Services update from Nicholas

Welcome to my July update. The summer months are already proving to be busy for the peer support team. Read on for more details about how many people we’ve helped, what’s taking place and when, and ways you can get involved.

Community Days

While there were no Hearing Loss Community Days in July, our Community Days continued around the country. With a strong focus on the social aspect, the days often involve a walk and then a catch up over coffee and biscuits. Peer support volunteer Sylvia volunteered at her local day with two Partnership Instructors Christina and Charlotte (pictured below) and nine attendees came along. Sylvia said: “A fun time was had by all including the dogs! Nice to see familiar faces from previous events and heartening to hear positive news from a couple of those partnerships since I last saw them”.

A great example of peer support within a social setting, catching up with new faces, and quietly checking in on their hearing health too! If you’ve been to a hearing loss community day and want to go along to a partnership community day, just ask the local partnership instructor. We are hosting 100 events in total across this financial year.

LinkUp support groups

LinkUp support group returned to our northern training centre – The Beatrice Wright Centre in Bielby – last month. It was another fully booked weekend with 16 participants taking part.

Huge thanks to Helen and Emmanuelle for their ongoing support over the weekend and in particular for the lipreading and technology sessions.

Feedback was super positive and reflects the value gained over their time with us.

I have realised there are others in the same position, I found the whole weekend very relatable.

I have come away feeling more positive. I had a sense of belonging

Everyone was so kind and considerate, from the hotel staff to the volunteers and Hearing Link services staff

It was far above anything I expected

I used the loop for the first time, it’s going to be life changing

Thoroughly enjoyable, Well planned and informative

Congratulations to the whole team for another excellent LinkUp support group! Our next group takes place at The Grange this weekend, plus we will be heading to Wales in August!

Helpdesk

It’s a little early to report on July, however there were 35 cases closed in June on the Helpdesk, and 20 different volunteer responders replying to enquiries across 14 different topics.

For a full break down, please visit the Helpdesk channel on the Volunteers’ Teams channel in early August for our monthly report.

NB: If you are heading out on holiday, please let us know your availability for responding. Do let Alison know your dates so you are not inadvertently sent an enquiry while you are on the beach!

LiveChat, which is available on the website 9am-5pm during the working week, answered 27 enquiries, so an overall increase from the previous month. Currently, the advisors in the central support team are ready to respond immediately to an enquirer. Traffic to LiveChat has an unpredictable nature, meaning that on some days there are 1 or 2 enquiries, but have reached a peak of 10, with 6 also arriving at the same time! The chats do however lead to referrals to Helpdesk enquiries and further peer support opportunities. So, while its use by enquirers cannot be predicted, as previously reported, it is a rich gateway to contact with peer support volunteers.

Teams

There has been a steady increase in posts and comments on the Hearing Link Services Volunteer Teams Channel – do keep visiting and commenting! There is a new post on at least one channel every two days on average, so well worth a regular visit!

It continues to be a source of information, photos, praise, thanks, laughs and learning. Here’s the trend over the last 30 days..with no inactive channel!

The tone is upbeat and supportive, so if you’d like to leave a comment or a reaction in the spirit of the post please do! 👍👏😂🤔😎❤🥂😁