[AVOW99]

Benjamin – the information I have provided has come from the Welsh Government briefing I received Thursday afternoon and on whuch AVOW bases its advice to people who ring for assistance. If this has not filtered yet to the Supermarket online order service I will take up the issue.

Q How will I get food if I’m shielding?
If you do not have any support from family, friends, neighbours or support groups close by who can help you while you are shielding, you will be able to request a free weekly food box delivery. Each food box will contain enough food for one person shielding for a week – if two people in a household are shielding, you will be able to request two boxes.
To request a free weekly food box, please call the special number for your local authority, which is contained in the letter you received from the Chief Medical Officer to request a food box.
All major supermarkets in Wales have offered to provide priority delivery to people who have received a shielding letter. Data has been shared with them to enable them to identify this if and when you place an order online.

[AVOW99]

Benjamin- as Chief Officer for AVOW I would like to clarify a couple of points.

If anyone is in receipt of the Welsh Government letter saying they are in the group that is defined as needing “Shielding” then it states that a person should first identify if they have any support from family, neighbours or community support. If there is no such support, then people should contact the Council on the number included in the letter – 292000. The persons details will be added to a Welsh Government Portal that will then trigger a Food Parcel direct to the door delivered by a commercial company.
The parcels are not based on financial ability to pay for food but the inability to obtain any shopping.
Those who have received the ‘Shielding ‘ letter have been defined from Medical Records only and does not include other possible vulnerabilities.
Anyone who believes they should have received a letter should contact their GP and not the Council – the Council are unable to add people to the Portal.
The Welsh Government have just signed an agreement with some of the main supermarkets for people who are ‘Shielding’ to receive a priority delivery slot. This arrangement is only for those who have received the letter.
In addition anyone who needs help collecting prescriptions but has no help locally can contact AVOW on 312556 or email [email protected] and a volunteer will be identified. Additional information can be found at http://www.avow.org
Hope this helps – happy to give any more information or clarify any points.

[AVOW99]

On behalf of AVOW I would like to also thank the 100’s of people who have come forward to volunteer across our communities in unprecedented numbers. The efforts that people are going to ensure that others who are self-isolating or vulnerable can receive food and medication is a credit to each and everyone one of you. If you are needing help and can’t get it locally then email [email protected] volunteers are waiting to help. If you want to volunteer locally see your Councillor or Community Council for details of various schemes.
If you want to volunteer for other organisations add your name on https://bit.ly/2QgCtfd if you have volunteered but not heard anything yet please wait your details are being held and we are awaiting the opportunities to flow through

There are many people across our community who are vulnerable please look after them.

Informal carers can get support from https://www.newcis.org.uk/

[AVOW99]

Shadow – the system for appointments is available as you said but there are still many GPs that don’t take on line appointments- such a pity as it would save holding for ages on the phone at 8.00am

[AVOW99]

Cllr Wynn emailed me direct so I have copied my response is shown below – apologies for length-

Dear Phil
Many thanks for your response and your thoughts. The film in no way is intended to ignore all of the work that is currently being undertaken by a variety of agencies as you have highlighted.

It is intended to put a visual interpretation on the many written reports that are available which I am sure you and fellow Councillors must feel frustrated at reading without solutions being found. Reports are produced on a repetitive basis but the reality is that conversation into action to achieve change that makes a difference seems quite limited and were it does occur is incredibly slow. You heard at the Guildhall meeting this week that there are only two detox beds allocated to Wrexham- that’s like putting a sticky plaster in the side of the titanic!

Although the imagery reflects the homelessness in Wrexham the issue over substance misuse goes far deeper into our society and is not exclusive to the homeless/roofless but is occurring in many homes across Wrexham which will undoubtedly have a knock on effect to our children and young people. An example being a very young child turning up at a childcare setting with a ‘cuddle blanket’ stinking of cannabis what is that doing to the child’s breathing (before anyone asks yes it was reported through the appropriate Safeguarding process).

The cost implications of treatment and street support are huge and I in no way underestimate the costs to agencies and private sector retailers- I would however point out that intervention at a preventative level is far more cost effective yet with budget cuts preventative activities are the first to go as they are not statutory- is that really the best way to invest in the future.

On Tuesday you would have also heard Tony Ormond speak about the need for dry houses as part of the stability package that is required – where will they come from as homelessness by itself is not a priority on the housing waiting list. Unfortunately Wrexham no longer has the exclusive knowledge and expertise that Tony could bring as his post went from be Wrexham only to being part of a North Wales project. Tony is a living example of a transformation that 5 years ago no one would have said could happen. Since he came to Wrexham there are a number of people that now owe their life to him for the work he did with them. You asked for ideas on how to tackle the cause – the starting point I would advocate is having meaningful dialogue with people who are or have gone through the 10 Steps to Recovery programme and other recovery projects and the agencies they work with – many of whom will already be engaged in various Partnerships and setting some very clear and measurable targets.

The other way is to raise awareness – statistically 10% of the adult population have a substance misuse problem (drug or alcohol) but as the report “Swept under the Carpet” – “Alcoholism is hidden because it’s legal – it’s swept under the carpet” Girl aged 13– just think how many of the staff or families across all the partners at the Public Service Board are affected and if not supported could be the street drinkers of tomorrow. Should the PSB through its needs assessment be looking at this as a priority due to the level of potential influence?

There is a need to start tacking many of these issue at a far earlier stage – the introduction by the Welsh Government of ACEs- Adverse Childhood Experience should start to establish a pastern of predictability for our next generation to develop targeted intervention. The Council and Partners have an ideal opportunity to adopt this methodology as part of the implementation of the Social Services and Wellbeing Act and the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act to ensure we start thinking beyond the life span of a funding stream or the elected period of the National Assembly or Local Government.

As you highlighted in your email the plight of the homeless person who was a painter – agencies need to be looking at how to get that person back into employment to use past skills — this will be the case with a large number that they have had jobs before. The lack of a speedy response for those with mental health needs is almost setting a person up to deteriorate – a low level of mental health problems can fast become major if someone is waiting 6 plus months for full diagnosis irrespective of homeless or living under a roof. The issues over children and young people accessing CAHMS is equally dire.

I have complete sympathy with the retailers in Wrexham and the impact of shoplifting and ASB- having in the past run a businesses for a number years in Rhostyllen I also know first hand the impact on the surround areas when action takes place in the town centre to purge shoplifting there is an immediate ripple effect to other shops on the edge of town and close surrounding villages. I would be interested to know if the new CCTV installation actually uses facial recognition technology the same as some nightclubs do to identify known trouble makers at the entrance as this would be a significant boost to ‘eyes on the ground’ to supplement the Police, PCSOs and other agencies.

I would like to point out that the film has gone out in a personal capacity as I have other interests in the town.

The donation link to AVOW was added for anyone who felt they wished to contribute to the Annual Homeless collection which has run over the past few years including a sponsored sleep out by staff and volunteers which various colleagues of yours when Mayor have attended. The funds have been used to provide emergency items such as sleeping bags and blankets which are not provided by the Council as part of any homeless support, basic toiletries, sanitary products and other essentials.

I was incredibly disappointed at your suggestion that AVOW may use the funds to ‘subsidise the habits of many of the homeless’. when through the work of staff and volunteers at AVOW they have fought long and hard for the opposite. If this was a suggestion from anybody then I would appreciate you providing that information so an appropriate response can be given.

I trust this give a level if assurance to you and fellow Councillors about the purpose and lets all work together and not allow it to be “Swept Under the Carpet”.

Regards

[AVOW99]

There are a number of free Crowd funding platforms and ways to maximise income by claiming Gift Aid (25p extra for every £1 donated by a taxpayer).
AVOW (Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham) run training courses for any organisation wanting to use this type of fundraising – to find when the next course is go to http://www.avow.org or email [email protected] for details.
There is also a service run to match any community project with a wide range of potential funders – contact [email protected] for details.
If you are interested in speaking to the Lottery they are holding a surgery in AVOW, 21 Egerton Street, Wrexham on 24th February — to book a space contact Heather.

[AVOW99]

Try the Warehouse Project they are involved with a number of Mens Sheds – tel 664832

[AVOW99]

Shopmobility and Blue Badge holder car parking
AVOW has been instrumental in ensuring that alternate arrangements needed to be in place before the 8 blue badge car parking spaces on Rhosddu Road were removed for use by Police vehicles when they take over the Oriel Gallery for a Town Centre Police Station.
AVOW submitted information to the December Planning Committee and a decision to defer was made. At the second representation in January additional information and details of the petition were discussed and the application deferred again.
At the Planning Committee meeting held on 1st February the applicant, North Wales Police, applied for a deferment but the Chair of the Planning Committee pushed for Councillors to make a decision based on the revised parking proposal. The application for the removal of the 8 spaces as part of the overall planning application was approved with the following condition:
1. 5 Designated Blue Badge Disabled bays will be marked out at the entrance to
Shopmobility to replace the informal 6 that exist at present. This will require a Traffic Management Order to be consulted on first.
2. The creation of 8 new Disabled Bays in the Library Car Park which has the entrance on Chester Road.
There will potentially be a net gain of Disabled Marked Bays but these may not be as convenient as the ones on Rhosddu Road.
As no Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken we are requesting that one is undertaken and shared with AVOW.
We would like to thank everyone for the support that they have given on this issue and would like to remind everyone that our key concern all along has been to ensure that adequate car parking is available for disabled/infirm people in Wrexham and at no time have we objected to the development of the new Police Station.
Please contact [email protected] or tel: 01978 312556 if you wish to receive any additional information.
Regards
John Gallanders

[AVOW99]

The current update is that the planning application is going to the Planning Committee on Monday. The proposal is still to remove the 8 spaces and make 5 by Shopmobility. AVOW have made representation that this is totally unacceptable as this is a significant reduction for this part of town and the shops and services. The number of spaces within the existing Library Staff Car Park exceeds the 20 that the Police require for operational vehicles and there appears little reason why the space of the 8 needs to be incorporated.
A challenge has also been raised because the Council have not conducted an Equality Impact Assessment which is a legal requirement when there are any changes to services of this nature.
The meeting is at 4.00pm at the Guildhall and is open to the public or can be watched on the Council webcast.

[AVOW99]

Shopmobility was transferred to AVOW in September and external signage is of a historical nature.

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