Author: Robyn

We are delighted to have welcomed back our JCS Wellbeing Hub to the Walton Community Care Centre.  On Tuesday 20 July, seven clients returned to the Centre after over 16 months.  Clients were welcomed by the JCS team, some members of the Board, a Representative from the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, local MSP Jackson Carlaw and Rabbi Rubin.

After a lot of hard work behind the scenes including thorough risk assessment, deep cleaning, replacement of furniture and training to improve infection control, our clients were delighted to return to the Centre and be reunited with friends.  Clients took part in activities after a much needed catch up over coffee and cake.

Lynsey Allan, Head of Service for Community and Wellbeing said of the return to in person services, “It’s great to see our clients back at the JCS Wellbeing Hub after such a long break.  The team have worked tirelessly to ensure we can bring our clients back to our in-house service safely and have even recruited volunteer drivers to help them get to and from the JCS Wellbeing Hub as safely as possible.”

During the pandemic JCS provided welfare calls, meal deliveries, essential shopping, and Jewish Telegraph deliveries, improving wellbeing and helping people remain connected to their community and culture.

Jackson Carlaw MSP attended the reopening and said, “While a fantastic job has been done delivering home support over the past year, nothing compares to the sheer joy of meeting in person again.  It is a delight and pleasure to see.”

Jewish Care Scotland (JCS) group activities will resume from Tuesday 20 July at their Walton Community Care Centre in Giffnock. With COVID-19 restrictions easing across the country and many safeguarding and infection control precautions in place, the JCS Wellbeing Hub will return to the Walton Centre over a year since the service was paused.

Since March 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jewish Care Scotland were no longer able to open their day centre to elderly and vulnerable groups and instead began delivering social support to people in their own homes from July 2020.

The JCS Wellbeing Hub will operate from the Walton Centre on a Tuesday and Thursday morning from 10am-1pm. People currently supported by JCS will be invited to take part in activities like yoga, art or quizzes along with the opportunity to spend time with others playing cards, dominoes or simply chatting. They’ll also come together to enjoy a two-course lunch prepared by Gary, The Kosher Chef.

Julie Marshall, Chief Executive of Jewish Care Scotland, said, “We are delighted to be able to welcome the people we support back into the centre after so long. To ensure the safety of the attendees and our staff the centre and our offices will otherwise remain closed for the time being allowing us to take this huge step towards resuming one of our most popular services.”

During the pandemic JCS provided welfare calls, meal deliveries, essential shopping, and Jewish Telegraph deliveries, improving wellbeing and helping people remain connected to their community and culture. Lynsey Allan, Head of Service for Community and Wellbeing at JCS said, “The ability to spend this one-to-one time with the people that we support has grown relationships with our staff and allowed us to really get to know each individual well and assess their abilities, along with their interests. This has allowed us to involve the people we support in our plans to resume our in-house services”.

Behind the scenes we are carefully planning how to reintroduce our Wellbeing Hub and Day Care facilities as safely as possible. Reopening our Day Care for those who are most vulnerable is our initial goal, and the safety and wellbeing of everyone is our utmost priority.

In line with the Public Health Scotland guidelines, we’ve submitted plans to East Renfrewshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership and currently await approval to reopen before welcoming back our attendees.

We hope to share our reopening date with you very soon and we’re excited to welcome back all of our lovely visitors once approval has been given! Until then, we continue to provide our remote care services for those who need them.

If you’d like to find out more information about our reopening or current services, please get in touch with Lynsey (lynseya@jcarescot.org.uk) or Vicki (vickimc@jcarescot.org.uk).

Jewish Care Scotland will rename our popular Aviv Club as the JCS Wellbeing Hub, when it reopens.  Following feedback from the community, and a change to how the service operates, the decision was made to change the name to reflect the purpose and goals of the group.

In response to the community feedback, opinions were sought on what a suitable name for the group service would be. Discussions involved a range of people who are involved with the Scottish charity including clients, families, staff and Board members to ensure inclusivity. The JCS Wellbeing Hub was then put to those who use the service and their families for a final say.

Dr Richard Groden, Chair of JCS, said of the name change, “Due to the adaptations made to the services following COVID-19 restrictions, our clients and team saw this as the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.  The JCS Wellbeing Hub is much more reflective of the purpose of the group and its inclusivity.  We are delighted to have a new name confirmed in time for the reopening of our services in person.”

JCS Chief Executive, Julie Marshall, added, “Our clients who are part of our registered services are receiving more support now than ever.  That support is tailored to their needs and includes a mixture of support in the community and at the Walton Centre.  This level of care provision is here to stay, post COVID-19, and this new name change reflects that.  Only the name of our registered services is changing but it’s an exciting time for the organisation and the people we represent.”

The JCS Wellbeing Hub will operate from the Walton Centre on a Tuesday and Thursday morning from 10am-1pm, when ongoing COVID-19 restrictions allow it to reconvene.

Jewish Care Scotland (JCS) have recognised the hard work of their loyal volunteers by presenting them with a gift hamper as part of Volunteers Week 2021.  Volunteers support the charity in a number of ways, including providing shopping support, delivering meals, delivering copies of The Jewish Telegraph and helping people remain connected to their community and culture.

The Community and Welbeing Team at JCS delivered hampers directly to volunteers. Vicki McPhee, Team Leader said, “The work of our volunteers is invaluable in helping us to reach as many members of the community as we can.  Their time and effort are really appreciated by our team and the people who benefit.  These hampers are just a small token of our thanks.”

JCS volunteer Orli Schechter (pictured) said, “I’ve so enjoyed my time as a JCS volunteer since lockdown started. I love seeing the clients whilst also knowing I’m doing something to help.  So getting a gorgeous hamper was such a wonderful surprise and was the icing on the cake… such a lovely gesture, and really made my day!.”

JCS are currently looking for volunteers who can commit time weekly in a number of roles including volunteer bus drivers.  If you would like to find out more about volunteering you can contact Vicki McPhee by calling 0141 620 1800 or email vickimc@jcarescot.org.uk.