Our Newsletter

Northern Lifetime Newsletter

Issue 3, December 2024
Welcome to the third issue of our Newsletter. 

We appreciate that you work in separate teams, and often remotely from each other as well, so we'd like to share news with you from across Northern Lifetime via this occasional bulletin. 

It has been another rewarding year, with some people facing challenges and some achieving personal goals, and we are very grateful for the flexibility, team spirit and dedication shown by you all.

And with Christmas fast approaching, we truly appreciate the super efforts of our support worker teams. Its a unique time of year, with it's own special complexities and anxieties, and we thank you for helping make the client's run up to Christmas as enjoyable as possible. 
Welcome to Rebecca, Terry, and Mark

Rebecca has recently joined our case management team. She came into case management following her family experience of litigation. Rebecca previously had a career in teaching and is highly skilled in organisation, communication and helping people to achieve their goals.

Terry has recently joined us full-time, bringing his huge experience of Occupational Therapy and Expert Witness work with him. In fact, Terry chose the name Northern Lifetime some years back when he set up the company. You can find exactly how Terry came to choose Northern Lifetime on our website - you may not have guessed it, but the name is inspired by the lyrics of a famous 1980s pop song. 

Mark qualified as a Learning Disability Nurse in 2005. He became especially attracted by the multi-disciplinary nature of Case Management, and now has considerable experience in the field. He is very focussed on the individual and is a great believer in the soothing power of cups of tea.   

You've probably seen our job adverts on Indeed and Facebook, and on our website's recruitment page. Do keep an eye out, as we currently have three support worker vacancies, in Penistone, Mansfield, and Doncaster. There is also a new role soon to be advertised in Rotherham.
Image Conscious

So many websites these days use what are called stock images - ones taken by professional photographers of professional models. Maybe that's fine if you are trying to sell jewellery or aftershave, but it can't be just me who finds endless pictures of beaming models that have no connection to a company or its business, irksome.

As our outlook is so proudly Northern, I hope that it looks more welcoming and relatable if we use our own pictures across the website. 

It's therefore been terrific to have been have sent so many great photos to use on the website. In fact, we have a Gallery page on the site showing the original images - before I had to alter them to fit on the screen. 
The above two pictures are from our Case Manager Rebecca, near her hometown of Penistone. They are ready to appear on the website should the weather turn wintry again. 

If you have an image that you'd like to send in, keep in mind that they will need to be cropped roughly in the same shape as those above.

Lifetime Achievements


Looking back over the last five years that Northern Lifetime has been in existence in its current form, it's impossible not to be impressed by the sheer number of milestones that have been achieved by our clients. It is testament to their resilience and patience, but also hard work and dedication of their support workers.


Achievements come in all forms and sizes, and acknowledge the effort that goes into make them a reality.


We have seen all manner of milestones and achievements, from a client beginning their accountancy studies, another passing their GCSE's, and another their driving test.


One client has chaired their first MDT meeting, while another has ventured back on a holiday for the first time since their accident, and several others have taken the massive step of moving into their own homes.


Crossing one of life's stepping stones doesn't always come with a certificate, but they can be just as important. On the music front, a client has taken up the kazoo, while another has done her first DJ-ing gig. Another client is losing weight by becoming more involved in cooking their own meals, while another has taken up going to the gym.


   

  Heather on her all terrain power chair                            Mary's still life painting of cut flowers

Heather's all terrain power chair was delivered in the summer and has revolutionised the way in which she is able to move about. So far she has been testing it out near and far, including at Monkey World in Dorset.


This lovely still life was painted by Mary earlier this year. Since taking up painting she has produced several pictures that have since been framed, proudly hanging on friend's and family's walls.


Noted, with thanks

We know how difficult it can be switching over to a new system - especially one that is so vital and complex as record keeping. 

Our move over to digital record keeping by using the Log my Care technology and app, has been a great success.


We really appreciate the effort that you have put into adopting the new technology and trust that in time it will become even easier and more useful.

 



It would be great to hear from you





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My name is Richard and I'm the communications person at Northern Lifetime. 
If you have any inspirational client and/or Support Worker stories, ideas of what we can cover in the future, or even an unusual hobby that you would like to share, please do drop me a line at - richardgreen@northernlifetime.co.uk

The lovely image at the top of the page was taken by our Case Manager and co-founder Ella. It shows a crisp morning frost tracing the outlines of wild meadow plants.

Download the above newsletter in pdf form here

Download the above newsletter in pdf form here
Welcome to the first issue of our Newsletter. We recognise that our clients and support workers rarely get to know each other beyond their own support teams, and so we wanted to share news with you across Northern Lifetime, on the progress of clients, updates from other support teams - including recruitment - and to look at some of our cool and curious hobbies.
Going Down a Storm
You may be surprised what some of us have as hobbies. Case Manager Correen, for example, joined us in April 2022 and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than chasing a tornado.

She draws a direct line between her listening to the thunder and lightning as a child to her chasing the northern lights, climbing mountains and storm-chasing as a grown up.
 Case Manager,  Coreen Cetinturk
Correen visits Tornado Alley in the central USA, but ‘Storms build up and disperse so quickly you really have to be in the right area at the right time’ says Correen, adding that ‘We follow the data each day and head off
to the area showing the most activity’.

Even with the latest technology the chance of seeing a tornado is only about 30%. Even so Correen will usually see dramatic supercell thunderstorms, amazing lightning displays, and 'hopefully' will get caught in a super hailstorm of some kind.
 The are shaded in red is the USA's infamous Tornado Alley
The storm chasing companies have back up activities, as even in Tornado Alley there will be calmer days. Back up activities include exploring nearby national parks, visiting the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Tornado Museum, the natural wonders to explore of the prairies, or even Denver.

Has Correen been in a dangerous situation? ‘Erm, not yet, hopefully I will one day. I think that’s the thrill of it. Though I once did come off a snowmobile whilst driving at the top of a mountain on a frozen lake that wasn’t quite as frozen solid as they had hoped.’

Client and Support Workers - Save the Date!
You may have already seen our Save the Date invitation to our next social. It will be held on the 13th of June at Sheffield's Quay Hotel and we look forward to seeing you there in June. Please do let the office know if you can come along so that we can plan the catering. And don't feel left out if you live further North; we have a social gathering in the pipeline for you too later in the year, so watch this space... 

Gone to Grounds

Did you know that there are 92 football stadiums in English Football leagues - from the Premier League down to League Two? Our Support Worker Team Leader Lee Brown certainly does – he’s walked to every single one of them, virtually. 

 

Lee is a Support Worker Team Leader, father of one, and cancer survivor; and despite several surgeries, chemo and Covid, and while at his lowest ebb, he began a love affair with walking when he discovered lejog (Lands End to John O’Groats Virtual Challenge).   

 

Like many of us in these tricky times he re-evaluated what mattered most to him and how he wanted to spend his time, focussing on getting out into nature and the simple pleasures of walking, jogging and cycling.   

Lee Brown and his beloved Sheffield Wednesday. Photos from Lee and Sheffield Wednesday

Cue Lee and his son’s love of football, and in particular their support for Sheffield Wednesday, where he and his son go to watch games whenever they can. Lee bought his son a map of the 92 stadiums for Christmas ’21, and it sparked the idea of knitting together the 92 into a healthy and fun quest. 

 

And so he developed The Virtual 92 Challenge.

 

The idea is that every time you go for a run the distance is logged and added towards the journey length to the next football stadium on the list, until you arrive virtually triumphant from your 2,222-mile homage to the beautiful game. 

 

If you feel that you and your colleagues and clients might benefit from a goal to aim for, as it were, you can learn more and register at virtual92.com  

An Inside Job
You've probably already seen our job adverts on Indeed, Facebook, Twitter and/or our website's Recruitment page. If not though, do keep an eye on whichever suits best, as we currently have eight support worker roles on offer across six northern towns. We've hours from five hours a week to full time, which could be just right for you or a friend/colleague looking for some extra hours.   

It would be great to hear from you


My name is Richard -  I'm the communications person at Northern Lifetime and I've put this bulletin together.

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If you have any inspirational client and/or Support Worker stories, ideas of what we can cover in the future, or even an unusual hobby that you would like to share, please do drop me a line at - richardgreen@northernlifetime.co.uk

Also, we use our own photos for all the images on the website and if you have a shot that you'd like to be featured on the site (and the Gallery page too), do send it over. Scenic images of the North of England would be especially appreciated, roughly with 1,000 x 500 pixel dimensions.

 Download the above newsletter in pdf form here.

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