MyLife News

Thank you

We’d like to say a big thank you to you for your continued support as we work hard to do all that we can to support our members, students, their families and the wider community during what has been a difficult time for many.

Care of our members, staff and visitors is paramount

We are dedicated to the care of everybody who visits our sites and the families we support in the community. We’re closely following government guidelines, with all staff and volunteers now wearing face masks on site and continued additional measures, including social distancing and stringent cleaning processes, including regular hand washing, in place. We know each member well and will carry this out with the utmost care for their emotional wellbeing.

Track and Trace forms

In line with government guidelines, we are now also asking everyone who accesses our sites to fill in a Track and Trace form.

We will keep the data provided for 21 days as part of the Track and Trace requirements and it will all be stored and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.  We will provide NHS Test and Trace with this data, should we be asked to do so. 

This will help NHS Test and Trace to contain any potential clusters or outbreaks, crucial to reducing the spread of COVID-19, avoiding the reintroduction of lockdown measures and supporting the country to return to a more normal way of life.

Please speak to us

We realise that this is a new situation for everybody. Please do feel free to ask us any questions by calling 01257 472900, 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, or by emailing info@my-life.org.uk.

Our services

With regard to our services, we continue to make decisions based on guidance from the government and the local authority, as well as considering the specific needs of each individual concerned.

My Life Support

Thanks to their ongoing commitment, My Life Support staff are working with all our families to keep support within people’s homes, regardless of the current situation.

My Life Learning

Following a risk assessment with students’ parents, we are pleased to be gradually welcoming our students back, beginning with reduced days on site.

Day Opportunities

Day Opportunities remains open, however, many members’ families have made the decision that they should remain at home. We have received guidance from the Director of Public Health for Wigan advising that this should remain the situation for the present time.

Advocacy

We are continuing to support people through our Advocacy service, although face to face meetings are not possible at the moment.

The Stable Door Café

The Stable Door Café is providing delicious homemade food, cakes and sweet treats through our take away service. Delivery is also available for those self isolating within a two mile radius. 

Looking to the future…

We understand that some of our families feel apprehensive about the easing of the lockdown and that they may want to take their time to prepare to mix with their communities.

We have been thinking very hard about the best way to do this and have been listening to everyone so we can give people a wide variety of options to choose from, whilst adhering to government guidelines.  This is a changing situation and we will continue to communicate with our families as the government issues new information concerning each of our services.

Thank you once again.

The My Life Team

We’re delighted to announce that The Stable Door Cafe is re-opening this Wednesday 8th July!

We’re really looking forward to welcoming our first customers back and are closely following government guidelines to care for staff and customers alike.

With hand sanitizer, a one-way system, regular cleaning in process and tables limited to a maximum 4 people, you can once again enjoy our delicious home cooked, locally sourced dishes! We can only take table bookings in advance, so please make sure that you give us a call.

Take a look at our menu here.

We’re also offering takeaway. Simply ring in your order and we will bring it out to your car.

With profits reinvested into the work of My Life, you’ll be supporting the important work that we do too.  

We’re open Wednesday to Sunday, 9am-4pm at My Life, Thompson House Equestrian Centre, Standish, call 01257 676 076 today. We look forward to welcoming you back!

We have been working hard throughout the pandemic, to do all that we can to support our members, students, their families and the wider community during what has been a difficult time for many.

A big thank you

We would like to say thank you to everyone for your continued support. These may have been hard times, but we truly have seen the very best in people.

From a simple smile to brighten our day, to sewing 1000 gowns for PPE for Wigan hospital, picking up and delivering prescriptions, supporting people in their own homes, getting our site ready for when everyone returns and much more, this period has cemented what we all believe, that together we are better and ultimately, kindness is all that matters.

Where we are at the moment…

We continue to make decisions based on guidance from the government and the local authority, as well as considering the specific needs of each individual concerned.

My Life Support

Thanks to their ongoing commitment, My Life Support staff are working with all our families to keep support within people’s homes, regardless of the current situation.

My Life Learning

Following a risk assessment with students’ parents, we are pleased to be gradually welcoming our students back, beginning with reduced days on site.

Day Opportunities

Day Opportunities remains open, however, many members’ families have made the decision that they should remain at home. We have received guidance from the Director of Public Health for Wigan advising that this should remain the situation for the present time.

Advocacy

We are continuing to support people through our Advocacy service, although face to face meetings are not possible at the moment.

The Stable Door Café

The Stable Door Café is now back open to the public, providing delicious homemade food, cakes and sweet treats. Delivery is also available when customers book ahead. We’re closely following government guidelines to care for everyone, with hand sanitizer, a one-way system, regular cleaning in process and tables limited to a maximum 4 people, bookings only.

Looking to the future…

We understand that some of our families feel apprehensive about the easing of the lockdown and that they may want to take their time to prepare to mix with their communities.

We have been thinking very hard about the best way to do this and have been listening to everyone so we can give people a wide variety of options to choose from, whilst adhering to government guidelines.  This is a changing situation and we will continue to communicate with our families as the government issues new information on the re-opening of each of our services.

Visitors to our sites

In line with government guidelines, we are now asking everyone who accesses our sites to fill in a Track and Trace form.

We will retain the data provided for 21 days as part of the Track and Trace requirements and all information will be stored and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

My Life will also provide NHS Test and Trace with this data, should we as an organisation be requested to do so.

This will help NHS Test and Trace to contain any potential clusters or outbreaks, crucial to reducing the spread of COVID-19, avoiding the reintroduction of lockdown measures and supporting the country to return to a more normal way of life.

If anyone has any queries or questions relating to this or any other issue we can be contacted 9-5 Monday-Friday on 01257 472900 or info@my-life.org.uk.

Parents often need more support and guidance to empower them when asking/fighting for help for their children.

Our own founder and CEO Caroline Tomlinson is taking part in ‘Parent Talks,’ a series of online pre-recorded talks for parents and carers of children with SEND, that you can watch whenever you need, as much as you want.

You can rewind, fast forward and pause the talks and will be able to download the all of the really useful presentations and handouts.

The first six talks are available from the 26th June and the remaining six will be released two weeks later.

Subjects include: 

• Thinking about the future, from housing, finance, and getting good support, to planning the inevitable
• Person Centred Intervention Planning: ‘What’s this all about’?
• Supporting transition back to school post-closure
• Making autism easier to understand by bringing the sensory experience to life and supporting your child with the 3 C Pathway

To find out more, visit the Parent Talks website here or download the programme here.

Do what matters and love what you do, as a Personal Assistant or member of Support Staff for My Life! 

We are currently recruiting for highly experienced Personal Assistants and Support Staff to work with individuals with complex needs and autism.

These roles are exciting and highly rewarding. You’ll be working as part of a great team of people, including a wider professional team who will train, support and guide you.

This is an excellent opportunity for the right candidate to expand their knowledge, further their experience and career.

We’re looking for applicants who:

• Have experience working with individuals who don’t use words to speak, but communicate differently and who may at times challenge
• Will be able to think in a creative way and develop positive relationships with the person they support
• Are confident driving and ideally enjoy swimming, animals and walking

Critically, you will need to be a good match to the team. In return, we offer person centred training, the opportunity to take further qualifications and an excellent hourly rate.

We are interviewing in person, whilst respecting social distancing.

For more details please contact HR@my-life.org.uk or call 01942 233422 with a full CV.

‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ is a song by Queen that I started to use to inspire others, when I shared the story of my eldest son Joe living a life that was designed in a way that made sense to him.

This was a strong message to the ‘powers that be’ that basically said that we need to continue doing the things that really matter to people and we need to trust the instincts of individuals to do what they believe is right for them.

We built the My Life charity on the same premise and over the last few months we have continued to trust and believe that individuals and families will do what is right for them. People have had to make huge sacrifices to enable their loved ones to remain safe and we have supported a wide range of people in many different flexible ways, such as:

• Delivering over 700 hampers to people in the community
• Picking up and delivering prescriptions
• Sewing 1000 gowns for PPE for Wigan hospital
• Supporting people in their own homes during the period of social isolation to keep them healthy, safe and well
• Working with commissioners to support new people, who otherwise would be struggling
• Keeping in touch with everyone including staff, members, students, families and the wider community through e-newsletters, Zoom chats, virtual meetings, telephone calls and distance deliveries
• Planting out all of our greenhouses, flowerbeds and raised beds so we have a flourishing site for when everyone returns
• Taking delivery of four new buildings and improving the Standish site
• Getting all of our accessible bicycles repaired and on the road
• Moving 80 tonnes of road planings to make the site more accessible
• Exercising our animals, preparing them for the summer and adding to the stock
• Delivering over 650 hanging baskets and bedding plants
• Generally ensuring all of our sites are fully cleansed and resourced ready for everyone to return

The work has been done by some amazing volunteers who have worked so hard in all weathers to keep the charity going. Our staff teams out in the community have equally done an amazing job to keep people safe.

We have developed a recovery plan that explains what we are intending to do over the next few weeks, and we will need to all work together and learn what works and what doesn’t as we go along.

We already have seen an increase in people wanting to at least get back to some kind of normality and we are supporting each person in a way that makes sense to them. We are determined more than ever to keep going and be on hand to help you when you need us to.

Thank you all for your continued support,

Caroline