Hats for Headway' flavour.

Friday 18 May 2018

Information stand in The Broadway, Bradford – raising awareness in Action for Brain Injury Week 14 – 20 May

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Shipley Social Meeting 10.30am – 12 noon, The Kirkgate Centre, Shipley. Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Thursday 21 June 2018

Bradford Coffee Morning 10.30am – 12 noon in the Pit Bar at The Alhambra, Bradford

Tuesday 10 July 2018

Day out Cliffe Castle, Keighley

Headway Bradford - Tel. 07856 076866. CPB 3, C/o Kirkgate Centre, 39A Kirkgate, Shipley, BD18 3EH

Email: headway_bradford@hotmail.co.uk Web: www.headwaybradford.org.uk

Email: helpline@headway.org.uk