Snow means go for local care & support charity

08 January 2010 Snow means go for local care & support charity For the local support and care charity YOU, this snow-disrupted week has seen an unbelievable effort made by the 450 plus employees who work across the region. When over 10,000 peoples lives are at stake, it is not just a case of calling in and saying you’ll work from home, serious effort and desire has to be made and this workforce has it in abundance. When the snow hit on Tuesday evening and the severity soon became clear, the charity based in Portsmouth implemented its five-day emergency rolling plan to ensure that the 50 services they provide continued to run as normal and that the vulnerable people, including people with learning disabilities and mental ill health, continued to receive care and support. This plan, centred around a clear communications process and adopting a flexible workforce approach has seen a continued plateau of the charity’s 100% efficiency level maintained, something that many businesses in the region would love to boast this week. All staff have been receiving updates on a regular basis, giving them up-to-date weather forecasts, travel information as well as ensuring that they feel supported and valued, and Managers have all been receiving hourly updates on service levels and any resolved issues. The flexible workforce approach has seen staff, who live in Fareham but usually work in Portsmouth, go to their nearest service or office in Fareham and work from there (for example). Sally Hutfield, Director of Operations, who initiated the five-day emergency plan, said: “the quality our learning and development programme and the willingness of our staff to learn has enabled us to work in such a way, as everyone at YOU has such a vast skill set.” The organisation as also seen a huge commitment from its staff. There are stories of members of staff walking 2.5 hours in the snow to get to a client and others who have turned up at work armed with an overnight bag on the chance that they will get snowed in. "We're in this because going that extra mile and providing the best possible service is important to us," said Mandy Dickson, Manager of YOU’s domestic violence services. "We do this job because we want to make a difference and we will always be here for people, whatever the weather." Simon Crouch, Supporting People Coordinator for Fareham and Gosport, said: "YOU’s staff are an example to everyone and I'd formally like to thank them for ensuring a continuity of service delivery in the face of the disruption caused by the weather. They are very committed in their work and it's appreciated." -Ends- Words: 435 Image: YOU Staff in the snow For further editorial information about this press release or YOU, please contact: George Roberts Logical Creative Marketing 01329 825849 george@lcm.co.uk Notes to Editor YOU is a registered company in England (No 1898188) and is a registered charity (No 291489). YOU employ 450 staff and currently have a turnover of £13m, and in 2009 they were shortlisted as Charity of the Year in the Wessex Charity Awards. The care, support and advice services YOU provide are innovative and person-centred, and they help: ­ older people who need care or who wish to maintain their independent living ­ people who have a background of offending ­ people recovering from mental ill health ­ people with a physical or learning disability ­ people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or who find it hard to maintain their tenancy ­ vulnerable young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness ­ young parents ­ women and children surviving domestic violence ­ people who need specialist legal advice on welfare benefits, employment, housing, community care, debt or family matters For more information about YOU or to view the latest news and events, please visit: www.lifeyouwant.org.uk.