Magic Memories

Aim

To enable children with disabilities to partake in Sensory Stimulation, to make 'Magic Memories '

The Jolly Josh centre is under construction, a fully inclusive, accessible centre which will become a hub for those with disabled children in and around the Borough, the centre will include the Borough's second only 'Changing Places' (an accessible bathroom with adult size changing bed and hoist facilities) and a hydrotherapy pool to provide physiotherapy sessions and family fun swims. Our Multi-Functional Room will have ceiling track hoists, our centre will house specialist accessible equipment/seating and the latest technology to support our families. The Jolly Josh 'place to call home' will be a meeting place for the disabled community and their families, whereby NHS professionals, services and other charities visit to enable our families to connect, support and thrive.

What is the work and why is it needed?

Our mission is to enable families who have a loved one with additional/complex needs, disability and/or Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities to ‘Connect Support and Thrive.’ Jolly Josh aims to ‘Inspire Inclusion.’

Just two years after the launch of Jolly Josh’s first ever session, our families were invited to a ‘Mystery Meet’, alongside the Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale in November 2019 to be present for our much-awaited announcement. We were incredibly excited to publicise that we now have the keys to our own venue! This venture was first discussed in 2019 after celebrating our 2nd Year Anniversary and has moved forward swiftly. The long-term goals which we once only dreamed of achieving for those with additional/complex needs, disabilities and those with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) are now beginning to become reality.

In having our own centre, Jolly Josh will now be able to develop as a charity providing more support for families in and around the borough of Rochdale, enabling them to ‘Connect, Support Thrive’ and ‘Inspire Inclusion. We will be able to begin to work towards meeting short- and long-term goals which will benefit our families and for this we are exceptionally grateful.

The building/mill has been given to us rent free for the next 10 years (and hopefully beyond), it originally housed a Go Kart Track and is currently in the process of being transformed into a specialist centre for disabled children/people. There is no other centre in our Borough which includes ceiling track hoists, specialist equipment and a hydrotherapy pool. The building will house a Changing Place and will make a huge, positive impact for those with a disabled child/loved one. Disabled toilets do not provide hoists for lifting loved ones or changing beds, etc Most of us take bathroom trips for granted but our families are often isolated due to this heart-breaking reality. Their only option is to change nappies/pads on a urine-soaked toilet floor, next to the toilet and a bin. We are very proud to state that our venue will have a Changing Place! This will be the 2nd facility available in the whole of the Borough, proving dignity for those who need the toilet. Changing Places provide an adult sized bed, in addition to hoisting to allow for safe and dignified bathroom trips.

At Jolly Josh we aim to provide a safe and secure environment in which children with disabilities and/or complex/additional needs, their siblings and their families can connect. We are a welcoming group of parents/carers whose children benefit from sensory play experiences whilst we meet. We have a range of special needs equipment to help children to access play. Our sessions are attended by a wide range of professionals and services (see our timetable for more details) in order to enable our families to Connect, Support and Thrive.

At Jolly Josh our families gain peer support from each other, discussing factors which are relevant to children with disabilities and complex, additional needs.

We also link with a wide variety of professionals on a weekly basis  who provide valuable advice and information to enhance the support our families receive. We also hope that in meeting professionals at Jolly Josh we can relieve some of the anxieties of the more formal appointments and clinics.

We are able to signpost families to various professionals and services, supporting them as much as possible in their daily lives.

At Jolly Josh, it is our hope that in connecting and supporting families we can work together to enable our children to thrive.

'Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.' Helen Keller

Our Charity was formed in September 2017 in memory of Joshua Kelly, we are a small team of volunteers making positive change with the support of our community and local businesses.

Families across the Borough of Rochdale and the wider area of Greater Manchester with disabled children will all benefit from Jolly Josh as they will be able to visit the centre. In the Borough of Rochdale alone there are approximately 150 children who require support from Anna Oddy, a Specialist Complex Care Nurse and Palliative Nurse, Anna is a Jolly Josh Trustee and believes that all of her families will benefit from the centre.

There are also many more families who do not require a Specialist Nurse but whom have a child with medical needs/additional needs such as Down Syndrome, genetic conditions, Autism etc. and require support from various NHS professionals, such as the Community Nurses, Dieticians, Paediatric Consultants, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Heath Visitors, GPs, Early Support Key Workers, etc, all of whom will visit the centre to support our sessions and meet our families. Previously these NHS professionals have been timetabled to attend weekly Jolly Josh sessions, (previous timetables can be viewed on our website) and this will continue when our centre opens.

Our plan is to run 'stay and play' sessions, 'Sing, Sign, Story Time' sessions, music therapy, animal therapy, parent/carer support groups, Dad’s Den sessions, sibling support groups, palliative pal sessions, bereavement support, youth groups (for disabled children), counselling sessions and much more. We plan also to introduce Sensory Stimulation sessions, using modern Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) technologies and lights to create a bespoke room for those with needs to thrive. We hope to be able to host parties at our centre, we understand the celebrations of birthdays for those with short life diagnosis and we also recognise that for our children with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) planning birthday parties can be limited, therefore we hope to be able to offer an appropriate, enjoyable venue.

At Jolly Josh we’re a small team of volunteers, currently enabling all funds to go towards the build of ‘our place to call home.’

Carole Kelly is the founder of Jolly Josh, the charity was created in memory of her son Joshua (2016-2017), she manages the charity alongside the board of trustees. Carole became a teacher of children with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities, many of whom have ‘short life’ diagnosis and Carole now currently works as a Family Support Worker within the local special needs school.

The Jolly Josh centre will bring hope to many. Families with disabled children have waited an eternity for such inclusive and accessible support, it ceased to exist before our charity formed, hence the need to ‘plug the gap’ in our community and create the centre, and the reason as to why we have received such incredible support from so many people, businesses, services and professionals.

So far, we’ve managed to achieve much of the construction via the kindness of local businesses and services within our community, in addition to members of the public who have fundraised for our charity.

We very much hope that this support will continue, however if it were to fade, we would be left with no choice other than to defer opening our sessions until the construction is complete. This would cause huge upset to our families, many of whom have spent over a year in isolation as they were directed by the government to shield their loved ones, to preserve life. In the first National Lockdown we created the Lockdown Photography Project which portrayed our families shielding ‘through the glass’ The gallery can be found here https://www.jollyjosh.co.uk/families-all Our families were hugely affected by the pandemic and the isolation, fear and anxiety that it caused, so much so that Jolly Josh worked collaboratively with Psychiatrists and Psychologists (Beyond Psychology) to provide 6 weekly workshops for our families. Having spent well over a year isolated from society, though the fear of Covid-19 still looms over us, many of our families are now hopeful that they can begin to reconnect

Thankfully, we’ve managed to continue with construction, however our fundraising was greatly affected, all fundraising events were cancelled due to the pandemic and our charity suffered because of this.

As we now look forward, coming out of the pandemic with an end to the lockdowns etc, we are very much looking forward to opening our doors to welcome those who have spent over a year shielding in isolation.

In general, prior to covid-19, having a disabled child was incredibly isolating, partly because there aren’t the facilities to toilet your child with dignity, and the fact that buildings are inaccessible, children require specialist equipment and our families are too anxious to venture out into the community with their child, they do not feel safe, secure, and comfortable. Covid-19 heightened isolation, feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and despair. When our centre opens, our parents/carers will be able to connect, and gain support from their peers and professionals, hopefully enabling them to thrive.

- The Impact of the Project:

The Jolly Josh 'Magic Memories' package will make a lasting impact to our families lives, many of our families have disabled children, those with complex medical needs, those with ‘life limiting’ illnesses, and/or additional needs. Technology is of huge support and a ‘Magic Carpet’ would be such a magical addition to our centre. This technology, its software, mirror system, interactive display and screen mount would mean that children with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities would be able to experience endless interactions from the various comfortable positions, whether they be in their wheelchairs, hoisted comfortable onto a mat on the floor, or lay on an Acheeva Bed (specialist equipment) or sat in a Ppod chair (specialist seating). Depending on the week’s theme, children could be submersed into an interactive experience, transported to the rainforest, or under sea world, etc. In addition to a fun filled, magical experience, there are many other benefits. For our children who are visually impaired, they will be able to practise their tracking skills as they follow objects across the magic carpet/interactive display. They will experience physiotherapy as they reach out to touch the interactive world. Children can work towards learning cause and effect, beginning to understand that their actions can have impact. They will begin to gain an understanding of self-awareness as they explore the specialist mirror. They can explore communication as they interact with the scenes. All of the above benefits feature as education and health and social care targets for those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities, yet these resources are not available in our Borough to allow children to practise and work towards these skills. Other benefits include interactions which would usually be impossible, for example sibling play. Parents/carers will be able to witness (most likely for the e1st time) their children playing in partnership as their ‘mainstream’ child controls the computer screen and their disabled child simultaneously explores the game via the magic carpet/interactive display. Many of the children who will use this equipment will have Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities, many will have ‘life limiting’ diagnosis and some will be receiving palliative care. The project will therefore enable children to receive a sensory, interactive experience which impacts positively on their lives.

This project successfully funded on 12th April 2022