Mayor of Colchester ‘dares to care’ as part of fundraising campaign

ECL took the opportunity to ‘dare’ the Mayor to spend the day as a carer as part of the Mayor’s ‘Dare the Mayor’ charity challenge as a way of shining a light on the amazing work of community carers.

The Mayor shadowed Community Care Assistant Vanessa Worham and Trusted Assessor, Dean Harvey on two customer visits. Customers Sue, and Roy gave special permission to allow the Mayor to come and help on their scheduled ECL care visits, and Sue even got a special photo taken of her with the Mayor in his official Chains of Office.

The Mayor, Councillor Tim Young said: “Taking on this dare appealed to me because the Mayoress and I both have personal experience of needing care assistance for loved ones. We are very aware of the invaluable service they provide and I jumped at the chance to raise awareness of these unsung heroes in our local community.

“I had a great day working with Dean and Vanessa on the North Essex Reablement team. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to go on a few customer visits and see first-hand what’s involved in supporting people back to health following a hospital stay. It was interesting to see that their approach is about empowering people to get back their independence by giving them the tools and techniques to do things for themselves, as opposed ‘doing it for them’. It’s a great approach as it’s all too easy to lose confidence in your abilities following surgery or a spell of ill health.”

The Mayor also spent time with the ECL Care Planners and Local Business Managers learning about the logistical challenges of delivering care across such a large section of the county, as well as what’s involved in the reablement referral process.

Debbie Edgell, ECL Reablement North Essex Regional Business Manager said: “It was great to have the Mayor spend the day with us. Our team are really proud of what they do and were thrilled to have the chance to showcase it in this way. It was great to demonstrate the difference we make to our customers. Our reablement services are commissioned by local authorities and health partners across Essex, Havering and West Sussex. Individuals needing support are referred into us by social care or healthcare professionals and are then assessed by an ECL Trusted Assessor to determine what their needs are. We usually begin working with them within 24 hours after hospital discharge and focus on working with each individual to deliver a programme of care designed to ensure that they achieve their desired outcomes.”

Dare the Mayor is part of the Mayor’s fundraising for his chosen charities which are: African Families in the UK, Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester Korban Project, Next Chapter, and The OutHouse - all reflecting the theme of his term which is to celebrating diversity and inclusion and challenging prejudice. The idea for the campaign was thought up by the Mayor’s 95 year old father as fun way to raise money for these very worthy causes.

If you would like to set the Mayor of Colchester a dare visit mayorofcolchester.co.uk/about-us or email the Daring Gatekeeper Matthew Young matthewyoung1958@googlemail.com

For more information about ECL short term home care visit ecl.org/services/reablement