Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdowns, we’ve all been searching for new ways to keep busy at home. The people we support at Rivers residential care home in Worksop have shared with us some of the fun activities that kept them occupied during lockdown.

Jill’s lockdown project

Jill, a resident at Rivers, loves crafts and decided to start a new project in lockdown. Jill has a mild learning disability and Bipolar disorder. She joined Rivers in 2011 for support with day-to-day living and accessing the community. Jill likes to be independent and before the COVID-19 restrictions came into place, she used to volunteer at a local hospital. She has found the lockdowns difficult but has used her crafts to keep busy.

Since joining Rivers, Jill has always shown an interest in embroidery, knitting and crochet. She loves to set herself new challenges and during lockdown, Jill started a new cross-stitch project. She shared that this not only keeps her mind occupied,  but also helps with her anxiety. After many hours of hard work and two months of dedication, Jill’s masterpiece is now complete!

Jill has also used her talents to make pictures and cross-stitched rainbows. This was as a thank you to the NHS and key workers for all of their hard work throughout the pandemic.

Many people have faced personal challenges and struggles due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Jill found it particularly tough not being able to visit her family. She was fortunate to be able to see them just before Christmas for a socially distanced gift exchange. This was when she decided to gift her latest creation to her sister.

Steve, Service Manager at Rivers said, “I would like to congratulate Jill on her wonderful achievements this year during lockdown and express the feelings of all the Rivers team when I say a massive well done!”

The Activ8 challenge

Residents at The Rivers have participated in many different activities over the past few months as part of the Voyage Care’s Activ8 challenge. A toolkit was sent out to services with a collection of action packed and fun activities, challenges and prize-winning opportunities!

From Halloween fun and scarecrow making to festive fun and baking! Take a look at the gallery below for some of the Rivers’ highlights from the Activ8 challenge.

Residents at the Rivers particularly enjoyed taking part in the campfire challenge. They helped to plan and decorate a pretend fire using items collected in the garden. They then settled down to sing songs around the campfire.

The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous lockdowns has impacted many people. Deputy Service Manager Tracey Thompson told us that the Activ8 challenges really helped the people we support through a difficult time. She said “The idea of another challenge was something they all looked forward to. This helped relieve boredom and gave the people we support a sense of purpose with their time. It helped staff find innovative ways to support people to ensure the challenges were made fun, but also to encourage everybody to take part in some way to make everybody feel inclusive…the people we support now regularly ask if there are any more challenges to take part in, this shows the beneficial impact this has had on their lives”

Keeping you safe at Voyage Care

We remain focused on adhering to all the latest government guidance and advice relating to the global spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The health and wellbeing of the people we support, and our staff teams remains our highest priority. To learn more about what we are doing, visit our COVID-19 (Coronavirus) resource area.

Please note: This article is about events that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects the safety measures based on government advice during that specific time period. Please be assured that at all times, Voyage Care follows the appropriate COVID-19 safety measures to keep our staff and the people we support safe. To find out more about our COVID-19 safety precautions, please visit our COVID-19 resource area.

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• COVID-19
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