GUIDE DOGS
South West Mobility Team
Mobility Team Newsletter
Spring 2017
Welcome from Annie Wilson Head of Mobility Services
Happy New Year! They say time flies when you are having fun and time has definitely been flying – and we are already in another year!
In the last issue I was on day one, and now over two months later I am semi-fluent in Guide Dog lingo and acronyms; I am making better clothing colour choices when surrounded by yellow labs; and I am achieving a greater understanding of all the intricate elements that make Guide Dogs. Some of the richest learning experiences I have had has been through listening and talking with you directly, and I hope to continue this for the rest of this year too.
I want to thank you all for making me feel very welcome and a part of Guide Dogs so quickly. All your smiles and tips along the way have made my move here feel seamless and very natural.
We left 2016 in a brilliant place. We achieved our target of 65 guide dog partnerships, smashed our children and young people target by serving over 370 children and their families with habilitation services and support, and reached over a 100 people through our My Guide service.
Our community fundraising efforts raised the roof this year, and we are ever grateful for the relentless efforts of our volunteers and teams on the ground who make this happen. Thank you for supporting us in all the many ways you do that make it possible for us to achieve our goals.
I am full of hope and wonder for what 2017 will bring us and it is exciting to imagine what challenges and opportunities may be thrown our way this year. A couple of things I do know is that I will finally lose the title of “the new lady”, as two new staff joined us in January. You will also be hearing us talk a lot about My Guide in Bristol, which we are scaling up in a big way this year in the area. Being a competitive type I am going to say that whilst 2016 was incredible for us, 2017 will see us reach even more people and endeavour to provide a greater service to all our stakeholders! I look forward to spending the year working with you all and am excited to see what we can achieve together.
Service User Representative: Mandy Palmer
I do hope you all had a happy and peaceful Christmas. Geoff, Harmony and I were at home over Christmas and we had a Chinese guest to stay who had never experienced a Christmas before, so it was great to spoil her and show her the magic of Christmas. We had a wonderful meet and greet in Bristol, but unfortunately I wasn't able to make the Exeter one. It was really lovely to have so many puppy walkers and volunteers there and the lovely pups and dogs who were the centre of attention as usual. Monica and Roger Cave, who have been such long time loyal and hardworking supporters of Guide Dogs, shone out yet again. Between them they provided so many raffle prizes and Monica as always attacked our waistlines with another of her spectacular arrangements of home baking - and not a crumb remained!
I'm sure I can speak on behalf of the whole Guide Dogs family when I take this opportunity to thank all our Bristol staff for organising this event, the Exeter staff who came along in support and our sincere thanks go to the many volunteers and supporters for the excellent work they do in keeping us independent and mobile.
A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you all.
Volunteering
Here is what one of our volunteers has to say about being a volunteer:
Looking forward to retirement, I was asked to help with the vacant job of treasurer for Guide Dogs, Plymouth branch. My wife was already involved as a puppy walker and a trading secretary, so I started in 1995, and I am still counting today. My wife says I am naturally a bit of a scrooge, and it is true, I do enjoy counting the money, whatever it is and everything to do with it. Obviously accuracy is vital and I do the jobs right away. These jobs can vary from tiny amounts from collections, to counter tins, supermarket collections, to flag days which at its best brought in over £2,000. Needless to say there are more pennies and pounds than notes. Every penny is counted and I must admit, I am very determined for everything to be absolutely right. As a retired Mathematics teacher it is normal for me to enjoy working with accounts and being correct!
The overall amount banked by me up to the end of 2016 is £717,489.84 and received as Branch Credits is £1,036,240.67 giving a total of £1,753,730.51.
I find it a pleasure to help Guide Dogs.
Ivor Horsell, Treasurer, Plymouth and District
My Guide
2016 was a very busy year for My Guide achieving 101 interactions to help support people with sight loss to get out with more confidence. These interactions have largely resulted from close working with Action for Blind People on the Living with Sight Loss courses held during the year, together with some successful matches with My Guide trained volunteers throughout the South West.
However, we have plenty more work to do in 2017, and currently in the South West we have 31 enquires for a My Guide service, with a significant number around the Bristol City area who are looking for a specific My Guide trained volunteer. The 2017 plan will be to get My Guide more active in the Bristol area by focusing on recruiting local volunteers to help support more people with sight loss to get out in the community.
Courses will be running in Bristol during 2017 as we increase recruitment of volunteers, so if you feel you would like to consider this volunteering opportunity then please let me know – full training will be provided!
If you want to find out more about My Guide - especially if you like the idea of a My Guide volunteer role or know somebody who would be interested, then please contact Rick Allbrook mobile 07785 433224 or email
Dog care tips and advice – Glenda, Donna and Jenny
Winter is almost at an end. However, we may yet experience ice, snow, or freezing temperatures. Apart from the obvious hazards, the pavements can also play havoc with dog’s feet!
The salt sprinkled on the pavements to keep us humans upright, can often get into the dog’s feet, and if left, can make the surrounding feet area very sore. If you are out in icy conditions with your dog, once home it is best to wash all four feet in warm water to get rid of any salt left in-between the pads. Once rinsed off, the feet can be patted dry with either kitchen roll or a towel.
Now we have said “goodbye” to Christmas, and soon to say “hello” to Easter, it is worth mentioning the “chocolate” word and how important it is that it doesn’t get into the wrong mouths by ensuring it is kept out of your dog’s reach.
Here’s the technical bit, chocolate contains Theobromine, which affects a dog’s nervous system and their heart. Signs associated with the ingestion of chocolate include panting, shaking, vomiting and diarrhoea and even seizures.
Another poison to dogs is plant bulbs. As the Spring comes and if you are planting bulbs in the garden, be sure to keep your dog indoors while you do so to prevent you dog ingesting any by accident either from the ground or the packaging.
Guide Dogs’ Children and Young People’s Services
I am really excited to be able to share with you via this newsletter a little bit about the Guide Dogs’ Children and Young People’s Services (formerly known as Blind Children UK) and have this opportunity to introduce you to the staff and share some information about the services we are providing across the South West.
Heidi Lyon
I am the Service Delivery Manager for our Children and Young People’s Services (CYPS). I was originally a nurse then began working with children with special educational needs, and for the past 15 years I have specialised in visual impairment. I am a qualified Habilitation Specialist with an active caseload, which ensures families are visited, assessed and a plan established to offer the vital mobility support they need. That could be training with a guide dog, habilitation training, or further advice and support. I love managing the CYPS team and being involved in all the great work going on across the area.
Helen Hubbard
Helen is a qualified Habilitation Specialist working with children and their families covering Cornwall during term time, and across the South West region at other times. Helen was an Early Years Specialist / Habilitation Specialist before joining us as a Family Support Officer and is now delivering independence skills to all ages as a Habilitation Specialist for Guide Dogs.
Lucy Hill
Lucy qualified as a Habilitation Specialist last year after successfully completing a two year course at university. Lucy currently works with children in Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset. Lucy was a teacher with a particular interest in specialist education both in this country and abroad before she joined us at Guide Dogs.
Sue Stevens
Sue is an experienced qualified Habilitation Specialist with many years of loyalty to Guide Dogs having worked with children and young people in Plymouth for the last 13 years. Sue previously worked in the visually impaired sector with older teenagers and adults providing mobility and rehabilitation training.
Just before Christmas we had one of our children and young people qualify with her first guide dog and they are now really enjoying all life offers - independent bus travel, days out with friends, working in the city, shopping trips to town, visits to the cinema and so much more.
As well as delivering core Habilitation Services to CYPS across the South West via contracted work, we also run fun events and training sessions for children, parents and carers. Whenever possible we work collaboratively with other charities, local education teams, and external partners, which sees the impact of our work run even further.
Pictured here are Amelia and her guide dog Gabby
In November, we held a family weekend in Devon for children who had recently been diagnosed with a visual impairment. Our CYPS team ran a couple of workshops for children, where families from across the country were able to meet other families and gain support and advice, make friends, build confidence and enable their children to meet other children with a visual impairment.
There were opportunities to join in with support groups, educational advice and training, as well as a hands on sessions including a learning through play session. Families were introduced to new toys, ideas for stories, songs, and activities, all designed for use at play time with babies and toddlers to assist their development.
Older children enjoyed a session making clay tea light holders and making very yummy handmade sweets! Parents were given help sheets and information to take away with tips on encouraging age appropriate independence so that there can be no excuses for not joining in with the household chores.
We have more exciting plans for 2017 which I look forward to sharing with you next time.
Campaigning
On Friday 6 January, Alison Hernandez, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, visited our Exeter office. This was an opportunity to enlist her support for our Pavement Parking campaign and she went on a short blindfold walk with trainee guide dog, Alfie. We also discussed the problem of attacks on guide dogs. Nationally we hear about 10 attacks on guide dogs each month and we highlighted with Ms Hernandez the need for police officers and call handlers to respond appropriately when an attack on a guide dog is reported.
Pictured here is Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez with Guide Dog Mobility Instructor John Howell and trainee guide dog, Alfie
In April, we will be holding meetings for guide dog owners, volunteers and supporters to discuss our current campaigns and to identify issues of concern that would be appropriate for future campaigns. The provisional dates are Thursday 13 April at Belmont Chapel, Exeter, and Wednesday 19 April at Stillhouse Lane, Bristol. We will also be holding a meeting on Tuesday 25 April at Frome Library to discuss the plans for the changes to Frome town centre, which are likely to have a considerable impact on people who are blind and partially sighted. If you would like to attend any of these meetings, please call the Exeter office on 0345 143 0204.
Exeter bus station – redevelopment plans
Exeter bus station will be closing on 1 April as the site is being redeveloped. The new bus station will open late 2018, so for the next 18 months buses will be diverted and will use additional temporary bus stops in Exeter city centre. Exeter City Council is working with Stagecoach to publicise the changes to the various services and information leaflets will be widely available.
Guide Dogs have an Access All Areas campaign that aims to put an end to access refusals. Taxis and private hire vehicles are a particular problem, in fact 42% of assistance dog owners surveyed said that they had been refused entry to a taxi or minicab in the last year. That’s why we’ve launched a brand new petition. This will be submitted to the government in due course - we'd love it if you could add your name. www.guidedogs.org.uk/AccessPetition
Fundraising
Firstly, we would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the successes of 2016. Across the mobility team area our fundraising efforts cumulatively raised in the region of £430,000. That figure is down to the hard work and dedication of all our volunteers out there working hard every day to raise money for Guide Dogs. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time and efforts to raise that fantastic sum.
We are very lucky to be able to have different ways to fundraise and in this issue we’d like to highlight our Name A Puppy scheme which proved to be immensely popular in 2016 and let’s all hope that it will continue to grow this year.