Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> Darran Gunter: Good morning, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, sorry I can't
be with you. I'm actually at the Fire Service College today. Some of the work that I do
for the fire and rescue service, I lead on some work nationally about leadership and
we're just launching a new leadership programme and today is the induction day for the candidates
for next year. I'm really sad that I can't be at LV=Streetwise this year, but Alison
suggested that I do you a video message. So I thought it wholly appropriate to give you
an update on Weymouth Community Fire Station, and where better than at the fire station.
I'm delighted that one of my volunteers is with me, Paul, and I've asked Paul (who's
actually staffing the reception desk today) just to tell you a little bit about the centre,
what's happening this week and about why he's volunteering at Weymouth Community Fire Station.
Paul…
>> Paul Hardy: I'm Paul Hardy, one of a group of volunteers here of about 12 or 15 of us.
Today I'm front facing to the public on reception. Among the tasks we have to do, is we set up
rooms for the public to use, we run a booking calendar to try and allocate the rooms as
the public wish to book them and basically make sure that all their requirements are
met, and IT requirements are met and that sort of thing.
>> Darran Gunter: So here we are, in one of our distress rooms at the community safety
centre - SafeWise. And in fact this venue is called FireWise. And what we do here (which
is very much the learning from LV=Streetwise) is we invite schools, we target particular
groups, we also bring older people here and we talk about the affects of home safety.
We talk about those hazards in the home. And of course you'd expect us to talk about fire.
But we also talk about for example, slips trips and falls. We also talk about security
measures that individuals should take. So what we are now doing at FireWise, is that
we're actually inviting schools to come here, we're sending them a letter (at the same time
we write to them about going to LV=Streetwise) and we split the schools into two groups.
And half of the group would do FireWise (which is a two to three hour session) and the other
half would do HealthWise - and I'll talk more about that later. If you've never been to
Weymouth, to SafeWise, to FireWise, I'd really recommend you come down and have a look. Because
this collective of "Wise" products (our wisdom) very much started with LV=Streetwise. And
in fact, just like LV=Streetwise, SafeWise (which is the charity that now runs Weymouth
Community Safety Centre) has got it's own board, which is run and chaired very ably
by Councillor David Harris. We've also got a number of groups under that board that look
at issues around governance, promotion, our new website and obviously income generation
because we are a charity. There's an awful lot happening this week, at both LV=Streetwise
and of course at Weymouth. It is of course National Anti-Bullying Week and for that reason
it's also Safeguarding Week. It's also Road Safety Week, and would you believe it, it's
also National Candle Safety Week. And what you can see in this room is in fact the devastating
affects of candle fires. Do you know for example that every year there are 350 casualties,
or seriously injured individuals as a result of candle fires. And 40% of all fire deaths
are usually attributable to discarded candles. So candle fire safety (just like any safety)
is really, really important for us. And it's through these means, through this immersive
learning, that we teach the individuals how to change their behaviours and have stronger,
healthier and hopefully longer lives.
>> Darran Gunter: So here we are, in a room of how it should look. I'm sat on my sofa,
and of course we bring the children, the vulnerable groups into this room and we talk about all
aspects of safety. We talk about for example, smoke alarms. Smoke alarms are fantastic as
long as they have a working battery, and they are sited in the correct place, and of course
that they are tested weekly. We also talk about seasonal issues around for example in
the summer it could be barbecues. In the winter it could be Christmas trees and overloading
electrical sockets. And of course we talk about the effects of smoking. Not only the
harm that that does you, but if you are a smoker or there are smokers in your home,
to make sure that you discard of your cigarettes very carefully. I'm joined now by Lesley.
Lesley's one of my members of staff, working very much with us and the Health Authority
and putting together a really interesting "Wise" project called HealthWise. And we have
just launched HealthWise. Lesley, could you just tell us a little bit about HealthWise?
>> Lesley McCarthy: Yes, certainly.
>> Darran Gunter: Let me just my cigarette out.
>> Lesley McCarthy: Year 5 & 6 children from locals schools (in fact the whole of Dorset)
are invited to come to Weymouth Community Safety Centre. And I take them into a staged
supermarket setup. We talk about age restricted products. Products that they can…
>> Darran Gunter: Oh! Lesley! I've obviously haven't discarded of my cigarette properly.
>> Lesley McCarthy: Oh! It's on fire!
>> Darran Gunter: Let's just make sure that there's no hazard there. Where is that cigarette?
Let me put that out. There's a message! Make sure that you put your cigarette out! In fact,
don't smoke. Sorry Lesley.
>> Lesley McCarthy: Ok, we talk about age restricted products. In fact we talk about
cigarettes and tobacco, the dangers that it does to your body. There's actually 4,000
harmful chemicals contained in a cigarette. So it's really not a very good choice to make.
Children that come in, that's exactly what we talk about. We talk about them taking the
responsibility of making positive choices, we talk about alcohol, not only the dangers
that it does to their body, but also the social aspect in regards to how it changes their
behaviour, it changes their perception of things. At the end of the day the message
that they get from HealthWise is to "stop, think and stay safe". It's about making positive
choices in their life. We talk about ways of resisting negative peer pressure. Obviously
children when they are 9, 10 or 11, are likely to be persuaded in some form from their friends
to perhaps try smoking. We try and encourage them to make positive choices to keep themselves
and others safe. It's all done in a very fun and interactive way. So we're passing a positive
message in a very fun and informative way.
>> Darran Gunter: I was fortunate that last week I was here and I sat in on one of your
lessons, and I must admit I learned quite a lot in the short amount of time I was there!
For example, I didn't know that there's no age restriction on buying things like Aspirin
and other kinds of drugs.
>> Lesley McCarthy: That's right, there's no legal age restriction on Paracetimols,
however it's unlikely that a child under 16 would actually be sold them in a shop. But
there is no actual legal age restriction. And again, talking about common products that
you buy in a shop, the safe storage, and also if people have got younger brothers and sisters,
about the safe storage of medicines and chemicals, cleaning products in the home. So it's a whole,
wide aspect of information that we try and get across to the children in the session
that they have here.
>> Darran Gunter: I know, I've observed it, and the children just have great fun. But
what we are now thinking of is how do we get the right message to older groups and other
vulnerable groups in our society. Lesley, thank you ever so much for joining me in my
home today. I'm sorry it's still not as safe as it should be, but hopefully…
>> Lesley McCarthy: And Tiddles!
>> Darran Gunter: Tiddles is still alive! But hopefully once I've been through SafeWise
my life can be a lot safer. Thank you ever so much for joining me.
>> Lesley McCarthy: You're welcome.
>> Darran Gunter: So here we are, in another part of Weymouth Community Safety Centre.
This is the cafeteria. Because when we educate people they obviously need fuel, they need
replenishment. I'm joined by Roxanne, who helps run Oh Crumbs the cafeteria. Roxanne,
do you want to tell us a little bit about Oh Crumbs?
>> Roxanne Merrett: Yes, we are based here very luckily. And we work with people with
learning disabilities, mental health, giving them an outlook into the real world. We keep
them for a while, and hopefully at the end of it they go out and get jobs from us. We
find it very worthwhile and we see them blossom and it's absolutely really, really good for
them.
>> Darran Gunter: You do all kinds of things here; sandwiches, cakes, lunches…
>> Roxanne Merrett: Oh yes, we go right down to roasts as well. We're doing a lovely Christmas
menu, we do outside catering, we do inside catering in the establishment. It's working
out very well for all of us at the moment. We're very pleased.
>> Darran Gunter: Brilliant, thank's Roxanne. I'll have an egg and chips! No, I'll have
a salad, sorry, a salad!
>> Roxanne Merrett: Oh, Ok, anything! Not a roast?
>> Darran Gunter: No! Not a roast! Thank you Roxanne.
>> Roxanne Merrett: Bye.
>> Darran Gunter: I'd like to move over to these ladies. I did give them a little warning,
and I'm not just cold calling. These ladies have been using the facilities here this morning.
Do you want to tell us a little bit about what you've been doing?
>> Facilities Users: Are we on?
>> Darran Gunter: You're on!
>> Facilities Users: We've been doing Tai-Chi. A beginner's class.
>> Darran Gunter: Is this the first time you've done Tai-Chi?
>> Facilities Users: About a year ago we started.
>> Darran Gunter: So you've been doing it about a year? And how do you find it?
>> Facilities Users: Very good. It complements the Yoga we already do.
>> Darran Gunter: Yoga! Is that here as well?
>> Facilities Users: No. They do do Yoga here.
>> Darran Gunter: And then you have a nice cup of tea?
>> Facilities Users: We have a tea and a chat and make it a nice social occasion. So it's
really enjoyable.
>> Darran Gunter: Fantastic! Well enjoy your tea and coffee ladies. And thank you ever
so much for appearing on my video message. Thank you.
>> Facilities Users: Thank you.
>> Darran Gunter: When we designed the centre, we got representatives from the local community.
And when we were looking at what type of facilities they wanted, I remember one day and elderly
gentleman said, "Well I really like to dance, so I'd like a wooden dance floor." And hence,
we have a wooden dance floor. So in this room, we'll have all kinds of groups; we'll have
Tai-Chi, Tai-Quan Do, martial arts, pilates. We have people on the other end of the scale
who have breathe easy classes. People with life changing illnesses, who really do use
this room. And it's quite inspiring. Quite apart from the wooden floor, the natural light,
the elevation, the views are absolutely fantastic. We've spoken about FireWise and I've spoken
about HealthWise. Let me talk about our future ambition, and that's RoadWise. Come with me.
So at the rear of SafeWise, Weymouth Community Safety Centre, we have a portion of land equal
again in size to Weymouth Community Safety Centre. We have, as you can see, already some
demountable classrooms that will actually be dressed as buildings. And what we're currently
trying to do is raise the money to actually put a real road in that area where we can
teach new drivers, young drivers, old drivers, people about to use the road, about the dangers
that the safe behaviours around road safety. It is our biggest cause of accidental deaths
and it's won a safety practitioners as the custodians of wisdom that we can have no excuse
not to do something about. So please, if you can, help us support the aspiration, the ambition,
the dream, of making RoadWise a reality. Not just for us, but for the safety of our communities.
Well, distinguished guests, laddies and gentlemen, there has been a fire, bit I'm one of the
lucky ones. I've been through LV=Streetwise, I've been through SafeWise and I know what
to do to get out. I will be with you next year. I will be safe. I'm just about out.
Thank you for all the support you continue to give LV=Streetwise and SafeWise. And have
a fantastic afternoon.