My time at the Sunderland and North Durham Royal Society for the blind by;
Keri-lea Gray. B.A (Hons) Social Work Student. University of Sunderland.
19th April 2010 – 28th May 2010.
I was quite anxious about starting my placement at the society as I had never had any experience working in an office environment let alone with visually impaired and blind people. I soon realised very early on into the placement that the members were great and very easy to talk to. They were more than happy to share their experiences and personal stories with me. For that I will always be very grateful as it was a great help which got me through the placement. The staff at the placement are second to none! So helpful, friendly and it was great to be able to observe them professionally, as a huge part of my placement was to observe communication skills as well as practicing them myself.
During my 6 week placement (30 days) at the society I have had the great pleasure of being involved with various projects that already exist within the society or are in the process of becoming up and running soon in the very near future. One being the formation of a “young persons group”. Richard set this as a project for myself and Shelley (a student form the same university sharing the same placement) part of our task was to enquire about the who, where, what and when………………. We also wrote a press release regarding this and introducing ourselves to the society.
A successful project which we were involved in, organised and put in to practice was a “healthy walk”. This involved making enquiries for a suitable location, meeting with the park manager, organising numbers and booking transport. We went to Herrington Park for our healthy walk and organised a picnic for the members. I have to say it was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever help organise. The members were so grateful and had a great day. They were very keen to look forward to lots more of the healthy walks in the future.
It was very interesting to take part in the monthly macular meetings and visiting the sensory garden which has been created by the members and won an award in 2009 by the Royal horticultural society and Northumbria in bloom with a merit grade.
A number of members were happy to share their personal stories with me and this helped me to understand a little more about living with a visual impairment. One member invited us along to their house to see how they manage to get by daily in their own home and staying as independent as possible, which was so helpful and I am really grateful to this person for their generosity and hospitality.
I am leaving the society excited for the befriending service to start. I have been fortunate enough to have a little insight and be part of the counseling training for this service but unfortunately I wont be here when it is up and running but I am very excited for it and wish the society the best of luck with it and I’m sure the volunteers’ who will be manning the phone will ensure the service will be a huge success and a credit to the society.
Finally, I wish to thank the staff for their friendly and helpful attitudes, to Richard for offering great support and to the members who have supported me and most importantly become my friends. You will all hold a special place in my heart and thoughts. God bless you all. Keri.
