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The magazine of Hertfordshire Independent Living Service

Inside…The blind date that

lasted a lifetime! Meet Mike and Pat Huntley

Hunger in Herts? Malnutrition is closer

than you think

What makes a good advocate?

Yvonne White explains…

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Welcome to the first issue of Independent Living I am delighted to welcome you to the very first edition of Independent Living, HILS’ new magazine for the thousands of people who we meet and support across Hertfordshire. We hope that you enjoy reading about our wonderful team members, and some of the inspiring people who we serve.

We’ll be producing regular editions of the magazine for you to enjoy, and we would love you to be part of it. 365 days a year we hear great stories from our clients, their families, and friends, about their lives and work in years gone by, and the things that they enjoy today.

In this issue we hear from Mike and Pat about love at first sight when they first met over 60 years ago. We’d love to hear your stories too, as well as your thoughts and views on living in Hertfordshire in the 2000s, and suggestions for things you’d like to see in your magazine.

In future issues we will have competitions and quizzes; great tips on eating well from our Nutrition & Wellbeing Team; and exciting news about our projects, people and patrons. So, without further ado, let the fun begin!

Sarah Wren MBE Chief Executive Hertfordshire Independent Living Service

HILS is changing the world! We tell you how, and introduce you to Yvonne White

Meet the Huntleys, a Hitchin couple who met in 1954 and are still laughing together 62 years later

Malnutrition: it’s closer than you think

Happy Birthday Your Majesty! Great photos of a right royal celebration at the Jubilee Centre, St Albans

You know who we are but do you know where we are? Introducing our sites in Letchworth, Ware, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead

Blowing our own trumpet! Fascinating facts about Hertfordshire Independent Living Service…

Send your comments and contributions to Independent Living:

By email to: Lizzie.Hopkinson@hertsindependentliving.org

By Post to: Lizzie Hopkinson, Hertfordshire Independent Living Service, Unit 16, Green Lane One, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth, Herts, SG6 1HB

To find out more visit

www.hertsindependentliving.org

With thanks to:

Editor Philippa Le Marquand, Palm PR

Designer Kevin Bond, BDA Design and Print Limited

Printer CZ Design & Print

Hertfordshire Independent Living Service is the operating name of Hertfordshire Community Meals, a community benefit society, society number IP30206R and registered as a charity with HMRC registration number XT37228

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In this issue

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An advocate has to be a good listener!Yvonne White has three different roles within Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS) and she enjoys them all. She is a highly valued member of our team. Here is her story…

“Growing up in Norfolk, I knew from an early age that I wanted to work with children. On leaving school I worked for a few years as a carer in a residential home but when I was 18 I moved to London to pursue a career in childcare. I worked as a nanny for ten years with four different families, which I enjoyed immensely.”

“While I was in London, I met and married my husband and we moved to Hitchin and then to Baldock. We have two children; Joe is 15 and Molly is 12. When both children were at school, I decided to take a job as a community care worker. I found working and caring for elderly residents in the community very rewarding but unfortunately the shift work did not suit my home life commitments.”

“In February 2014, I applied for a role as a community team member with Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS), delivering hot meals in the community. It is ideal if you have children as it fits into school hours. On an average round I deliver meals to 25 clients between 11.30am and 2pm. The clients receive a healthy hot dinner every day, and also have the comfort of knowing that someone will be coming in to check that they are okay and have a chat too.”

“Last year my manager approached me about becoming an advocate, as HILS was working in partnership with HertsHelp to deliver advocacy support to people aged 65 years and over. There are two advocates here at HILS and we both work ten hours a week. We support clients with issues such as housing; finance; care; adaptations in the home and advocacy under the Care Act. Since we began we have advocated for 100 clients between us. As an advocate you need to be a good listener, non-judgemental, patient and resourceful. I felt apprehensive at first but I have grown in confidence and it has been good experience.”

“I have had a varied case load, with the majority being very rewarding. In one of my early cases, a gentleman received a bill from his housing association asking him for a large amount of money for unpaid rent from a property that he occupied two years previously. This obviously upset my client as he did not understand why he had received it. It came to light that this bill was rent arrears from when the new “bedroom tax” was introduced. This gentleman was living in a two bedroom property on his own and did not realise that he had to start paying extra rent. I worked closely with him and the housing association and filed a report explaining his circumstances. Eventually the housing association accepted this and wrote the debt off.”

“My third role within in HILS is as a driver for the dementia fun clubs. Once a week, I collect three clients from their homes and drop them off at the club. The club is great for the clients as they get to meet and interact with other people and enjoy activities together. Working at HILS has given me the opportunities and support to develop within the organisation, and I enjoy working as a team member alongside my colleagues”.

Over the past nine years, the business has grown rapidly: from an initial team of 7 employees to 200; 2 vehicles to the current 66 white cars which dot around the county 365 days a year; and from initially covering just North Hertfordshire from one base, to

now serving people in every part of the county from local bases

in Hemel Hempstead, Letchworth, St. Albans,

and Ware.

HILS has developed to become the largest meals on wheels provider in the country, serving half

a million meals every year to people in their

homes and lunch clubs, as well as nutritious tea and

breakfast meals.

Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS) first started to serve Hertfordshire residents with tasty and nutritious meals on wheels when it was launched in 2007 (with support from Hertfordshire County Council) as a charitable social enterprise, previously under the name Hertfordshire Community Meals. But as a social business, HILS wants to do even

more good and to support more people who may need a little help to stay healthy and happy at home. Last year it provided services to over 10,000 people in Hertfordshire, delivering so much more than a meal. HILS’ team members are a really inspiring group of people, who love meeting their clients, getting to know them, and helping provide meals and wider support with a smile and real care.

HILS changed its name to Hertfordshire Independent Living Service from Hertfordshire Community Meals to reflect its support for people’s independence but also to include the growing range of services which it provides. From installing community alarms and telecare on behalf of Herts Careline, providing nutritional advice and advocacy support, running fun-clubs for people living with dementia, providing transport to services across the county, and much more, HILS wants to make a positive difference to people’s lives in Hertfordshire.

HILS - changing the world, starting in Herts!

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The blind date that lasted a lifetime! Philippa Le Marquand talks to meals on wheels clients Mike and Pat Huntley

One sunny afternoon in the summer of 1954, a slightly nervous apprentice plumber called Mike Huntley took one last look in the mirror. He was blond, good looking and sixteen years old, and his friend Brin had set him up on a blind date with a girl called Pat, who had moved down to Hitchin from rural Lincolnshire the year before.

Pat explained, “I spent my first 15 years in in the village of Corby Glen. I was an only child and when my father moved to Hitchin to work on the railway, my mother and I stayed behind. I went to the same school in Grantham as Margaret Thatcher in Huntingtown Road. When I left school I worked as a messenger girl on the railway. Later I followed Dad down to Hitchin where I did the same sort of job, working as a clerk telephonist in the telegraph office of the railway. It’s hard to believe it was over sixty years ago!”

Pat and Mike met outside Bowman’s Mill and went for a walk. In a film of their lives, there would be massed violins reaching a crescendo at this point! “She was my first ever date – and that was it. Pat had been out with a few chaps by then, but she was my first and only girl!” confesses Mike, now 79. Brin was a brilliant matchmaker because three years later and

madly in love, Pat and Mike married at St Mary’s Church in Hitchin, to the delight of both their families.

Mike and his brother were born in Hitchin, but they didn’t really know their father until Mike was eight years old. “Dad was in Burma and the war ended later there,” he explained. “My father went to war in 1939 when I was two, so I had no memory of him until he turned up when I was eight!” Their father was at the wedding, but died when he was only 66.

“I had a lovely white wedding dress and three bridesmaids - I wanted six really but Dad didn’t

approve. It was a lovely day.” recalled Pat. “We had the reception at The Hermitage Halls, a big place that used to be a dance hall. We had a sit-down meal with speeches, the whole traditional

wedding,” added Mike. Our older clients in Hitchin will

no doubt remember the heyday of The

Hermitage Halls. They were assembly rooms built in 1925, with a ballroom and a 1,300 seat cinema. The first challenge of

married life was to find a home.

Mike explained, “We had to search high

and low for somewhere to live. We even looked at

the obituaries in the paper to see if a place had become vacant. Finally, we

found a caravan. It was a bit primitive with no electricity or plumbed in water. We carried on with the same jobs until our son Kevin was born in September 1958. Eventually we were given a three bedroom Council house in Hine Way, and we lived there for 27 years. Then we exchanged the house for a big flat in Michael Muir House, which we were able to buy eventually. Our second son Nick was born in 1960 and our youngest son Michael was born in 1966. All three sons still live in Hitchin, and we now have seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.”

After his plumbing apprenticeship, Mike worked his way up to senior advisor for plumbing for the Council, managing a team of plumbers. “I went for early retirement in 1994,” he said. “I didn’t really want to pack up but things kept changing, not for the better.” Pat gave up work when Kevin was born. “I’ve been home ever since really, apart from some little part time jobs,” she said.

Mike loves football and is a keen Liverpool supporter, and Pat enjoys watching show

jumping, adding, “We also loved to go to shows in London.” Pat’s real passion was the USA. “I have always been mad on America - the culture the films, the music - everything!”

Pat and Mike have only been abroad twice in their lives – a day trip to Boulogne, and five nights in New York! Pat said, “Years ago we wanted to emigrate to Canada. We were all set up to go but in the end we chickened out. I just couldn’t leave my Mum. The deal was you went for just £10 but you had to stay for three years. This was before the children, when we were first married. We sometimes think about what might have been, and I know our sons wish we had done it.”

Mike and Pat are very positive people and have a great sense of humour. They are excellent company and seem much younger than their 79 years. However, they have had their fair share of trouble and sadness. “Our eldest grandchild died on Mike’s 66th birthday. He was only 23,” said Pat. Two of their three sons have disabilities, and Pat has Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) - an inflammatory condition that causes severe pain and stiffness.

Twenty years ago they were finding the big apartment they owned no longer suited them. It had concrete steps and no lift, so in 1996 they moved to a small retirement flat in the centre of Hitchin. “Pat has had health problems so the doctor recommended we try meals on wheels from Hertfordshire Independent Living Service, and we are really pleased with it,” continued Mike. “The people who come are really friendly and obliging. It’s all so easy and the food is very good. Our favourite meal is savoury mince with mashed potatoes and vegetables, and our

favourite pudding is stewed apple and custard. We have been having the meals for over a year now. We also had a check-up by the team of nutritionists at HILS. It’s a brilliant service!”

Pat and Mike know they are lucky to still be together when so many of their friends have lost their partners, and do all they can to live each day to the full. It was a privilege and pleasure to meet them.

Brin was a brilliant matchmaker!

Our first home was a caravan…

Our favourite meal is savoury mince with mashed

potatoes and vegetables

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Malnutrition It’s closer to home than you thinkWhen you think of people going hungry, you probably picture this happening far away from the UK.

Malnutrition is a serious issue facing people right here in Hertfordshire – maybe even in your street. There are an estimated 3 million people in the UK suffering from malnutrition but, despite the public health implications, the issue receives very little attention. It is happening quietly, in private, behind closed doors. Recent research has shown that 93% of the 1.3 million older people affected by malnutrition live in the community, 5% in care homes and just 2% in hospitals. Even close family, friends and neighbours may not realise that someone they care about is becoming frail through poor diet until it is too late.

When someone is not getting enough food or not getting the right sort of food, malnutrition is just around the corner, and older people in our community are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition for a number of reasons, including isolation and loneliness. We all have times when we might skip breakfast, or feel a bit peckish in the afternoon if we miss our lunch – but that is not what we are talking about here. Someone near you may be off their food because they are unwell or depressed, or believe they can’t afford to eat well or regularly. Perhaps getting to the shops for nutritious food just becomes

too difficult but a diet of “junk food” does not provide the nutrients we need to survive. Once you get used to being hungry, your body has difficulty doing normal things such as recovering from or resisting disease. Apathy can set in, and taking any kind of positive steps to help yourself can just seem impossible.

At HILS we continue to combat malnutrition by delivering regular, tasty, nutritious meals to people who need them, but we wanted to go further and reach more people who are undernourished. So we set up a new Nutrition and Wellbeing Service, the only one of its kind in the country.

The new service is provided by our team of two qualified dietitians and a nutritionist. All our community delivery team and support staff

are trained in understanding the importance of good nutrition for older or vulnerable adults, as well as key nutritional issues including malnutrition and dehydration. This helps our staff to identify signs of any nutritional concern which can be highlighted to the Nutrition and Wellbeing team.

The team offers a nutrition and wellbeing check to HILS clients, which involves visiting people in their own homes to check their weight, weight stability, and ask a series of questions around health and lifestyle. The aim of this visit is to identify any issues that may be impacting on overall nutritional status and wellbeing. For example, if during the visit a client is identified as not drinking well, the team can provide practical resources and handy tips to increase fluid intake, as well as adapt the meal service to include fluid-rich foods. The team is keen to tackle the root causes of concerns too and this may involve making a referral to the continence service to address any associated issues. Keeping well hydrated can often help to prevent urinary infections, headaches, falls, and visits to the GP or hospital.

These bespoke checks are available to all HILS clients. Staff, clients, their families and health and social care professionals are encouraged to request a check where any nutritional concern is highlighted.

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NEED OUR HELP?

Do you know someone who might need our help? For further information, or to

book a free nutrition and wellbeing check-up, email us at

nutrition@hertsindependentliving.org or call us on

Tel: 0330 2000 103

Meet the team!Michelle Dewar

Team Leader and Registered Dietitian came to us in 2014 to share her experience of working in the community, mainly with older people. She says, “I am passionate about tackling the root causes of nutritional issues and ensuring that our clients’ nutritional and wider health needs are being met.”

Emmy West

Dietetic and Wellbeing Project Officer and Registered Dietitian joined the team in 2015 having previously studied dietetics locally and volunteering for a charity supporting older people. Emmy says, “I love being part of a strong and innovative team developing exciting new services to help our clients live well.”

Annabelle de la Bertauche Nutrition and Wellbeing Project Officer and Registered Nutritionist graduated as a nutritionist in 2007. Her wealth of experience includes working with older people with depression and dementia as well as being involved in government policy and advice, and nutrition research. Annabelle says, “I am excited to be a part of the team delivering this forward-thinking and innovative service.”

Annabelle de la Bertauche

Michelle Dewar

Emmy West

The team further support clients by providing extra snacks and food provisions free of charge if there is a nutritional need, and by extending the meal service if requested. The team refer to specialist and external services to address any wellbeing issues highlighted, including lunch clubs, home visit opticians, or help at home, to name but a few!

If we understand how our body and mind work, we are more likely to make good choices that are right for us. By understanding what support is available, we are more able to enjoy life to the full and reduce the need to seek medical help. Ideally we want an active, healthy lifestyle and to minimise deterioration and illness. It takes more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away, but a healthy nutritious diet does not have to be either dull or expensive.

By making a few small changes and taking good care of ourselves, we can help to maintain our independence and stay happy and healthy in our own homes.

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On Thursday 9th June The Queen attended a lunch party to celebrate her 90th Birthday at the Jubilee Centre in St Albans in the company of 35 HILS Lunch Club clients. Well, to be strictly accurate, Her Royal Highness was no doubt there in spirit, but was represented by a very realistic life-sized one dimensional version of herself looking beautiful in blue as you will see in our photos!

HILS staff in fine form! With The Queen are Jacqueline, Arek, Annabelle and Christine

The party is well underway!

A right Royal knees up!

Kathleen and Nancy get close to Her MajestyLunch Club clients Mary and Sue are not fooled by Marco, a HILS team member, in royal disguise!

One client, Nancy, has lived her life in parallel with The Queen as she also celebrates her 90th Birthday this year. As well as a roast for lunch, our guests enjoyed a free cream tea and received gifts of chocolates and toiletries donated by St Albans Mum’s Group. Many had a laugh posing for their photo with The Queen, and a lovely time was had by all!

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You know who we are, but do you know where we are?

Hemel Hempstead Letchworth St Albans Ware

Many clients have a completely personalised menu, taking into account a wide range of dietary requirements and preferences. For example, we have one gentleman who eats sausages every day!

Our community team who deliver the meals get to know the clients well, and for some older people, this is the only

Hertfordshire Independent Living Service delivers around 500,000 meals a year from four sites in Hertfordshire.

17 Hammer Lane, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 4EU

Tel: 01442 243352Hemel is one of the oldest and largest towns in Hertfordshire and home to nearly 100,000 people. From our site here we cover some of the most populated areas in the county including Watford, Tring, and Berkhamstead. Congested roads can be challenging for our community meal delivery team, especially the M25!

Hemel is our biggest and busiest site delivering over 400 hot meals a day to individual clients as well as supplying food to fifteen lunch clubs, which are run by partner organisations in the local community.

Our drivers have a great deal of experience over many years and take great pride in their work. They include a number of people from the same families. Most team members live nearby and are involved in the community they serve, giving them a real understanding of why the service is so essential.

16 Green Lane One, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth, SG6 1HB

Tel: 01462 678423Letchworth has a special place in history as the world’s first Garden City, created as a solution to the squalor and poverty of urban life in Britain in the late 19th century. It was a blueprint for the “New Town” movement, inspired by Ebenezer Howard whose radical ideas changed town planning forever.

Letchworth has an added distinction as the site of the UK’s first roundabout, built in 1909, and is slightly less famous for being the home of Hertfordshire Independent Living Service, and our first site in Hertfordshire. Our central support services based here include our nutrition team as well as our community alarms and telecare team.

Our Letchworth site covers the large towns of Stevenage and nearby Hitchin as well as the northern edges of Hertfordshire right up to Royston and along the fringes of Saffron Walden. We deliver over 300 meals a day and also deliver food to ten weekly Lunch Clubs.

Jubilee Centre, Catherine Street, St Albans, AL3 5BU

Tel: 01727 847264St Albans is one of our oldest cities, named after Britain’s first Christian martyr in 209 A.D. Here we operate from the Jubilee Centre, an attractive Victorian school building just a short walk from the famous cathedral dedicated to St Alban. We serve Harpenden, Hatfield, Potters Bar, and Radlett and also run a restaurant every weekday which over 65’s can use. You can enjoy a tasty hot meal and dessert for just £4.45 - the same price as our meals on wheels.

We have plenty of space so we use the old school rooms for the benefit of the community, with mother and baby classes, Pilates, and chair exercise sessions designed for older people. We also run a dementia fun club three times a week, which gives a much needed break to the carers of our clients with dementia. We hire out rooms for parties and special events

The main challenge for our St Albans team is negotiating the heavy traffic in a town centre designed for the horse drawn carriage!

Unit 7, Gentlemen’s Field, Ware, SG12 0EF

Tel: 01920 333030Ware is ancient - one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The name comes from the weirs built by Anglo-Saxons to prevent defeated Viking invaders making a quick getaway! It’s a little less exciting these days. Ware is now a peaceful commuter town, and we are located just outside on our newest site which opened three years ago.

East Hertfordshire is very rural, and our team at Ware often drive long distances to complete their rounds, around some of the prettiest villages in the county. Sometimes the narrow country roads get blocked by fallen trees or flooding but our team always get round these problems and have never yet failed to get the meals out.

We have a modern fleet of cars and we use special bags that plug into the cars battery so that the food is kept piping hot.

person they see all day, or even all week, so the daily contact is really important to them. If our staff are concerned about the wellbeing of a client, they tell the next of kin or healthcare professionals, because alongside the meal we deliver a caring service to keep people happy and healthy in their own home.

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...andl We make over 2,300 home visits to install or repair community alarms and telecare equipment

l We provide bespoke advice and specialist dietetic support to our clients

l We provide nearly 150 Home from Hospital bags to help people stay well at home.

Did you know?

In one year...

Our staff drive the same distance

as to the moon and back each year delivering

meals

We provide almost 50,000

tea and breakfast

meals

We deliver over 3,500 food and grocery packs

to people facing a crisis

Over 6,000 people benefit

from our wider support

services We provide advocacy

support for nearly 100 older

people

We supply meals for 54 lunch clubs

county-wide

We provide over 250 days of ‘dementia

club fun’

We provide almost half a million meals a year to over 4,000 people

Cane and Able is not only our family business, it is

our passion! Unlike many companies supplying aids

for the disabled and elderly, our relationship with the

client begins rather than ends when we make a sale.

We have old-fashioned values and take pride in

customer care.

Cane & Able Healthcare we are not happy until you are!

Call us now for a free assessment!

Tel: 01462 454521Cane and Able Healthcare – our aim is to help you and your family stay mobile and independent!

Come and see us at:92 Bancroft, Hitchin, Hertfordshire , SG5 1NQ

www.caneandable.co.uk

What do we stock? Our huge range of aids and products includes:

l RISE/RECLINE ARMCHAIRS l BEDS lWHEELCHAIRS

l POWERCHAIRS l SCOOTERS l WALKERS

l SMALL AIDS SUCH AS WALKING STICKS

l BATHROOM EQUIPMENT SUCH AS HAND RAILS AND SEATS

l DRESSING AIDS, INCLUDING SPECIAL SOCKS AND SLIPPERS.