Over the past couple of weeks, our teams have been bringing unwanted/unused items to the office to be able to help out where we can. A massive THANK YOU for all donations received that have now been sent to the Newcastle Polish Centre for the people of Ukraine. What a fantastic effort. And a special thanks to our very own wonderful Lisa Potts for collecting and dropping off. Amazing 
Kelly and Emily and the KEYFORT TEAM are supporting this amazing charity and would be hugely grateful for any support 
Share this post to raise awareness
Come along and do 39mins walking or 3.9 miles with Kelly & Emily
Make a donation
Make us a cuppa or feed us sweets ……..
because let’s face it we are going to need all the support we can get(!) Wed 9th February Queensway and Kingsway on The Team Valley, Kelly and Emily owners of KEYFORT are walking 2 mile loops til we hit 39miles#challenge39
KEYFORT are committed to helping the people we support get back into employment, and achieve their goals. Jordan is a fantastic example of this, and his team have supported him in being able to do voluntary work in a setting he loves. His passion and enthusiasm is inspiring, and this is the start of an exciting new chapter in his life. Everyone who knows Jordan will agree that he can put a smile on anyone’s face. Below is the article from the website of where he is doing his voluntary work – www.refusedurham.org.uk
In July 2021 Refuse received a grant from Karbon Homes, from their Community Grants Fund*, to “Make Volunteering Accessible” so we started the Access to Volunteering Scheme. This allowed us to fund 2 mentors to work for 8 hours each supporting volunteers 1 on 1 in the cafe. This has been incredibly useful for people like Jordan, who couldn’t access volunteering without a mentor’s support. Read Jordan’s interview below…
How did you first hear about the cafe?
J – My occupational therapist told me about it. I asked him to find me some voluntary work to help me get stronger and he found it for me.
Now that you’ve been volunteering for a while can you describe REfUSE in one sentence?
J – Amazing… It’s basically a charity cafe restaurant that takes wasted food from the big corporations like Tesco and ASDA and makes meals with it.
When you come to volunteer, what does a normal shift look like for you?
J – I clean the tables, barista, make and serve the coffees, basic customer service. I’m starting to use the till, I’m getting much better at that. Just be my own charming self really.
What are some things that might make accessing volunteering challenging for you?
J – I can’t really think of any challenges off the top of my head. The only one I would say is if it’s busier moving around the tables.
Would you feel up to telling us a bit about your disability?
J – I’ve got complete left-sided weakness, my whole left side’s knackered basically my left heel doesn’t plant on the floor so I walk with a bit of a wobble. I’ve lost complete use of my left arm, and I’ve got a thing in my vision called left-side neglect so I don’t see things on the left.
How do you find having a mentor work alongside you 1-1 has helped you access volunteering?
J – It’s helped me massively because Fran, my mentor, has really helped me settle in. She’s the best, I look forward to coming into the cafe just to see Fran.
For example, when you serve a customer what does Fran do?
JL – Fran’s there to kind of supervise and help me with the till if I can’t find things.
Were you nervous to start volunteering?
J – I was a bit cautious because of my disability with being on my feet for so long. It’s been such a long time since I’ve worked.
Do you feel like this has helped with your confidence?
J – Yeah, loads.
Do you have any goals or things you would like to achieve in the rest of your volunteering?
J – I’d like to be completely independent on the till.
Is there any advice you would give to a new volunteer?
J – Give it a few shifts and you will absolutely love it. Don’t be nervous, everyone is lovely. Thank you so much for being so accepting and taking me onto the team.
On 25th September, some of our team travelled to Birmingham to represent KEYFORT for the National Care Awards. We had two finalists on the night. Sadly no winners, but they are absolutely winners in our eyes and we are honoured and humbled to have them on the team.
John returned to KEYFORT after 10 years and has made a huge impact on the team and the people we support. He, without question, treats everyone with dignity and respect – and genuinely wants to make a difference to the individual’s life.
James has been part of the team for 10 years now (!!) working predominantly with 2 individuals, creating stability and continuity in their care. James is valued so highly by the people he supports and their families. He actually declined attending the Awards in person as he didn’t want to let down the people he supports. Incredible.
CONGRATULATIONS JOHN AND JAMES 👏👏👏👏👏👏
We are #teamgracehouse for the Great North Run 2021! Six of us are undertaking the challenge of the new route around Newcastle. Some of us have trained hard, some have not. But we will do KEYFORT and Grace House proud 
Sponsor us to help Grace House North East and give us the motivation to get our trainers on! https://ghne.enthuse.com/pf/keyfort-gnr
Please see this wonderful testimonial from one of fabulous team members, Jane Yale who works as a Specialist Mental Health Mentor in Liverpool.
‘’I have currently been employed with Keyfort for two and a half years and as a Specialist Mental Health Mentor and I am based in Liverpool, working within the various Universities. I feel privileged to be in a position where the continuing presence of hope, is always possible in order for the students to peruse their goals. 💕
In particular, my role essentially involves working with a student centred approach; by means of taking a holistic view of the students journey, as we work in collaboration to systematically overcome any barriers to learning and to re-set old patterns. I have a strong rapport with the students, as I can relate to any issues that they may experience and can offer realistic strategies to overcome them – humour also helps.
A memorable moment for me was when a student sent me a thankyou card stating that she had achieved a 2.1 in her degree, after experiencing one or two setbacks. We worked through them together and her confidence and communication skills had grown so much that she has decided to go on to study teaching. 💕
A typical day would usually involve myself and the student arranging a meeting at their University in a private room for around one hour, to review the work plans that we have set together and have a general chat about anything they wish to bring up. However, due to the pandemic the meeting are now arranged on zoom and has worked out favourably, as the zoom meetings allow for more flexibility. The meetings are completely confidential and are timed for usually around an hour, however the student is free to leave when ever they choose.
The managers are always supportive and the role of a Band 4 Mentor, has enriched my clinical skills and experience, in order to comfortably move towards becoming a Psychotherapist.
KEYFORT has many opportunities for development and growth!’’
We understand the importance of making sure we deliver safe care. Training is the key!!!
Here’s a snapshot of what we have been up to;
Developing our staff teams is key on the journey to making that real difference in the work that we do.
Watch our KEYFORT family walk, run and jump their way to 1,314 miles to raise nearly £500 for the amazing charity Grace’s House who inspire us with the fabulous work they do every day! Thank you to everyone who got involved and donated! 👏 💕
Check out this amazing guide for setting up additional support at University, by one of the students we support. After experiencing first hand all that goes into organising support, Olly wanted to share some information to help out anyone with additional needs who would like to attend University.
