Gateway Family Services
Changing Lives, Changing Services.
We work to improve health, develop skills and opportunities and fight inequalities. We change the way public services work.
Getting Healthy and Losing Weight for the New Year
In November 2011, Susie* was referred to the Health Trainer Service through her GP surgery.
Like many, Susie was keen to lose weight, but with the festive season looming around the corner, she thought it would be a challenge to commit to any goals. Traditionally Christmas & the New Year would bring more sugary indulgences and larger portion sizes, not to mention the excess of wine.
Susie was allocated Keiran McKenzie as her Health Trainer. During the initial assessment on the 13th December, Susie told Keiran how she had previously struggled to lose weight and how her weight had increased over the last 2 years. She had tried cutting out chocolate, and even tried cutting out snacks after 8pm; all to no avail.
Keiran was able to listen to her problems and offer alternative advice on healthy ways to lose weight and improve her life. Susie embraced the advice given, and after setting herself some realistic goals, she was ready and determined to face Christmas.
Having enjoyed her Christmas season, whilst keeping to her goals, Susie returned in the New Year, unsure of what the outcome would be. To her delight, she had lost 3.2lbs, and is now even more eager to stick to her goals. This goes to show how healthy eating can in fact be just as enjoyable, whilst helping you lose a few pounds if executed correctly.
Well done to Susie and Keiran!!
* name changed to protect identity
You can’t damp-en our spirits!
It has been reported across the media this week, there is a shortage of houses across the country and an even bigger shortage of affordable houses which impacts on a large part of society, mainly those with little other choice. With homeless figures in Birmingham increasing by almost 20% in recent months, and winter upon us, it is imperative that people can access good quality, safe and affordable housing when they need it most.
Many of our clients are referred with housing issues, in fact over the last year over 40% of our pregnant women have came to us needing help with their housing situation and this number looks set to grow further.
Natsenet, a client originally from East Africa came to Gateway as she needed support with her English skills and was referred to ESOL classes in the local area. What soon became apparent however was how desperate Natsenet’s living situation was. Although she was lucky enough to have a one bedroom place of her own, the flat was full of mildew and damp and completely unsuitable for a mum to be as can be seen in the below pictures.
Natsanet’s problem with damp was so bad, paint and plaster (and the dust) were peeling from the wall
After contacting her housing officer, Natsanet was told that they were unable to help, with them blaming her for somehow causing the damp (!). Despite continually trying to get the help she needed, Natsanet was still no closer to getting the repairs she needed. After more continuous effort and rejection, trying to get some support through her housing officer, Natsanet turned to her Pregnancy Outreach Worker, Maria Hesson who called and called on her behalf, making the most of her experience in dealing with these organisations and trying to take some of the pressure off Natsetnet at such an important time in her pregnancy.
After many, many phone calls and lots of excuses, Maria managed to get hold of someone at the housing association and was able to tell them all about the situation, even showing them the pictures of the squalid conditions that this vulnerable lady was living in. Thankfully, they were happy to help, following the intervention from Maria, and they agreed to repair Natsanet’s house and remove the damp and mildew, even paying for Natsenet to stop in a hotel whilst the work was being carried out.
Natsanet, who has now given birth to a beautiful baby is delighted with her home now and feels that she can begin a new life with her child, something that she puts down to the help given to her from Maria, who received a text message from Natsanet a few weeks later, thanking her for all of her help.
‘No food for a week’ – support from Gateway
Our pregnancy outreach workers find themselves doing remarkably simple things to help women get the help they need for a healthy pregnancy.
Here Lynette is loading up her car with food donated by friends, relatives and staff at Gateway. This is common because we often find women who can’t afford to buy basic food.
We’re not alone in doing this. Food Banks are becoming more common. Fare Share is a national food bank charity which has a depot in Nechells – handing out food parcels. In September the National Lottery granted £425,000 to a the Narthex group in Sparkhill
A Big Lottery award of £425,000 to the charity Narthex Sparkhill sees a commitment to opening and running a five-year funded food bank in Sparkhill. The National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund, has made this grant to Narthex which will enable them to expand the work they are already doing amongst some of the most needy people in the city.
Sparkhill food bank project will address the needs of the most vulnerable within the community including people placed in sudden financial crisis due to change in personal circumstances leading to financial hardship and in some case destitution or homelessness.
Like us, the Ladywood Food Bank relies on donations from the public for its work across the constituency, plus donations from Tesco’s Morrisons, Sainsbury’s Cost-Co, Asda, Aldi, Farm Foods and other businesses.
Food is fundamental and the pregnancy outreach workers provide a critical link – they know when women are short of food and make sure they get the help they need.
Pregnancy Outreach Workers succeed in helping hard to reach young mums.
Gateway’s Pregnancy Outreach workers offer one to one practical and emotional support. They make sure vulnerable women access all the services and help available, resulting in healthier mothers and healthier babies who can be hard to reach. This is a typical case.
After Alison* found she was pregnant she was referred to the POW service because she was a teenager, she smoked and her housing was far from ideal.
She was very frank about her lifestyle, and her difficult childhood. She said she’d self-harmed while she was still at school, and that she’d used cannabis and cocaine ‘to forget’. Although she said she’d given up cocaine, she said she still used cannabis quite heavily.
It was clear Alison needed emotional support and practical advice. A Gateway POW helped her to access all the services and grants she was eligible for, and told her how she could reduce her intake of cannabis. A ‘Stop Smoking Clinic’ was suggested.
Alison said she’d rather try and give up by herself, that she’d cut down from 25 to 5 cigarettes a day and only used cannabis once in the evening.
Alison shared her fears around parenting and her doubts about being a good mother. The outreach worker tried to give her confidence and practical support, then, three months before she gave birth, Social Services got in touch with her. They said they’d been contacted about her cannabis use. She was really worried, but was given reassurance and told to be open and honest with the social worker when they visited.
Alison went to a support group at her local children’s centre and Gateway’s outreach worker visited her at home until she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
On the day she left hospital, Alison was again visited at home by Social Workers. They drew up a 6 week care agreement with her and said if they had no cause for concern at the end of it, they would close her case. She followed the care agreement, and when the 6 weeks were up the social workers were satisfied. She continued to breastfeed, and said that after her daughter was born she didn’t use cannabis at all.
With support, Alison made a distinct change in her attitude to life. She now plans to devote herself to her baby’s early years, and then commit to full time study for a career in childcare. Alison said she considered the POW her ‘pal’, and said the help and support she got made a real difference.
*not her real name.
Gateway Pregnancy Outreach Workers help 4000 women
Gateway Family Services Pregnancy Outreach Worker
In areas of Birmingham where babies are at high risk, our outreach workers are making a real difference. The sooner a pregnant woman is seen by health professionals the better – but there are many reasons why they don’t make that vital first appointment. Travel problems, anxiety about dealing with doctors, childcare arrangements, and language issues are just some of the reasons they given – but they’re reasons our outreach workers can help with.
POWs primarily support pregnant women with a low medical risk and high social risk. Our POWs have real life experience of issues that can affect these women because they have a real good understanding of their local communities – that’s where we recruit them from and their experience is more important than any qualifications.
They’ve been offering home-based, practical support – and sometimes they just listen, but their work improves the life chances of newborn babies.