Humansolutions Bulletin - January 12th 2017

The Cancer Challenge: Coping with Cancer When Someone You Love is Diagnosed by Hannah Mann Learning that someone you love has cancer can be a devastating experience. It can generate a wide range of emotions and leave you quite unsure about what to do. You will want to be supportive, of course. But what will help? What are the things you shouldn’t do in case they are perceived as unhelpful or inappropriate? This practical guide helps you to think through the issues involved.  Click here to read more

Sadly, I have known several people who had various things they were keen to do when they retired, but died either before being able to retire or soon after they retired. What I learned from that is that I really must make space for the things I want to do and do them sooner rather than later. Putting all the eggs in the one basket of retirement is a risky strategy. But it isn’t just about retirement – the issue is broader than that. It is likely, for most of us, that there will be things that we are not putting on hold for retirement, but we are not getting round to them either. This is more than everyday procrastination…

Modern life can be challenging and, at times, stressful. Young people are struggling to get on the property ladder while the so-called ‘sandwich generation’ has to juggle supporting both children and elderly relatives. It’s no surprise that the difficulties of balancing workplace demands and personal lives is becoming an increasing problem. Changing demographics and demanding jobs are contributing to a vicious cycle, which starts with a gradual build-up of stress and sleepless nights, leading to underperformance at work, absence, and ultimately, long-term sick leave. A recent report titled ‘Breaking the Cycle‘ highlights the potent combination of both professional and personal stress, revealing that one in four employees have taken time off work due to stress in the last year -…

Charities working with women released from prison say that some are breaching their parole conditions or committing further crimes so that they will be returned to jail – because their lives on the outside are so bleak. Many of the women seek a return to prison because they have nowhere to live, fear an abusive partner or have unmet mental health needs. The trend – which is particularly notable around Christmas – highlights what campaigners say is a chronic lack of concern for the women’s welfare upon release. “Christmas is a really difficult time if they haven’t got family,” said Joy Doal, who runs the Anawim project in Birmingham, which helps female prisoners. “Many have come from care and have…

From a startup tackling isolation among the rural elderly population in Devon, to a veteran organisation working in a number of northern towns and cities, social enterprises are playing a part in meeting the growing need for social care services across the country. In a recent survey, 10% of social enterprises listed social care as their principal activity. But why are they involved, and what are the benefits for staff and service users? Many say it’s because of financial and demographic pressures, but also policy changes in recent years, notably trends towards personalisation and social value. Leading Lives, a Suffolk-based co-operative and social enterprise, won Social Enterprise UK’s Health and Social Care Award in 2015 and provides care for adults with…

Getting involved with World Autism Awareness Week (27 March–2 April 2017) will change lives. We are asking you to raise money and awareness so that as many people as possible learn about autism. So we will quiz, bake, walk, collect… Until everyone understands. Click here to read more