News and Events

SUMMER NEWS:

LEISURE IN GENERAL

Once again this has been a very busy time for us all here at PACT which began with our youth clubs being presented the Michael Brooks Shield Award for our activity programme and support of International Day of Disabled People. The presentation took place at the Yew Tree Club where members of Michael’s family spent an enjoyable evening interacting and meeting young PACT members.

DCATCH

On the 15th March we held our latest parent group meeting with the DCATCH (Disabled Children’s Access to Childcare) team. DCATCH is available for families living in Barking and Dagenham with a child or young person up to the age of 19 with additional needs. The project offers support around career options for parents, it can help in obtaining the skills you need to find and keep a job, advice around benefits and support to find suitable childcare. As part of our development work here at PACT we have been working in partnership with the DCATCH team and students from Sydney Russell School, to develop a DVD which will highlight the services available for parents with children with additional needs in Barking and Dagenham. For more information about the DCATCH project please speak to Chrissy Phillips on 0208 227 5398 and quote PACT.

FOOTBALL

Our Thursday and Saturday football groups have continued to be popular and our members have enjoyed working on a number of new skills and games. PACT will again be taking part in the Marks Gate Football Tournament on the 19th June, so please keep this date clear, as we hope to enter three teams plus an adults men’s and ladies team as we did last year. More information relating to the times will be advised at the football groups, but if you are not a regular attendee at these and would like to take part please contact me at the office on email:- youthdev.pact@ntlbusiness.com

YOUTH OPPORTUNITY FUND (Autism Ambassadors)

At the end of March members from our older youth clubs took part in designing and then making a presentation in connection with our application for the ‘Youth Opportunity Fund’. The presentations took place at the Vibe in Dagenham and the decision panel praised the participants for their excellent presentation. As a result we are delighted to announce we have received funding to enable us to deliver a new project named ‘Autism Ambassadors’ which will be launched shortly.

LIFE PROJECT

We have received many applications to be part of the 2010 LIFE (Local Intervention Fire Education) programme in partnership with the London Fire Brigade, in which we will be participating in September 2010. All those who have applied for a space will be invited to briefing sessions and orientation meetings to be held prior to the event.

YOUTH PHILANTHROPY INITIATIVE (YPI) PROJECT

During this period we have been working with a number of students from Robert Clack School, who designed and made a presentation all about our services here at PACT. The students, Nyasha Hove, Omar Samuel, Jahrel Edwards, Hollie Ward and Stephanie De Assuncao visited the Ford Road Club to meet with our members and staff and also at our office, as part of developing their presentation and gaining an insight into autism. The students delivered their presentation to a panel of five independent judges at the school on the 28th April, following being short listed as one of eight finalists in the competition. We are delighted to announce that the students gave an excellent presentation about PACT and were selected as the winners of the competition, which resulted in PACT receiving a cheque for £3000 towards the development of our services for young people.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

We are now in the process of finalising our activity programme for the summer and autumn; this will include coach trips to Paradise Wildlife Park on the 4th June and Walton on the Naze on the 29th July. Booking forms for these events have been sent out and we have already received over 60 requests for places on both trips. Planning for Stubbers 2010 is also taking place at this time and we have received many applications for both the residential week and day visits, as a result we may not be able to meet the full demand and will be in touch with all families to advise what spaces we have been able to make available. We hope to be able to run another summer soccer school in partnership with West Ham United and also an activity day at Wellgate Farm, but as of going to press for this newsletter we are still awaiting final confirmation of the same.

DAGENHAM TOWN SHOW

We will again be taking part in the Dagenham Town Show this year and are looking for volunteers to help man our stand at the event. We would like to thank Chris Goodwin for designing a number of competitions for the general public to complete to promote autism awareness. Can any young people, parents or carers who are able to give up some time to assist at the show which takes place on the 17th/18th July, please ring me on 020 8220 0090 or email me at:- youthdev.pact@ntlbusiness.com

TRANSITIONS

We have continued to support PACT members and families at Transition, Connexions, school and college meetings. This support is vitally important to our members to ensure they are given the best possible chance and choice in selecting their current and future education and training programmes. This support has included supported visits to Havering 6th Form, Havering College and Barking & Dagenham College. Should any young member, parent or carer want more information on this service, please contact me at the office at youthdev.pact@ntlbusiness.com

WE WANT YOUR IDEAS & SUGGESTIONS

As part of our development plan for services for children, young people and families here at PACT we would invite all members to submit any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve our existing and develop our future services and activities. We will be holding in club sessions with members of our youth clubs and football teams, but would also welcome the ideas and views of members who currently do access these opportunities. Please either contact Keith at the office on telephone no. 020 8220 0090 or by email at: youthdev.pact@ntlbusiness.com

BEFRIENDING PROJECT

Hello,

My name is Amanda Heary and I am the new Volunteer Co-ordinator, some of you may already know me from the Youth Clubs.

I am setting up an exciting New Befriending Scheme, this will be a valuable service for families who live in the London Borough of Havering. If successful we hope to expand this project to other Boroughs next year.

What is a befriender?

A befriender is a trained volunteer who would visit the young person on a one to one basis in their own home.

They provide genuine companionship and can read to them, play games, chat and listen or help them to get out and about in their local area or the wider community. The project will have in place stringent policies and procedures to provide a professional, safe service for all involved. If you think a young person would like a befriender to visit them then here are some things you will need to know.

Referrals

Once referred, the Project Manager will meet with the family and complete a questionnaire form to help find the most suitable volunteer to match them with. They would then be placed on a waiting list until a suitable volunteer becomes available. The PACT Befriending Project will provide its service to young people with autistic spectrum disorder living in the London Borough of Havering aged 8 to 18 years Volunteers will be provided with induction training which means they will have a better understanding of some of the issues facing people with autistic spectrum disorder and clearly defined boundaries will allow the volunteer to be confident in their befriending role and offer the best support.

Volunteers Wanted!

We are also recruiting Volunteers for this Project. Do you or someone you know have a couple of hours a week to spare to befriend a young person affected by autistic spectrum disorder Volunteers will receive training including: