RehabCare News Views Oct 2013 Resized for Web

8/12/2019 RehabCare News Views Oct 2013 Resized for Web

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October 2013

Meet the News & Views Team

Mission (not so) Impossible

Our Sensory Garden

Health and WellbeingTrip Advice- r

Sports BriengCreative Endeavours

NRAC NewsFundraising Fun

Green ProjectsSupporters Corner

News in shortNational News


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Im Alan Cusack and Im from CountyGalway. Im good at interviewing andNews and Views is good craic to do.Others say Im good at learning newthings and I have good ideas.

Im Tiago Da Silva. I was born inPortugal and Im quite new toRehabCare. News and Views is goodfun as well as hard work. Im a goodreader and Im understanding. Otherpeople say Im intelligent and I know

my stuff!

Im Mairad Naughton and Im fromthe gaeltacht so my first language isIrish. Its really interesting learningnew skills. At the beginning it washard but it gets easier to work on themagazine. Other people say Im cleverand I am good with new ideas.Bain sult as News and Views!

Im Eileen Gormley. I am doingNews and Views to learn more tosupport my creative writing. I reallyenjoy interviewing and they sayIve had a few good ideas about

layout. Others say Im decisive,creative and kind.

Hi Im Thomas Perrill. Ive had a verytough life but learning new thingsand having responsibility reallyhelps me to stay on the straightand narrow. The others said I cameup with great ideas on the first

day about colours and names forsections. They say Im friendly and agood listener too!

Meet the News and Views Team!

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest News and Views magazine!

We are a new team and we are just learning the ropes but we did work very hard to t as muchnews as possible into this edition. We are going to do some training on how to put together amagazine soon so even though this edition is brilliant the next one might be even better :)

There is one thing we found very tough, when people sent us images that were not separate jpegimages. It took forever to extract them for the printers so PLEASE remember to send them sepa-rately next time or we cannot print them.

We really enjoyed reading about what was going on around the country and we hope that youenjoy it too. Please nd a little introduction to the team below, we thought itd be nice for you toknow a little bit about us.

The News and Views TeamP.S. Check out the brand new RehabCare website with loads of stories and information about the organisation and all of our

services across the country!www.rehabcare.ie


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Mission (not so) Impossible!By Veronica Cassidy, Dun Laoghaire

My one wish, to meet Tom Cruise, came true in April! I was

istening to the radio at home and heard he was coming to Dublinor the premiere of his film Oblivion.

told my support worker. She knew I was a fan and I told herhat I would be going in to the Savoy Cinema to see him. She

was excited for me. I spoke with staff in my centre and I gotnformation on the internet. We made a plan to have a friend go

with me to share the experience.

t all started the day before he came. I go to Signal Arts onTuesdays. I told June, the artist that runs our class, that I wasgoing to town to meet Tom Cruise the next day. June suggestedmaking a welcome sign for him, I agreed. Hearts and flowersand the colours of Ireland would look good. I wanted to usehese around the saying Cad Mle Filte which means a hundredhousand welcomes. I used colourful paper and chalk type

markers to make it.

On Wednesday I met friends for lunch and showed them my sign for Tom. Later I met my friend Sally in town and we headed forhe Savoy Cinema. There were a lot of people waiting to see him. Ive never been to anything like it before, I didnt know what to

expect. When Tom came out in front of the crowd there were cheers, I was happy to see him.

Then, Tom Cruise, my idol, started to come towards me. I couldnt believe it! He came up to me, shook hands and said hello. Ishowed him my sign and told him what the words meant. He held it in his hands and had a good look at it. He asked if he couldkeep it and I said yes! Then I told him that I did a project about him a few years ago and I was his number one fan. He posed forpictures with me and I got to tell him that I like all the Mission Impossible movies best. Tom smiled at me and said nice to meetyou. I was very happy that day, at last I got to meet my hero.

Our Sensory GardenBy Gerard ODwyer and Michael Phelan. Knocklofty, TipperaryIn Knocklofty this summer we made a new sensory garden withgreat help from Abbott Vascular. A sensory garden is a gardenthat uses all of our senses; smell, taste, touch, seeing and hearing.In our garden we have wind chimes and special flowers that arecolourful and have lovely smells like lavender. We have a swinging

chair and a table and chair at either end of the garden so you cansit and enjoy it. There are cds hanging all around the garden thatchange colour when the sun shines on them. We have a bird tablein the middle of it. We also have rhubarb growing in it. The gardenis attached to our duck pond. Our sensory garden was all madefrom recyclable materials: our wind chimes are made from cds andkeys, we used water bottles to plant flowers and pallets for thetable and seat. We even have tyres for our flower arrangements.We love our new garden. It is well planned out and we find it veryrelaxing to use when we are finished working with the animals.There are lovely views and it is very quiet. It is nice to sit downand take some time to ourselves. We are very grateful to AbbottVascular for their help.

Veronica and Tom Cruise

Sensory Garden Knocklofty


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Brown BreadBy Noreen Hayden, Bray

I like eating healthy food. Wemake brown bread in our cookeryprogramme, it was very good.Here is the recipe of the brownbread we made. You should try it!Ingredients:

100g plain flourh

150gwholemeal flourh 150g mixedseeds / nuts h 50g porridge oatsh 1tsp bread sodah Pinch of salth 2 tbsp sunflower oilh 150mlnatural yoghurth 150ml milk

1. Grease and flour a 2 lb loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 180c.2. Sieve the plain flour, bread soda and salt.3. Stir in the wholemeal flour and all but 2 tbsp of the seeds. Create hollow in the centre. Whisk the yogurt with the milk and pour into the dry ingredients, stir well using a wooden

spoon or your hand in to a claw shape moving the bowl around quickly.4. The mixture should be gloopy like porridge.5. Pour into the prepared tin, run a knife down the centre and scatter with the remaining mixed seeds.6. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes.7. I usually turn the bread out of the tin for the last ten minutes to ensure a crunchy crust. The bread should sound hollow when the underside is tapped.

I find cooking relaxing. Brown bread is good for you; it isa healthy food to eat. Brown bread is also good for yourcholesterol. I have a daughter called Amy and we enjoy cookingtogether.

Extreme Health!By Mark Butler, Kilkenny

It is my hobby to do yoga. I love doing yoga with my teachers inhe Kilkenny School of Yoga in Colliers Lane.

I do yoga from my DVDs and books as well. I go to classes everyMonday. I also like to do maxalding muscle control exercises. Ihave a new thing on exercise called insanity training (the hardestworkout on DVD) and I combine this with maxalding and yoga.

I practice psychic and occult technique with self help books too.I also eat healthily and meditation is very important to me. I dohis in my room. I have been practicing techniques from books

such as The Miracles of Mana-Force and Pranic Energy. Theseypes of books help improve my life and I like to read them

when I am in the RehabCare centre. Also in the centre, I dorelaxation with the group.

Health and Wellbeing

Wellness innovation in ThurlesWhen we discovered the theme for this year was health and wellbeing, we just knew our service hadplenty to celebrate by way of innovation. So we have compiled a taster of exactly what we have beenworking on here in our brand spanking new resource centre.We all know how important it is to be healthy and we are making a great effort to increase ourwellbeing here in Thurles.

Earlier this year we had a meeting about what amenities we would like to have. It was clear thatthe ladies wanted a calm relaxing environment to have their nails, hair and make up done, and themen wanted similar me time in a soothing environment. It was decided that our resource centrewould create a therapy room, somewhere to relax and be pampered after a difficult day. We offermanicures, pedicures, foot and hand massages, facial treatments, make up classes and foot spas plusmany more treats for your health and wellbeing.

We are very fortunate to be an important part of our community. We have a large Rehab family here and love meeting newpeople. We wanted to give something back so we decided that we could create a Lending Library to encourage people to visit usIs there anything more relaxing and good for body and mind than snuggling up with a good book? The next time you're in Thurlwhy not pop in to Emily and avail of our lending library?

Sl inteBy Nicola McHugh and Fiona Friel with Oonagh Moore, Lifford

The Slinte programme started in January and ran until the end ofuly. Five people participated. They went to the gym and cookerylasses in the local college two days per week.

The objectives of Slinte were

to increase knowledge, improve skills and gain greaterconfidence in making helpful changes to dietary habits to participate in a variety of activities to increase fitness to assist participants to build capacity to make and sustainpositive personal health and social gains.

I really enjoyed the Slinte programme, I learned a lot. The mostenefit I got was from the gym as the facilitator was very good. Weot weighed every week which motivated me to lose weight. FF

We got to meet new people when on the Slinte programme and wead good fun. I really enjoyed it and would like to keep up the healthyating and exercise when the programme finishes. NMCH

Emily in lending library

Noreen Hayden


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Mens ShedsBy Denis Baker, Kildare

joined Mens Shed with John and Martin in our local communitycentre. We attend every Tuesday. We cleared a patch to get iteady and sowed vegetables. We also made wreaths, logs and

cribs for the Christmas fair in our local parish centre. John helpedout at the Christmas fair setting up stalls and selling the crafts wemade. Mens shed set up a committee and I am joint secretary.Martin, John and I also did a six week computer course. Johnhelped to dig up the vegetables we had sown. We gavestrawberries to the local day care centre and we brought some toRehabCare Kildare. We love going to the Mens Shed every week.

Sensory RoomBy Jackie and James, Portlaoise

We have a sensory room in our centre. It is a place we all gowhen we feel stressed. It has lights and a projector which showsreally relaxing, calming pictures. I feel happy when I spend timein there.

What Makes Me Feel Healthy And Well?By Jennifer Monahan, Tus Nua, Tullamore

I think it is very important to look after your mental health.Sometimes I worry about things that might happen and Ipanic and get anxious. To help me I like to do activities thathelp me relax such as word-searches, playing games on mylaptop, listening to music, knitting and crochet. I also like to gofor reflexology and Dhara. Dhara is a treatment where I havewarm oils and milk poured on my forehead and then my headis massaged. This helps me to release stress. I like to go for Spadays in Clara House Holistic Spa with my friend Fionnuala everyfew months. We like to get massages and facials and use therelaxation room while there.

I think it is important to talk to someone when something is

troubling me. I will talk to my Mother or my key worker inRehabCare. It is good to have people in my life who support me.Every week I volunteer for two hours in SOSAD in Tullamore.SOSAD (Save Our Sons and Daughters) is a charity that givessupport to anyone who is affected by suicide and depression.SOSAD encourages people to talk and raise awareness of suicide.I like working there as I get to meet new people and givesomething back to my community. I want to tell everyone it isimportant to take care of yourself especially your mental health.So remember,Think Happy Thoughts!

First Aid Classes KildareBy John Seery and Bridget Dignam, Kildare

Some of the people attending services in RehabCare Kildareasked to do First Aid in our centre. The staff arranged this withthe RehabCare Training Department. Trainer Tony Doyle camedown to our centre and he did a day of First Aid training withus. Tony showed us how to preserve life by checking to makesure the scene is safe, shaking the person gently, calling for helpand checking for signs of breathing. Tony showed us how toresuscitate a person and how to use a defibrillator. Tony taughtus how to treat cuts, burns and broken bones. We practicedCPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) to music on the first aiddoll called Annie and we practiced bandaging each other. Tonyshowed us how to help adults and babies if they are choking.Staff supported us during our First Aid training. We learned a lotfrom Tony and we also had great fun.

First Aid with Tony


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Wooded walkBy Mairead Naughton,Galway CityThis July one of thestaff asked me if Iwould like to go outor a drive to Menlo byhe river Corrib. Two

of us said we wouldove it because the

day was lovely andwarm. When we gothere, we couldnt geto Menlo Castle so we

went for a long walk down a wooded pathway. Thesun was lovely through the trees. It was a relaxingeeling. We took some photos of ourselves and the

place itself. It was very nice and interesting. I wouldhave liked to stay longer but we hadnt much time tospare. Ill go back!

Social Farming ProjectBy Jimmy Clarke, Bailieborough

Every Friday I take work

on a social farmingproject. I get to workon a local farm inBailieborough. I do lotsof different things likewatering the plantsn the tunnel, looking

after the vegetablesand feeding the pigsand sheep. At theminute we are tryingo make the farm more accessible so we are building

a wheelchair ramp from some wood. We are alsogoing to make a picnic table. I love working outsideand love the different kinds of work I do on the farm.

Whats Good for your Head?By Hugh O Connell, Phoenix, Bray

We decided to have aWhats Good for yourHead? week because it wasmental health month inMay. The group had an ideaof painting a wall duringthis week, but with a twist.One painted wall the groupdid was painted in the formof a jigsaw. Each personthat contributed paintedtheir own jigsaw piecein their favourite colour.

In each jigsaw piece people wrote different things and actions that weregood for their mental health. A few examples are; my dad, getting out andabout, music, thinking positively, singing, family, the sound of waves, funnyfilms and jokes, art, chilling out, massage, lie ins, being nice to people andreflexology.

Why did we do this? To make us more aware of our mental health. If wefeel down we can look at the wall and see what makes us feel better. Thispainted wall will be there for a long time which means people will havesomething to cheer them up, always.

RehabCare Mental Health Support ProjectProject team: John Murnane, Michael Dinan, Bernadette Lavery, JohnMurphy, Timmy O Connell, Phil Browne, Marian Maher, Oliver O Brien

A group of eight people attending Shannon Resource Centre worked withthe Quality and Standards Department on a Mental Health Support Project.Our aim was to figure out a way to support individuals within the serviceswho are feeling low in their mood or upset and anxious. We also wanted tofigure out good ways to learn how to have good mental health.

The things we discovered are;

h It is important to have a few supportive people to help maintain good mental healthh Hobbies, interests and exercise are importanth Relaxation is important and very good for your mental healthh It is good to try to stay positive and to treat yourself by going on holidays or on a triph You can learn positive sayings and use good memoriesh Its good to know who to talk to and where to get helph There is a template in it for making a booklet with a list of local supports services.

We really enjoyed the group sessions. We found the sessions verybeneficial. It was simplified using easy to understand language. The draftdocument was easy to read. Our project has been piloted in Bray, Galwayand Kildare. We hope it works well for everyone.

Reexology inLongfordEvery week HelenaCorrigan attends theAbout Bawn Holisticcentre in Mullinalaghtafor a Reflexologysession. Reflexology issuitable for back pain,migraine, digestiveproblems, stress, sinus,BS, infertility, hormonebalancing, depression and many more conditions.

Helena appears to enjoy her visits to the HolisticCentre very much and sits patiently for around half anhour to enjoy this treatment.

Mairead Naughton

Helena in Bawn Centre

Jimmy Clarke Hugh OConnell

Health and Wellbeing


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Dance Classes at Sl NuaBy Mairead, Martina, Masie, Eammon, Dympna,Margaret, Marie and Gweneth, Monaghan

We, the Sl Nua group, recently had sixweeks of dancing classes. Our teacher wasfrom Castleblayney, she was brilliant. Welearnt so much from her and enjoyed everymoment of it.

A group of us go social dancing everyWednesday night at a local hotel. Theclasses have given us so much confidence.We now take part in dances called theSlush dance and the Siege of Ennis.

In the past we did not have the confidenceto try out these dances. Our jiving andwaltzing has also come on now. We willinvite our teacher back later on in the yearas we cant wait to learn more.

Music Makes Me Feel GoodBy Carmel Ryan, Kilkenny

n RehabCare I do singing practice for thenter-centre league. I enjoy singing withhe group. The names of the songs we areearning are; Blue Moon, The Tide is High,

Blueberry Hill, I Got You Babe and Whata Wonderful World. The theme of thisnter-centre league is The Royal Family.

My favourite song is Blueberry Hill. Agentleman plays the keyboard when thegroup is singing. I also enjoy listeningo the group singing and I always likeistening to Irish music.

n RehabCare, I write songs into my songbook as I like to learn the words of Irishongs that I like the best. I like to sing

along to Johnny Barry on KCLR radio stationn Kilkenny. And I like to record songs

on my mobile phone and listen to them.Music and singing make me feel happy

and helps me to enjoy my life!!!

Feel Happy / Feel Good

By Sinead O Neill, KilkennyI eat healthily. I eat fruit and vegetables. Itry to drink water whenever I can. I go toCurves three times a week and I drink dietdrinks and eat salads. I walk my dog everyday and I go swimming too. All thesethings help my clothes fit better and mostimportantly make me feel healthy andgood.

Food and Health CourseBy Shaun OBrien and Paul Adams, Portlaoise

We completed a food and health course with the centre. Weearned that eating the right foods is good for you. The dieticiancame and told us things like how much sugar there is in coke

and she answered any questions we had. Our tutor taughtus how to cook different healthy dishes and how to choosehealthy foods. The dietician also taught us how important foods in keeping your heart healthy and how to read the labels onood packages. We really enjoyed this programme and we even

cooked some of the recipes at home!!Left: Paul Adams receiving cert for Food & Health CourseRight: Shaun OBrien

Liz Kemple in Tesco

My Work Experience in TescoBy Liz Kemple, CarlowI worked every Tuesday afternoon in Tescofor a month. I was very happy with whatI was doing. I worked on the computersand scanned items through the till tocheck prices. Another job I had was toput security tags on expensive items. Inthe clothes department I arranged thesizes and tidied the items. I was also

shown how to do a till lift which involvedremoving cash from till and placing it in aspecial shoot. I operated the self servicetill and learned how to use the securitycameras too. It made me feel great.

Slimming worldBy Caroline Smyth, Quayside, DundalkI joined Slimming World in August. I wasreally nervous and really excited about joining for the first time. It is a differentway of eating healthily and learning to gofor the healthy options. You are allowedfifteen syn to use every day. You have tomeasure your milk which is 175ml everyday and weigh your cereal. It starts early;you have to stay for the meeting to learnthe different syns. Next Monday we arehaving a taster morning in SlimmingWorld and after it we walk back down toRehabCare resource centre.

The Fit WalksBy Lisa Kelleher, Phoenix, Bray

do the fit walk every Tuesday afternoonwith the other clients and staff. We gooutside the centre to get some fresh airnto our bodies. We do our stretches before

we go on the walk for an hour. I feel goodafter the walk is over, I feel fitter andhealthier.

This year we trained for the SponsoredWalk in Glendalough. The walk was 9kmon rough ground and a lot of it was uphill.m glad we did all that training otherwiset would have been a lot harder.


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Trip Advice-or

Glencar WaterfallBy Lily Lavin, Ballinamore

In July Mary Foley, AineGuckian, Marie McHugh,Thomas McConnell andmyself went on a tripto Glencar waterfall innorth Leitrim. It was areally lovely sunny dayand we had great fun. Itwas thirty two degreesin the car at one stageduring the day! We leftthe centre after our cupof tea and a scone. Our

first stop was Glencarwaterfall; we took somepictures of us beside thewaterfall. We had a colddrink and biscuits for asnack before we headedback into the car. Westopped for dinner in arestaurant in Dromahairon the way home. We

really enjoyed our dinner and the portions were very generous.We stopped in Drumshanbo for an ice cream on our way back toBallinamore because we were feeling so hot in the car.

We arrived back to the centre in time for our bus. We reallyenjoyed our day.

My visit to LondonBy Gearoid Lightholder, Ballyfermot, DublinI am 51 years old, I have only ever travelled outside Ireland toLourdes many years ago and that was my first time on a plane.I have had this dream to go to London for so many years. I lovetravelling and I like to say I am quite adventurous. I want tosee new places and learn about different cultures. I made it toLondon and it was a dream holiday. The trip lasted for four days. was very excited and had huge expectations because I had hearda lot of positive things about it.

A few months ago I went into town to find a good travel agency.I found PAB Travel. PAB told me that in order to secure mybooking Id have to put a deposit down for my holiday so I begansaving. I put money away every week in the credit union.

On the day I left my house early and got a taxi to the airport. I

arrived at the airport and went to the shop to buy coffee and abag of sweets to eat on the plane. Then I checked in my suitcase.My flight was a bit delayed so I had to wait.

I arrived, got off the plane, had a smoke and went back insideto ask where I could buy an Oyster card for the underground toRussell Squads. I got off the tube and asked for directions to theRoyal National Hotel. The hotel was absolutely fantastic! I had aEnglish breakfast every morning and the staff was nice to me,they helped me with information whenever I needed it.

I did most of my tour on my own. I did a long walk and visitedloads of nice buildings like the Household Cavalry Museum,Westminster Abbey, St Pauls Cathedral, Kensington Palace and

Wimbledon Royal. They were awesome! I saw Buckinghampalace too. I saw Phantom of the Opera which was so fun; therewere great actors and singers in it. The theatre was so beautiful,and people were dressed up nicely. The atmosphere wasabsolutely great! I really recommend going to a musical in Londoits nothing like theatre at home, its a thousand times better.

At the musical I met a lady. Afterward we went to a cosy little baand had a chat. She seemed like a really kind person. She toldme that her parents are from Ireland but she was born in London.She was very excited to have met an Irish man. We had a fewdrinks and listened to the music. She asked me to visit Londonagain in August next year and gave me her email to reach her.

On my last day I went shopping. I got home in the evening.It was nice to sleep in my own bed again, but four days wasdefinitely not enough. I would like to go back again!

Our day trip to the Share Centre LisnaskeaBy Linda Friel, Liffordn July we went on a trip to The Share Centre Lisnaskea, County

Fermanagh. It was a long journey from Lifford but it was a lovelyun on the bus. We went out on the Inish cruiser boat trip acrosshe Fermanagh lakes. We got beautiful weather for our trip andhe scenery was lovely. We saw a castle, swans and other boats.

After the boat trip we had a BBQ. We got burgers, chicken andalad. It was lovely.

The Share Centre is a lovely place and I would certainly like goback again and I would recommend it to my friends for a goodday out. My ight to the Aran Islands

By Martina OConnor & Mairad Naughton, Galway CityIn June the staff organised a day trip to the Aran Islands becauseone of the guys wanted to fly in an airplane. We left the centrein the morning and travelled by bus to the airport in Inverin,Connemara to catch the Aer Arann plane.

It took only ten minutes to fly to Inismr. The plane was tiny; wehad to get weighed before we got on! It was a lovely day. Wewent to a hotel to have something to eat. Then we went for awalk, did some souvenir shopping and took some photos of theisland. We got the three oclock plane back to Inverin. We wereback in Galway at a decent time.


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Jolly boys day out

By Darragh Moore, Park House, DublinI recently went to Carrickmines shopping centre, with the supporof Park House. Those who went on the trip were Joe, Pat, Owen,Bobby and me. It turned out to be a bit of a lads only trip andwe had a great laugh. I was desperate to get some new t-shirts,and Joe needed a memory stick from PCWorld.I went to a sports shop first of all and found out three things;

1 The clothes are very expensive2 I am not sporty3 The music in the shop was not to my taste. So...I left.

We all met up for lunch. We found a really nice place called TheVanilla Pod. They had the most amazing chocolate brownies,man-size brownies! We all had a laugh sitting around chattingand eating. In the end I found a shop called 53 degrees Northwith some cool t-shirts that I liked, and as a bonus, there was asale on too! The staff was fantastic and made the trip a wholelot easier.

Tea at the rasBy Mark Halpin, Patricia Farrell and Sheila OConnell, Ballyfermot

We went on a tour of ras an achtarin. Upon arrival at theras we got a lovely welcome and were treated to the nicestea, coffee, lemon cakes, fruit cakes, fruits, chocolate and biscuitserved with fresh cream and a strawberry topping. It was

yummy!

We were shown around the building by a member of the AideDe-Camps staff, John Gorman. He had a great sense of humour.We learned about the history of the house and the presidentswho have resided there. We learned that one of the latepresidents had a disability. We marvelled! The Aras has no roomor discrimination! On one table there was a present from theate John F. Kennedy from when he visited Ireland in the summer

of 1963. It was emotional because his charisma and greatpersonality made Ireland a popular country all over the world,may his soul rest in peace.

We were told that only one president died during his term inoffice. The maximum term to serve as a president is fourteenyears while the minimum is seven years. President MaryMacAleese was the first president from the North of Ireland andher mission was building bridges between North and South. Hererm in office saw the first visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland.

Unfortunately we didnt get to see the President as he wasunavailable!

The second part of our trip was to the visitors centre where wewatched two films; one about ras an achtarin and anotherabout the Phoenix Park in general. The Irish name is Fionn Uiscewhich means clear water. We learned about the history of thepark and the sports that are played there. After the visitorscentre we went to The Boat House Cafe for lunch.

We also went on a guided tour of Farmleigh House. The houses used to accommodate heads of state who visit Ireland. It is

owned by the Guinness Family. Queen Elizabeth, Barack Obamaand Prince Albert of Monaco have stayed there. We were notallowed in the bedrooms; however, we were told the house has

wenty suites on it. It was very enjoyable and we wouldnt mindgoing again!

Bailieborough Horse Riding ShowBy Kenneth, Damian, Teresa, Gerard, Rosie, Jimmy, Bridget & Catriona,Baileborough

Every Thursday eight of us gohorse riding in Kells EquestrianCentre in Carlanstown, Co.Meath. In the group are:Kenneth Wallace, Teresa Rahill,Rosie Reilly, Jimmy Clarke,Bridget Reilly and CatrionaFreeman. Damian Grall andGerard Denning do stablemanagement each week aswell. We have been going since2011. We used to be nervousabout getting up on the horsesbut now we are trotting aroundthe arena like jockeys!

In July we organised and tookpart in a showcase at the arena.We invited our families andfriends to the show. We showed off all our skills to the audienceon the day. We showed how we can mount and control thehorses around obstacle courses as independently as possible. Wealso trotted, did balance activities, relay races and dismounting.We were very proud after the show and our audience was veryimpressed by what they saw. We were all presented with arosette at the end of the show.

On the day we also got to show off all our new riding gear our jodhpurs, riding boots, gloves and half chaps. The owners of theequestrian centre held a fundraising day and bought all this gearespecially for us with some of the money they raised.

After the show we had lunch at the equestrian centre and ourfamilies and friends got to meet the staff at the equestriancentre. They got a guided tour and a chance to meet all thehorses too.

Catriona Freeman


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Bike Club BallyfermotRehabCare in Ballyfermot won an Innovation Award in 2012. Wewon 1,000 and with this prize money we started our Bike Club.

We put a sign up list on the notice board in our centre. Therewas keen interest in learning how to cycle. We are lucky to beocated beside the Grand Canal which has a fantastic bike pathinking Lucan all the way through the city to the Grand Canal

Docklands. With only 1,000 and many bicycles needed, includinga tandem bike for an individual with a visual impairment, weneeded to find somewhere suitable to purchase the bikes. Rotharare a company based in Dublin, who refurbish old bicycles tosell on. They were interested in what we were doing so theyagreed to provide six adult and one tandem bicycle for us. Thebicycles arrived in May. In the meantime we prepared by doing

a programme on road safety and the responsibilities of a cyclist.Please see some testimonials for Bike Club below;

enjoy Bike Club as it helps with weight loss and gets me out of theDay Service for a few hours every week; I called my bicycle MichaelBuble after my favourite singer. Terri ONeill

look forward to Bike Club every week and am happy to take part in aprogramme that keeps me fit and in shape. Sean Cleary

The Day Service invested in a tandem bicycle for me as I am visuallympaired. I love Bike Club and getting out for 2 hours every Tuesday

morning, I also love the feeling of the fresh air in my face when on the

bicycle. At first I was quite nervous as I am unable to see and had toput all my trust in the staff member who was on the tandem bicyclewith me and guiding it along the route. Patsy Dunne

We head off on our bikes after morning break around 10am on aTuesday and I think it was the best idea for a programme in the wholeentre. I was very happy when it was first mentioned at a House

Meeting and could not wait to sign up; we cycle for miles each week. Gearoid Lightholder

am 47 years of age and have not been on a bicycle since I was a child,o I was delighted. I invested in a helmet straight away and got out

onto the bicycle almost immediately. People in the local communityhave seen us all cycling and we are now known by people for our bikelub. Derek Keogh

f you want to set up a Bike Club in your area contact Ballyfermoton 01 626 9979.

Sports Brieng

Tag RugbyBy Gary Burton Phoenix Bray

I play Tag Rugby everyMonday with Bray Lakersand the Leinster Academy.First we do our stretchesand run around the field.Then we put on our shortsand tags. Then we sortourselves into teams byputting one team in redtags and the other in bluetags. I like playing tagrugby, it makes me fierce,

fast and strong.I have gotten a few trys. Its a great sport to play and Ialways have a good laugh with my friends and the coaches inBray. I would love to play a match against the Leinster teamin the Aviva Stadium. Bring it on!

Gary Burton

Sports DayBy Catriona, Gerard, Teresa, Damian & Jimmy, Bailieborough

In June we had our regional sports day in the ClaremountStadium in Navan. We brought our banner with us and wehad a parade with the banners along with everyone else.We did some warm ups before we all got competitive. We alltook part in different activities like bocce, penalty shoot outs,pool tournaments, bingo, draughts, wellie throwing, egg andspoon races and knock the cans. Gerard Mckitterick won amedal for the wheelchair race.

After all of these activities we had built up a great appetite.We all got on the buses and went to the Ardboyne Hotel fora lovely dinner. There was a raffle after the dinner too. Themusic started and we all found some more energy to dancethe evening away. The line dancing group showed off theirdancing for everyone too. We are looking forward to seeingall our friends again next year.


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Horse RidingBy Eimear Furlong, Portlaoise

I love horse riding. I go a couple of times a week. I even won amedal for my show jumping. I went to the Dublin horse showwhen it was on. I went to look at the horse jumping and to lookat the horses jumping over the wall. Each time the horse hit offthe wall the people at the RDS had to make it bigger. One horseat the horse show had a clear round and won the show! Wewent to see the scurry with the horses attached to the carts.They had a race to see who could win and finish in the fastesttime. I really enjoy going horse riding; I get to spend time withmy friends.

PaintballingBy Fergal OConnor, Galway

1. A group of us wanted to try paintballing

2. We booked a place in Loughrea3. We got dressed in camouflage soldiers uniforms4. We got around 200 paintballs each5. We split up into two teams6. It was really fun7. Wed all go back another time for sure.

Galway Paintballing group

Inter Centre Competition 2013By Fintan Kearns, Carlow

Each year the inter centre sports take place with teams fromRehabCare Carlow, Clonmel, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexfordaking part in a variety of activities. This year there was a poolournament, a quiz, bocce and a creative writing competition.

The pool tournament was held in the Ivy Rooms in Carlow. TheCarlow team won seven out of eight games. The team memberswere Larry Nolan, John Sheehan, TJ Knowles and John Langton.

was asked to referee some of the games and was delightedwith the honour, as I had never done anything like this before.The quiz was held in Clonmel. There were 5 members on each

eam. Forty questions were asked and Carlow scored thirty eightout of forty! Team members were; Fintan Kearns, Brigid Delaney,Paul Collins, Elizabeth Mc Hugh, and Jackie Stout.

The bocce competition was hosted by Kilkenny and Carlow gotfull points overall. This was a great achievement by the team.The team included Sean Skelton, Marie Fennelly, Paul Collins,Larry Nolan, Michael Mc Gough and Karen Cullen.

The entries for the creative writing competition were sent toWexford for judging, the theme was My Favourite Holiday.Clonmel came first in this competition.

When the results were added up Carlow were announced theoverall winners. It was worth putting in the effort. It goes toshow what can be achieved when people pull together as aeam!

Fintan Kearns

Bray LakersBy Belinda Flynn, Phoenix,Bray

My name is Belinda. Igo to basketball trainingevery Wednesday nightwith Bray Lakers. I trainwith my friends. Its myfavourite sport. I playin the womens SpecialOlympic basketballleague. It makes mefeel good mentally and

physically.I also play tennis andtable tennis. I get tenniscoaching in Greystonestennis club in Wicklowand I play table tennis inthe Brady Centre in Bray, County Wicklow. The Brady Centre is name of the Bray Lakers clubhouse. This has been named afterthe woman who started Bray Lakers.

Im part of the Hip-Hop dance, Drama and Keep Fit groups too.I participate in six activities throughout the week. If I could not

be part of these activities and club I would be sad. Being part ofBray Lakers makes me feel happy.

I hope to still be a member of Bray Lakers when Im 80 years ofage!

Blenda Flynn


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The Art ofFunBy Niamh OConnor,

ClonmelIn early 2012 wecame up withthe idea to holdan exhibitionin Clonmeland Cashel toshowcase the artand craft talentsof RehabCareClonmel. Monthsof planning

and organising followed. Each personsubmitted two art pieces each for the firstexhibition and one for the second. TheArt of Fun exhibition 2012 was held inOctober in the Clonmel library. Everyonechose pictures from postcards, calendarsor things in their lives that inspired themin some way. I displayed eighteen toysby my favourite designer Alan Dart plusa few baby items I had knitted and twopaintings.

The Art of Fun 2 exhibition was held forthe month of July in Cashel library and afew new paintings and knitted items wereadded to the collection. I added a queen ofhearts and a lucky leprechaun.

LifeBy Eileen Gormley, Galway

Life is like a liftBecause it has ups and downsAnd life can be like a wheelBecause it goes round and round

There are people who are happyAnd people who are sadBut if you don't take life too seriouslyYou will find it's not so bad

Life can come in many shapesAnd many sizes tooPeople have their choicesAnd different points of view

Some make life very difficultLeading to problems and troubleOthers like to stay awayAnd get out on the double

Some people like to make peaceAnd hate to argue or fightThey take time to relax and be calmAnd not get so uptight

We all have emotions and feelingsThere is laughter and there are tearsThere is happiness and sadnessAnger, Hopes and Fears

Life can be so very mysteriousAnd it doesn't make much senset can either knock or build up

Your self-confidence

You can have your own opinionsOn various subjectsBut always be awareThat there are those who will object

f you find you've made a mistakeLife gives you a second chanceSo if this happens to youEmbrace it, laugh and dance.

Inishgrove Shannon Art CollaborationEarlier this year John Murnane and Michael Dinan, who attend Shannon Resourcecentre, worked on an art project in the Inis Grove childrens residential service inEnnis. Inis Grove selected their favourite colours, shapes and designs and decidedwhere they wanted them placed in their rooms. John and Michael worked hardcreating exciting, colourful murals on the bedroom walls. The children in InisGrove are now waking up to delightful scenes of farm yards and sea scapes. Thebright colours and colourful characters have contributed to providing an environmenthat is a pleasure to behold!

Creative Endeavours

Niamh and Mai OConnor at exhibition

Crafts on display at Art of Fun

My AdventureBy Patrick Connolly, Monaghan

In June I went to the Tanagh OutdoorEducation Centre with some others fromthe centre. The staff was very supportiveand encouraged me to climb the indoorclimbing wall. They helped me to put onmy harness and explained how to climbsafely. I climbed to the very top firsttime and felt really proud; it was a greatchallenge for me. The staff supported meback down and it is something I wouldlove to do again.


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My Own CDBy Liam Nolan, Kildare

love singing and I love music. I

always wanted to make my owncd. I went down to RehabCaren Waterford because they have

a recording studio there. I sangSweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. Ihad to sing it a few times before Igot it right.

Then I recorded it and made my CD. At first I was nervous buthen I heard myself on the CD and I felt great. I couldnt believehat I could do it and have my own CD. I thanked the gang in

Waterford and played my CD for everyone in Kildare when I got

back. I also played it for my mother when I got home. Everyoneold me how good I was. My CD will be played on KFM, our localradio station. I am very happy that I made my own CD.

Liam Nolan

My dream cometrueBy Nuala Rooney, Drogheda

I went to Mallow, CountyCork on holidays. It wasone of my goals to visitDavid Willis, the artist, todo some painting withhim. I attended his paintingworkshop along with eleven other students. I had a great day. Iwas so happy to meet David, he is a lovely man.

I painted a beautiful painting with oils which I will alwaystreasure. I hope to go again next year.

Nuala Rooney

CrochetBy Emma Coster, Bray

I started learning how to crochet in class in the Bray centre. Avolunteer named Jill taught the class. I liked learning how tocrochet and it was good for my head. After Jill left I asked thestaff if I could do a crochet class and staff said that would begreat! I got names of people who would like to know how tolearn crochet and I went on the internet to get stuff on crochetand I taught staff and clients. I taught the crochet class for sixweeks and I liked teaching. In crochet class I made flowers,blankets, hats, a scarf and a headband. At the moment I amdoing a class on crochet in the afternoons on Wednesday whichis part of our hobbies time.

I can teach people how to crochet and it makes me feel happy!

Emma Coster

Mermaids a short storyBy Alastair Quinn, Bray

These mermaids were two beautiful good-looking girls. Youmay call them creatures of the ocean, but really their beauty is

prettier than that. They swim like fish underwater flapping theirtails, and when they feel tired, they rest themselves on one ofthe high rocks talking to each other before they start swimmingagain. That is until one of them sees something in the distance.

A young girl is in trouble, her foot caught in seaweed. She istrying to regain her strength to break the seaweed but she cantbecause the water is too deep to reach down. She cant keep herhead out of the water. The mermaids come to her rescue, one ofthem stops her from drowning by swimming down to her anklesand gently lifting her ankle and breaking the seaweed. The othermermaid carried her in her arms out of the water on to the sandand one of them stroked her gently, she coughed out water.One of the mermaids put her hand on her face and told heryoure safe, we rescued you, you will be alright, and she said Iwill, thanks for saving my life. One of the mermaids gave her a

gentle kiss on her heart and gave her a wish that mermaids arethe prettiest of the ocean.

The reason I write poems and write about beautiful mermaids isbecause it relaxes my mind and helps me to be creative; it helpsme to create beautiful songs as well.

Alastair Quinn


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NRAC News

Message from Michelle Joyce, Advocacy OfcerHello everyone,

Welcome to the NRAC section of News and Views. Here you will find out about the new National Committee and about everythihey have been doing since the election in March.

We would like to thank the previous NRAC National Committee from 2011- 2013 for their commitment and hard work over their and to congratulate the newly elected committee. In this article you can find out a bit more about each member.

t is important that you have a voice within your service. We are delighted to let you all know that we have a new Advocacy Officand her name is Joanne Nelligan, she is working in the South East, Mid-West and South Regions.

Many thanksMichelle

Messages from NRAC National Committee Members 2013-2015My name is Aidan Hogan, the recently appointed Chairperson of the National NRAC Committee. I would like to thank those whome onto the committee I was pleasantly surprised and delighted at the prospect of being in a position to help and support peoplearound the country.I am fully committed to doing my very best in this new role. I sincerely hope that together we can all make adifference. I would like for people to realise that they have a voice, and my goal is to have that voice heard.

As your Chairperson, I attended the People of the Year Awards in September. It was a really great event and it was exciting to seepeople who have made a real difference. I watch it every year and it gives me great hope and inspiration for the future. I will be in

ouch with you all later and I hope to visit as many centres as I can in the future.Aidan HoganChairperson, NRAC National Committee

From left to rightback row:Marian Coneely,Kitty Tumelty,Seamus Sex, JohnMurnane and NeilusONeill

From left to rightfront row:Francis Ducie, FionaFriel, Aidan Hogan,David Moore, HelenShiletto and PeterDoherty

Message from Joanne Nelligan, Advocacy OfcerHi All,My name is Joanne and I started work with the Advocacy Team in June. Over the last number of months I have visited a lot ofservices and met many of you. I will continue to do this in coming months and I look forward to meeting you all soon.


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Message from Francis DucieThere was a conference hosted by theNational Disability Authority and TheEuropean Parliament Information office inreland - An associated event of the IrishPresidency of the Council of the EU on the24th May 2013 in Croke Park. I enjoyed theNational Disability Authority Conference. Iound the whole day inspirational and the

speeches made me think I could make adifference.

was particularly delighted andmpressed to meet Sinead Kane who wasesponsible for encouraging David Blunkett

o come over to the conference from theUK. I also enjoyed David's speech.

One item in particular which I foundastounding was the speaker from theEuropean Union Agency for FundamentalRights who informed us that in somecountries people with mental healthdifficulties do not have the right tovote! Another speaker from the VincentianPartnership spoke very well of their workor the less fortunate.

am delighted to be a member of NRACand look forward to attending moreconferences and meeting politicians. I metMairead McGuinness who had lunch at myable and spoke to me. I look forward to

using my voice as a member of NRAC todispel preconceived ideas about mentalhealth difficulties.

Francis DucieVice Chairperson, NRAC NationalCommittee

Message from Kitty TumeltyHi, my name is Kitty Tumelty and I haveattended RehabCare in Athlone for the last12 years. I like going to RehabCare to seemy friends. It means a lot to me to getvoted onto the NRAC National Committee.

have wanted this for years. Thank youo everyone in the North East Midlands

Regional who voted for me.

represented the NRAC NationalCommittee at the EPR conference in Dublinwith Michelle. I would like to go to moreconferences.

Message from Fiona FrielI started on the National NRAC Committeein 2011 2013 and it ran for two years,then I got re-elected this year 2013 foranother two years. It was an exciting timeto hear if your name was called out andonce again I was all pleased with myself.

I am the secretary for the NRAC NationalCommittee. I take down all the minutesand email them to Michelle, I travelindependently once a month to themeetings and I enjoy it.

Im also involved in a programme run by

RehabCare called Iplanit. This means thatyou can put your PCP (Person-Centred Plan)all on a computer online and I also enjoydoing that.

Fiona Friel Secretary, NRAC NationalCommittee

Message from Helen ShilettoIn April 2013, I, Helen Shiletto, was electedonto the NRAC National Committee. Before

being elected, I put my name forward inmy centres house meeting in RehabCarein Kilkenny. All the clients and staff in mycentre were happy for me to go forward forthe NRAC committee. At first I was nervousand excited because I was not expectingthis to happen to me. It felt good thatpeople wanted me to go forward. Onthe Election Day, we went to Dublin tocongratulate Mary Nora Curran on the goodwork she had done over the years. It wasa good day we had tea and scones in themorning. Then Michelle Joyce talked abouthow the last years committee got on. Itwas very interesting. Mary Nora Curran gotan award for the good work she has doneover the years.

After this I was elected for the committee.I hope that I will do good work. I will tryto do my best. I was surprised when myname was called out - I feel very good tobe on it.

I look forward to talking about the issues

like what people in RehabCare shouldbe called. I am interested in talkingabout new staff interviews, the budgetsand finances, water rates and disabilityallowance.

Message from Peter Doherty My name is Peter Doherty. I am from TheAshlawn Day Centre in Castlerea CountyRoscommon. I have been secretary ofthe local NRAC Committee for a numberof years. I then decided to put my nameforward for election to the National NRACCommittee and I was successful in mybid. This happened in the Ashling Hotel inDublin on the 12th March 2013.

So I now represent the concerns and viewsof service users in the West/Northwestregion. After a while on the National

Committee we had an election at nationallevel. I put my name forward as ViceSecretary and after a vote I was elected asVice Secretary of the National Committee.

It is a great honour for me personallyand for RehabCare Castlerea. I would liketo thank my local committee, externalfacilitator and all the staff at Ashlawn DayCentre in Castlerea.

Message from Neilus ONeillMy name is Neilus ONeill, I am forty-five.I am from Tralee, Co. Kerry. I first startedwith RehabCare in Blennerville in April2012. I started attending the servicebecause of lack of motivation and interestdue to mental health problems. I gotinvolved with NRAC almost immediatelyat a local and regional level and, in March2013, I was elected to the national NRACcommittee.

We are working on a number of issuesat present within the committee such asa pre-budget submission and a surveyon how the service users would like tobe addressed. I am also involved in theImmersion Project; this project looks atfocusing more on individualised services.

I have recently been involved in pilotingthe Recovery Star at RehabCare and I amalso involved with The Kerry Peer SupportNetwork. I do some volunteer work with

the Tralee mental health association. Myhobbies are reading and playing the guitar.


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Message from MargaretConatyMy name is Margaret Conaty and Iattend RehabCare Resource Centre inCavan. In March 2013, I was elected tohe NRAC National Committee. It was

a great achievement for me and I wasvery surprised to be elected. I have beenelected from 2013 to 2015.

Every 6 weeks I go up to Dublin and meetwith the other members of the committeewhere we discuss different issues. Thereare about 12 of us on the committee. Irepresent the North East Region and Intend to do my best. Michelle Joyce helpsus with each meeting and I think Michelles very efficient and good at the meetings.

feel it makes me very independent goingup on the bus to Dublin and getting aaxi from the bus station to Roslyn Parkn Sandymount. I enjoy getting tea and

dinner in Roslyn Park. Thanks to everyonewho voted for me I really appreciate itand I will keep you all in my thoughts andprayers.

iPlanit Consultation 2013RehabCare is introducing iPlanit to all services. iPlanit is a way of planning on a computer. It is for people who attendRehabCare services and it supports them to have; More empowerment - Helps put the action into planning by creating a live, up to date, transparent view of progress shared between support team members and the individual/carer. More control- Gives individuals control of what information is recorded and who gets to see what. Individuals can also safely share their plans and related multimedia content online Increased Participation- Allows an individual to easily track and provide feedback on progress on actions and outcomes.

Make individual support plans come alive with rich, intuitive multimedia functionality. Individuals can personalise the pla with their own multimedia clips and images.

Four members of NRAC were part of a consultation group on iPlanit. This is what NRAC National Committee memberMarionConneely from County Galway had to say about it.

I found the day good and interesting. The training was at a slow pace which helped me understand it. I found it easier tosee the information on the screen compared to the computer. I feel that the folders are a waste of paper and ink and aretime consuming to find information in. I dont have my own email so I would look forward to using the messages in iPlanitto communicate with people in my contacts, e.g. my physiotherapist. I like that I can add pictures to my action plan and themore times I practiced it in the training the easier I found it. I prefer to personalise my plan on the iPlanit rather than myfolder. I did not really find anything from the training day difficult and I know if I was to have problems with it in the future

that I can ask staff for support. I would like for our centre to do the iPlanit plan.

Message from David MooreMy name is David Moore and I am fromDundalk, Co Louth. I got voted onto theNRAC National Committee and I wantto do my best for everyone. I am withRehabCare for two years and I attend threedays a week. I help to cut grass in thecommunity, I play football in Oriel Park andI play pool on a Friday afternoon. Keep upall the good work committees have beendoing. I will do my best for the North EastMidlands Region.

Message from Seamus Sex My name is Seamus Sex and I got involvedin NRAC National Survey. I was part of aworking group that designed the surveyon what term or name people prefer tobe called. At a house meeting wheneveryone was there I read out the surveyand it explained why we were doing this.In RehabCare Kildare we have already sentour survey back to Michelle.

Message from JohnMurnaneHello my name is John Murnane, I go toRehabCare Shannon. I like reading andenjoy gardening, we have an allotmentin Shannon which I go to two or threetimes a week and we grow organicvegetables.

Thanks so much for voting for me I reallyappreciate it very much. I hope to be agood support for people and to take yourviews to the NRAC National Committee.

Before I got elected onto the NRACNational Committee I got involved in anEmployment Working Group, this wasa working group made up of staff andpeople that use the service. We met forseven months and produced some verygood documents. I enjoyed being partof this group. The first few times I hadstaff support to the meetings in Dublinbut I gained confidence to do this on myown. Now I travel independently to all

meetings in Dublin.

NRAC News


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Employment Working Group 2013NRAC has been working with RehabCare as part of an Employment Working Group, which is looking at ways of improvingemployment opportunities for people who use RehabCares services.NRAC members from around the country were involved in the Working Group. Here are some thoughts from two members.t was good meeting people from other RehabCare services from counties around Ireland. I felt welcome in the group. We all talked about what it

was like for people who dont have work. It made me think about how much I like having my job and how important it is to me. I think it is goodor people to get work in their community. I think the handbooks we worked on will help others get work. At the end I spoke about the working

group with Laura Keane and I felt confident doing it. It was a very good experience and I am glad I got involved.Rachael Treanor, Dun Laoghaire

liked getting involved in the Employment Working Group when I was a National Committee Member last year. I wanted to help people withdisabilities to get paid employment and to work with RehabCare to support this to happen. We worked very hard and made decisions together.

felt very involved in the Working Group and I gave a few good ideas. At the minute I am on work experience on a farm one day a week. I likeworking on a farm but my goal is to be in paid employment and working with people with disabilities.Shane Loughlin, Cavan

1 Day for Rehab in BaileboroughWe had our 1 Day for Rehab in July. We were very busy in the centre the days before thmaking cakes for our cake sale and getting the centre ready. We had a barbecue withloads of food. We also had quiz sheets, a raffle & a game to guess how many sweetswere in the jar. We had a great turn out on the day & the centre was very busy. We haddonations on the day from The Bailieborough Womens Group who collected money fothe centre and also from Patrick Fox who had done the ducking chair at the local festivain aid of RehabCare. We had great support from the local community and we raised 770.

Tullamore Autism Resource Centres Sponsored Walk 2013Staff and service users of the Autism Resource Centre, Tullamore took part in asponsored fun walk on Friday the 12th July at Charleville castle and grounds, Tullamore.The walk was in aid of the Resource Centre and The Dogs Trust, Dublin. A number of people who access the Autism Resource Centre chose to support the Dogs Trust charityas well after they completed an animal welfare programme in 2012. We raised a total o 630 for them.

(from left to right) Back Row: Paul Byrne, John McGrath, Andrew Moore, Niall o Leary Doyle, CatherinMolloy. Front Row: Joe Lawless, Linda Dolan, Vera Conroy, Charlene Kennedy, Breda Tynan.

NRAC News / Fundraising Fun

NRAC ActivityBy Park House, Dublin

On May 9th, Laura Keane, the Director ofHealth and Social Care, RehabGroup visitedPark House at the invitation of our NRACcommittee. Laura was given a tour of thebuilding and spent the morning viewingour current projects and meeting many ofhe people who attend our service.

Laura Keane and Owen Callanan,Park House NRAC Committee

member


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Boxty like my Mam used to makeBy Paul Maguire, Ballinamore

When I was small my mam used to

dress me in old clothes and I would helpher to make boxty for Halloween. Thiswas a tradition in Leitrim. One day Iasked my key worker if we could makeboxty in the centre. We made it with aew other people and we ate it for break

on Halloween. At my next meeting Isaid that I would like to learn how tomake Boxty for my tea at home.

Some others were interested so westarted learning. We were talked to

about safety in the kitchen as I dont cook at home. Now I knowhow to be very careful in the kitchen. I wasnt good at peelingpotatoes but was good at grating them and I liked frying thembest of all. After each programme I ate a pan in the centre andbrought the rest home for my tea. Sometimes I shared it with mysister at home but I usually ate it all because I really love it! Mysister is going to help me make it one day at home.

When we were having 1 day for rehab we made boxty and soldt at the cake sale to raise money. I was very proud to be able to

sell it for fundraising.

Dee House Summer BBQWe held a barbeque for our residents, families, staff and friendsof the service. We raised 320 and hope to purchase an iPad

for our service users to be able to access Skype and Face timefor communicating with their families far and wide and formultisensory activities.

The activities included bean bag toss, giant jenga, charades andan interactive quiz and lots of craic! The food included burgers,sausages, lots of salad and homemade desserts. We were luckywith the weather as we have been most of this summer! Wewould like to thank all those who donated raffle prizes theyinclude: Lucan Golf Club, Dunnes Stores, Odeon & IMC CinemaTwomeys SuperValu, Centra & Bray Bowl.

It was a great success and plans are in the works for the nextfundraising event!

Dee House barbeque

Fundraising Fun

Bakes and booksBy Park House, Dublin

In June, staff and service users joined forces to organise a cakeand book sale for One Day for Rehab. This event was generouslysupported by our neighbours in the Stillorgan Grove area andraised 430.

5K Fun RunBy Louise Gilbert, Resource Centre, Dundalk

We organized a 5k Fun Run in aid of RehabCare and the SimonCommunity. The run started from the Marshes Shopping Centren Dundalk. Five hundred people took part. The money raised

went towards the Garden Project. People of all ages, from youngo old, took part. There was a great atmosphere on the day. Theunners all had to wear a tag on their ankles. The tag clockedhe time it took them to complete the race. The local Argus and

Democrat newspapers took lots of photos.The participants were all very proud of their achievement. Theday was such a success it is hoped it will run again next year.


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Green Projects

RehabCare Swimathon and 5KBy James Mahon, Longford ResourceMy name is James Mahon. I attend the Autism Resource Centre

n Longford. I love being active and I like going on walks andusing the outdoor equipment in the local park called The Mall.like to keep fit and I am a member of the Longford Arms

Leisure Centre. I enjoy going swimming twice a week with theResource Centre staff and service users. I joined Special Olympicsswimming this year; I go to this every Monday night.

took part in the Rehabcare Swimathon this year and I enjoyedhis. I like doing 5km walks. I have done two 5km walks with

my key worker Mary. I also did a 5km walk for Rehabcare withmy sister Ann.

Swimathon

Eco / Green agBy Sean Mills

Last time we talked

in our green flagclass we decidedto do a project.This projectinvolves differentparts. I got theposition of beingproject manager.I have to collectdifferent kinds ofinformation aboutthe environment

and make a folderout of it for our green flag project. We learn how to care for ourenvironment by recycling our waste in a systematic way.

First we separate our plastics, paper and our cans into differentbins. Then we collect the waste we bin and put it into separatebags using the same method. By reducing reusing and recyclingwe are making our environment a much prettier and safe placeto live. We will have our assessment for our first Green Flag in thnext couple of weeks!

Jamie & Sean working on Green Flag

GREEN TIPS

ENERGYBray Resource Centre

h First, ask yourself, where does the energy to power yourcentre, home etc., come from?

h Turn lights off after use.h

Replace old bulbs with CFL energy saving bulbs.h Turn off electrical appliances when not in use andremember if your television or computer is on stand by, it isstill using energy.

h Try to walk, cycle or use public transport whenever you can.h Turn your heating down a few degrees; it will save energy

and money!h If possible try and use other sources of energy, wind, solar

or hydro.h Try activities that only require brain and physical energy,

like, reading, running, singing, walking and board games etc.h Take part in Earth Day (April 22nd) and only use necessary

energy for one whole day.h Check out internet sites such aswww.seai.ie,www.energyireland.ie andwww.ecounesco.ie for more tips, information and advice.

Radisson Horticulture Programme in CavanRehabCare Cavan has been helping the Radisson FarnhamEstate Hotel in Cavan to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs forthe lovely Pear Tree Restaurant in the Hotel. Every Monday,Wednesday and Thursday we head out to the polytunnelwhere we weed, water and plant produce. Each week the chefvisits us and plans what we will grow and collects food for therestaurant. We have sampled our own food in the restaurantand its very tasty!

GREEN TIPS

Help the Environment (General)Dundalk Resource Centre

h Use a lunchbox and a reusable drinking bottle to reduce wrapping waste h Reuse your plastic bags over and over again h Use rechargeable batteries h Visit your local recycling centre to learn more h Create a compost heap for egg shells, tea bags, fruit peel, garden cuttings h Take clothes you no longer want to a charity shop or charity

bank h Grow your own fruit and vegetables to decrease your carbon footprint h Share your top tips with your local community!


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ECO-UNESCO Sustainability AwardBy Alice Jackman, Alan Finlay and Tommy Brown, Bray

Our garden was part of a project to achieve the Silver ECO-UNESCO Sustainability Award. The previous year we won the bronzor our recycling and energy saving schemes and this year we wanted to go one step further.

We made an Eco Recycling Garden with reused materials including tyres, welly boots, pallets and old wood. We used an old barro collect rain water at the side of our new shed (unfortunately we could not find a recycled shed) with a down pipe and a guttero catch the rain water. We reused the tyres to grow herbs and potatoes and built raised beds out of the pallets to grow our other

vegetables including rhubarb, carrots, onions, pumpkins and beetroot.

The Garden was a big project! We needed some money to buy our plants and vegetables. The Eco committee wrote a letter to thecentre manager to see if we could get some money to start off. Thankfully we got some money to spend on the garden from all thhard fundraising done and money received from an innovation award we received the previous year for earning our Bronze awardAlice Jackman took care of the budget and paid the Woodies Bray staff with a cheque after we picked out the vegetables and planwe needed as well as some garden tools.

After a lot of hard work, seeing the end product of the garden was a great feeling. The garden can break up the day and afterwatering and weeding the garden it looks neat and tidy. We feel good and satisfied when we look at the garden. There is a sense oachievement to see the plants growing and to see the garden taking shape. It's good to be out in the fresh air doing the garden. Itsgood for your health to have an on-going project, to plant and re plant the vegetables and to start it all again next year. Its importo keep reusing recycled material.

We have started to use some of our vegetables like onions and rhubarb in our cookery class and have started to use some herbs aswell. Anyone is welcome to pick from the garden if they want to add something to their lunch.

The second part of our submission to eco-unesco was our craft work in our craft class where we put together old chairs and tableshat were second hand. We decorated these chairs by sanding, varnishing and painting them. We hope to raise money for RehabC

Bray by selling our furniture at our craft fair in October. In May this year we received word from ECO-UNESCO that we had achSilver Award!

Green Projects


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Supporters Corner

Interview with Padraig Walsh, Behaviour Therapist, RehabCare.nterviewer: Eileen Gormley, Galway

What is Behaviour Support?

ts really exciting work that focuses on improving a persons quality of life and reducing the times where they use behaviours thachallenge to communicate or cope with life. Behaviour Therapists try to find out why a person does what they do? We look at howeam can support a person. This can include things like changing where they are spending time or the things that they do every da

We can teach people different ways to communicate or look at changing their living arrangements.

How does Behaviour Support t within RehabCare?

This is a really good question! Many of the people in RehabCare referred for Behaviour Support have a need for a specific kind ocommunication. Or they might need different emotional and environmental supports. Behaviour Therapists are helpers. We helpamily members, key workers, day service staff and residential support staff. This help might include training them, meeting withhem to find good ways to support people to improve their quality of life. Sometimes we see big changes in peoples lives after w

make some small changes but often our work takes longer and a lot of hard work from a team of people.

Where are you from?

am from a place called Bunbrosna in Co. Westmeath. Famed for twinkle toed set dancers and footballers, it is nestled between 3akes and along the main Dublin to Sligo road.

How do you unwind and relax?

Just like a dog needs a walk every day, I need to keep as physically active as possible! I love water-sports. I play Gaelic Football wBunbrosna in the summer and Rugby with Garryowen in the winter which is a difficult balancing act but I really enjoy both. I recgot a bike through the Bike to Work scheme which Im getting lots of use out of this summer. I also did the Connemarathon last A

love reading and listening to music. My favourite bands at the moment are Stevie Wonder, the Jigsaw Jam and Joy Division.

Why did you study to become a Behaviour Therapist?started off by doing a degree in Psychology at NUI Galway and continued by completing a Masters degree in Applied Behaviou

Analysis. I have always been curious about human behaviour, why we what we do and how we can help each other when we havedifficulties. These courses let me explore my curiosity more and gave me the skills and qualifications to work in Behaviour Suppcontinues to be a rewarding job. Each day presents new challenges and opportunities to learn more about human behaviour.

Padraig Walsh visiting Rocfield house


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Africa Day Park HouseThere was a splash of colour about the place in June when staffand service users donned African dress and ate traditional Africafood. Staff members from Africa kindly lent their traditionalAfrican outfits to others to try and also cooked delicious Africanfare Akara (fried bean cakes) and Fried Plantain (a type ofbanana).

Left: Catherine Gerety in traditional African dressRight: Harry Elliott, in African Head gear and jewelry

News in short

Roceld Open Day!Rocfield Resource Centre, Newport, County Tipperarywelcomed visitors from far and wide on its open dayin August. The centre opened its doors to the public tofundraise and to introduce the service to the community.

The centre supports six people and facilitates their

engagement in community activities as well as promotingthe development of a wide spectrum of skills.

In addition to the family and friends of people attendingthe service many people attending other services aroundLimerick and Tipperary came along to offer their support.

With the help of a raffle, a card sale, a naming-chickenscompetition and some tasty treats, money was raisedwhich will help with the construction of a sensory gardenand a vegetable garden.

A big thank you to all who came and supported the centreon the day.

Open Evening in Lifford!We had an Open Evening and Celebration of Achievementsn July because we wanted to show the local community what

we have been doing over the years. We really enjoyed it, weiked our families and friends seeing our achievements and

what we enjoyed doing at the centre. We had to give a tour ofour centre to people in the community. We really liked meetingnew people. It was hard work getting the centre ready but wewere proud of ourselves and happy with our work. We hada traditional music band playing in our foyer and some of usplayed instruments too. We had food served and had a greatnight.

Paul Harte with other trad musicians

Left: Brian and Una HeffernanRight: Conor and Nora O Dwyer


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Doors to Elsewhere!In May of this year, we were lucky enough to hear from Tony Fegan who is from theDoors to Elsewhere Drama Department at Rua Red in Tallaght. Tony agreed to hold aneight week drama course for people attending our service for two hours every Thursdamorning.

The teamwork and confidence levels during and after the classes were through the roofand since the drama finished up in July, people attending the service are still talkingabout it and asking when they can return for a second Drama course.

The group put on a small production at the end of the eight week course and invited

friends and family along to see them perform. The response from those who came towatch was phenomenal!

If you want to try this out in your area, please contact Ballyfermot on 01 626 9979.

Farewell FintanBy Casla ResourceCentre

Our friendFintan Honanwho attendedCasla ResourceCentre diedn a tragic

accident earlierhis year. Aot of us wento his funeraln County

Limerick, it was lovely and his family spoke

very highly of him. We miss him becausehe was great craic and a friend you couldalways rely on. He was intelligent and kindand helped us to organise things. He waseven on a working group about jobs up inDublin.

Ar dheis D a anam

In memory of our friendMaureen Lennon (RIP)t was with great sadness in June that weearned of the death of our friend Maureen

Lennon. She was seventy eight years old.Maureen had been involved in NTDI andRehab for over twenty years. She is sorelymissed by all her friends in RehabCareAthlone. She was friends with young andold alike and will be remembered for hergreat personality and ability to speak hermind.

EQUASSBailieborough

RehabCare in Bailieborough were selected on the 23rd of May 2013 to take part inan Equass Audit. There was a great atmosphere in the centre that day. Wed all donedifferent tasks to prepare. Some of us got all our photos ready, the glasswork groupdid a fabulous mosaic and the centre looked great! We were all very proud.

The day arrived and we were very excited, there were a lot of people visiting ourcentre. We had our manager, Bernard Mc Veigh, Aveen Toner, the Regional Managerand Dinis Mota our interviewer from Portugal . Dinis interviewed some parents, agroup of service users and staff. We also had a lovely meal.

The glasswork group presented Dinis with a candle holder which was made fromglass. He seemed to love the present. We were delighted when we heard we hadpassed and we are very proud of our centre.

Maureen Lennon, centre

Fintan Honan


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Golf Classic in Nenagh!Nenagh Resource Centre held a Golf Classic in August in theNenagh Golf Club. The event began first thing in the morning.Thirty-two teams participated. Tee Boxes at every hole advertisedbusinesses in the area.

We were donated twenty-five graded Green Fee donations forpopular courses around the country as prizes. That evening SineaButler (Regional Manager) spoke about RehabCare services inNenagh and Donnacha Ryan, the Munster and InternationalRugby Player, presented twenty-five hampers to our raffleprizewinners. We raised 6,040!

Sign LanguageBy Breda Flanagan, Portlaoise

We did sign language with Nicola. We learned how to say helloand our name and where we come from. We learned how tocount and it is easy when you can do it, its nice to learn anew language. It will help if we meet people who are hard ofhearing. We can talk to them using sign language. It felt good tolearn a new language. I felt proud of myself.

Portlaoise sign language

News in short

Quayside opens its doorsBy Louise Gilbert and Una Mac Namee, Quayside, Dundalk

n May we held an open day to celebrate the move to our new

building in Quayside Business Park in Dundalk.Jenny greeted the guests and got them to sign the visitors book.After our guests got a tour of the building and saw all our lovelyprogramme rooms some of our members stood up and deliveredexcellent speeches.

We also had some singing and music. John and Rosemarieofficially opened our centre by cutting the red ribbon.Marguerite and Lauren cut the cake. There was plenty of niceood and tea. It turned out to be a very good day for us.

We love our new building because we can be more independentbeing on a bus route and within easy walking distance to town.We have noticed people are much happier in this new building.

Rosemary Sheelan and John Moore


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Next issue

Please think about whom youd like to see interviewed in theSupporters Corner.

We think our next theme will be aboutCommunity and Work

So get thinking about your articles...

Wed love to hear about your paid jobs, your voluntary workand any community involvement that you enjoy.

**************************************************Important:Please do NOT send us images within your articles, we needyou to send them as separate jpegs or we cannot print them.

Please check or get support to check your spelling andgrammar before you send in your articles. This saves muchtime and allows us to produce News and Views a lot faster!

**************************************************

National News

New DirectionsNew Directions is the governments proposed new way ofworking with people with disabilities who attend centres andservices during the day. It says that services must support you to

h Be a part of your community. Use community amenities to improve choices in how you spend your time and how you liv h Get specialised support throughout your life if you have severe and profound difficulties h Have a service that is tailored to your individual need and is flexible, responsive and person-centred.

Having choices, doing interesting and useful things with onestime, learning new skills, meeting people and enjoying theircompany these are things that most people take for granted.

These are the ordinary experiences that people with disabilitiestell us they want.

In RehabCare we work with you to achieve this through ourService User Pathway and our focus on community presence andparticipation. Let us know if you have any thoughts, commentsor suggestions on how we can continuously improve the way wework with you.

Charter of Rights and Responsibilities forpeople who use RehabCare servicesThe Charter of Rights and Responsibilities states how peoplewho use RehabCare Services can expect to be treated bypeople who support them and by others who use the service.The charter sets out rights that aim for people:

to be free from discrimination to have a high quality service from RehabCare

This Charter is there to help everyone to have a betterunderstanding of their rights when they use a RehabCare service.

n order to make sure that RehabCare is continuouslymproving, the charter is reviewed on an annual basis in

consultation with the NRAC Committee and Service Users inervices around the country.

The Charter has been developed through an extensiveconsultation with people who use RehabCare services,management and staff.

n 2012 service users involved felt that there was no needo make any changes to the existing Charter but someecommendations were made and put into practice followinghe review e.g. Services were to create their own individualisedesponsibilities section.

Copies of the Charter are also available in:

BrailleLarge PrintAudioComputer CD

The Charter Review Project is facilitated by the Department ofQuality and Standards in consultation with NRAC and Service UserConsultation Groups.

We are now in the process of carrying out the 2013 Reviewprocess. If anyone has an opinion about the current charter (whats good about it, what you would like changed to make it better?)

and would like to share their views I would be happy to hearrom you you can email me [email protected]


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If you would like further information on any RehabCare services inyour area, please contact us at:

RehabCare, Roslyn Park, Beach Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4Tel: +353 1 205 7200

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