We are delighted that Greenway Care Connect, our new carer introduction agency based at the Greenway Centre, is now open. The journey to getting it up and running has been a long one, or perhaps it just feels long as we have faced some challenges to make sure the service is the best it can be.
Greenway Care Connect is an unprecedented service in Bristol, which has meant that we have had to start from scratch. There are no carer introduction agencies of its kind in the city. None like ours that: serves their local community exclusively; are physically present to support customers and carer partners to receive and deliver the best service possible; promotes everyone’s wellbeing without making profit. To make sure we achieve these goals we have needed to succeed in dozens of smaller projects, all of which run simultaneously.
All of this has been possible because we have some wonderful partners who support us. For example, all our teams at the Southmead Development Trust have contributed a crucial building block to this project: our Communications team have helped us to share our message with you via social media and The Mead; our Social Prescribing team have spread the word to North Bristol GP surgeries; our Employment and Training team have supported us to find training opportunities for our carer partners; our Youth and Play team have been talking with local parents and carers about the flexibility of being a Carer with us; and our Fitness and Wellbeing team are ready to support our Carers and Clients with new sessions.
We have also had the privilege to develop some helpful partnerships with external organisations, such as the DBS Outreach Service, RPC Legal, Self-Directed Futures and WECIL, amongst several others. The local community organisations in the North West of Bristol have also kindly welcomed us and shared our news with residents in their areas.
We are extremely grateful to everyone. We must send a special thank-you to the caregivers and potential customers who are already on board and we can’t wait to update you all on how their partnerships of care progress and about our next step of the journey to ‘a new kind of care’.
If you would like to know how to become a Carer with us, or would like to know how to find a Carer for yourself or loved one, please contact: Cecilia Casadio, email – greenwaycare@southmead.org, telephone: 07376 067 980
