Author Archives: wendy
All work and no play is damaging UK family life
ADVO Group interviews Paul Farmer, Chief Executive, Mind
Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales providing advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They help individuals to understand their condition and the choices available to them – through their Infoline, their Legal Advice Service and their award-winning publications and website, certified by the Information Standard. Their network of more than 160 local Minds offer specialised support and care based on local need. Paul Farmer is the Chief Executive of Mind, responsible for leading the strategic and operational direction of the charity. He joined in May 2006 having previously worked for nine years as the Director of Public Affairs at Rethink where he was responsible for the Rethink National Advice Service, campaigns and communications, fundraising and marketing, events, research and user and carer involvement departments. Prior to this, Paul worked as Communications Manager for the Samaritans. Paul has co-authored acclaimed publications on reducing stigma and discrimination and is also a trustee for the Directory of Social Change, a campaigning voluntary organisation that provides the sector with training and publications. Between 2001 and 2006, Paul was Chairman of the Mental Health Alliance, which brings together all the major mental health charities and voluntary organisations to campaign for a better Mental Health Act. Paul was named in the Guardian’s ‘The influence 100’ as one of the top agenda setters for his outstanding work in the mental health field and has been shortlisted for this year’s Third Sector Awards in the ‘Most Admired Charity Chief Executive of the Year’ category. In the latest in ADVO Group’s exclusive interview series we caught up with Paul to discuss mental health in the workplace through the charity’s ongoing ‘Taking Care of Business’ campaign, tips for dealing with stress and much more.
Carers don’t get the support they need
Pressure of caring caused former Norfolk ladies golf champion to lash out at mother
Andrew Papworth Thursday, May 16, 2013
4:53 PM
Charities have urged Norfolk’s army of unpaid carers to seek support if struggling to cope – after a court heard how a woman who had cared for her elderly mother for six years lashed out when the pressure became too much.
Julia Wilkerson putting on the fifteenth green, one hole away from the championship. Photo: Bill Smith een 11/5/01Julia Wilkerson, a former team captain of the Norfolk Ladies County Golf Association and five-time winner of the Norfolk county championships, snapped while caring for her 71-year-old mother and hit her over the head with a broom.
King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court heard that while Wilkerson and her mother, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, “clearly love each other” six years of care had caused the relationship to break down.
Furthermore, the 40-year-old, of Saddlebow Road, King’s Lynn, had fallen into a “cycle of resentment and guilt” at the feeling her life was no longer her own, the court heard.
Magistrates handed out a 12-month conditional discharge after being handed a series of letters which showed her to be a ‘very caring person’.
Today, charities for carers told how such feelings of ‘anger and resentment’ were common, but reiterated that support was out there for anyone feeling in such a way.
Maria Plumb, spokesman for Norfolk Carers Helpline, said: “There are thousands of carers nationwide and 80,000 in Norfolk and services do exist to support these carers.
Many were in tears!
Remploy factory closures: Thousands face life without work
Thousands of disabled people could face permanent joblessness as the final “sheltered” employment factories close.
“I just want to work. I’d do anything, I’d sweep the floors, I’d wash toilets out. I would do any job just to do my bit for the community.”
Simon Huntington worked for 17 years at the Remploy factory in Spennymoor near Darlington. Since the packaging and assembly plant shut in August last year, Simon has found it impossible to secure a new job.
“I’m scared I won’t get another job. I’ve applied for loads of jobs. Interviews come, interviews go and I never get anywhere further. It doesn’t matter what I do, no-one wants to employ me as they can see Remploy on my CV,” he says.
