Outreach
What Is Outreach?
Outreach is the activity of providing services to our community members who might not otherwise have access to day services during Covid restrictions. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meeting someone in need of an outreach service at the location where they are or in one of our new Hubs that we have identified in the community. In addition to delivering services, outreach has an educational role, raising the awareness of existing services.
Outreach is often meant to fill in the gap in the services provided by mainstream services, however we at Cherry Road believe that it’s more than just a service that fills a gap. We believe that Outreach creates opportunities for individuals that really focus on specific activities that are tailored to each individual.
What we did?
Since the start of Lockdown we had been looking into alternative ways to work with people. We started by calling and using zoom to keep in touch, we offered help to families and carers and we tried to help in any way we could to keep contact with people in the community that had lost their day services.
We realised quickly that what we were doing wasn’t enough. Phone and zoom calls just didn’t engage most of our clients and people were starting to suffer due to the loss of services signs of social isolation were starting to show.
Viewing the current legislation and COVID-19 Guidelines that were in place, we looked at what options we had to provide a meaningful outreach programme that was more inclusive of people’s needs and tailored to individual’s preferences. We worked with providers and with families to gauge the level of input people needed from us.
Working with such complex disabilities and needs, we knew that above all we needed to provide a safe and effective service.
Speaking with our friends at Artlink we started to draw up a programme for Thursday Live on the road. We worked closely to figure out the logistics of putting on performances for people in their own back gardens and other suitable and safe outdoor spaces. We knew these had to be both time and cost effective. We also wanted to match the different acts with the client’s individual preferences and tailor each show in order to make each performance matter to the audience.
Cherry Road and Artlink decided we needed to take our ideas to the next level. Using the same model as Thursday Live we looked to expand what we were doing. We identified key staff members who are enthusiastic, creative and skilled individuals, able to facilitate groups, both independently and in collaboration with others.
During the summer months we facilitated this outreach in people’s gardens and outdoor spaces. This is what that Outreach looked like.
What’s Next?
We have identified new and exciting Hubs throughout the community where we will be running more Outreach sessions from. The Steading in Rosewell, The Beacon in Gorebridge and McSence in Mayfield will all be used to facilitate a wide range of sessions, ranging from Art to Sensory Storytelling to Social Networking sessions.
We believe that by creating these new opportunities for individuals throughout our community we are reducing the anxieties of the current situation we are facing. We also believe that above all our services are a safe and effective way to deliver a meaningful tailored set of sessions to individuals who without Outreach would have nothing in the way of day services.
As Outreach continues to grow so does the opportunity for others to access this new and exciting service. If you think that Outreach would suit youor someone you know that may need a new exciting service please get in touch with us using the details below.
Call and ask to speak to Aaron or Aga on:
0131-561-5402
Alternatively you can email us on:
Releasing Your Potential 