Archive for category: News

We are receiving a number of calls from individuals and organisations about how they can help support the Afghan Resettlement Programme in Northamptonshire.

Whilst VIN has set up a Go Fund Me Page which can be viewed here https://gofund.me/6f9937eb we have done so on the express request of elected members of the Council.

As an Infrastructure Organisation, we are not providing support or taking requests for support. These should be directed to West Northamptonshire Council, who are in the process of establishing a dedicated web page of their own detailing how support can be made and where donations (other than money) can be directed. In the meantime, please click here  for the West Northamptonshire Council site.

It’s a world-first business idea that will see hydrotherapy pools and underwater virtual reality (VR) headsets combined together to allow people to feel like they are truly swimming with dolphins. VR therapies is a unique social enterprise dedicated to utilising virtual reality (VR) and immersive tech for children with special needs and adults with disabilities. “We take those too poorly to walk swimming with dolphins, children undergoing chemotherapy flying through space, people with dementia down memory lane and so much more”. The headsets will allow wearers to see dolphins swimming around them whilst in the hydrotherapy pool, creating an incredible experience and ticking the bucket list off for many. From specialist equipment designed in-house, people will be able to access experiences they never dreamed were possible.  Their centre will provide a range of multisensory and immersive experiences not just limited to the water; people can race around Silverstone in wheelchair adapted driving seats, fly through space and walk on the moon, or simply relax on their own private beach and escape the real world.

Learning disabilities nurse Rebecca Gill was gearing up to launch her company, VR Therapies, in Northampton, last year. However, after Covid-19 hit the business hard, their last hope is a new crowdfunding campaign.  With only 2 months before they face bankruptcy and making all staff redundant, they are hoping the local community will help save them. Launching today and hoping to raise £65k, this will cover the salaries for 3 VR therapists, the rent needed for their centre, as well as provide specialist equipment for children with special needs. Donations made will be rewarded with chances to win a range of goodies, from VR headsets to vouchers on sessions at the centre, as well as a “healthy dose of good karma” according to Rebecca. There are also sponsorship deals available for businesses and free advertisement via their “Hall of Fame”.

Despite the mega-bucks available to companies like Oculus and Samsung, Rebecca was determined to start a social enterprise instead and struggled as a nurse to get the initial funding. She has slowly built it from the ground-up, benefiting her previous patients, local charities and families with children with special needs. After spending thousands on renovating their centre and building specialist disabled facilities, they were unable to open when the pandemic hit. With no income, bills and debts started to pile up. Now they have no money left to open. “We will no longer be able to help people with VR therapy and very soon we’ll be forced to go bankrupt. We never had a chance to open the doors or even fill the pools.”, says Rebecca. Now the lockdown has lifted, VR therapies is hoping to raise the money needed to finally open their doors.

“One of the things that have kept coming up in my career is hydrotherapy and the lack of it in Northampton,” Rebecca explained. “Traditional therapies are really difficult to access, despite the benefits. With physio, there’s a very long waiting list, you’ve got to go private and it’s costly so most people can’t afford it. But here we can combine physiotherapy with immersive experiences, allowing the community to take control of their health in a fun way.” “The people that would benefit the most from these are the people least likely able to access it. We want to change this.”

A wealth of studies has shown the benefits of hydrotherapy as well as swimming with dolphins, but the benefits have never been combined… till now!

Rebecca has also used VR to benefit local residents with dementia and has worked across the county with Age UK, showing amazing results. Ticking off bucket lists is already an obvious one – no longer restricted by physical boundaries people can teleport anywhere in the world, enabling them to do and see things they’ve only dreamed of. Health benefits include reducing chronic pain and alleviating anxiety, or as Rebecca has found, “people smile more, breathe easier and feel less pain”, which she shared when she was invited to speak at the United Nations last year. “The international support has been incredible”

Aside from the hydro-pools, there will be activity rooms and sensory rooms providing immersive experiences which heighten all of our senses, from smells and sounds to sight and touch. Sensory rooms have been a stable addition to any special needs school but they are rarely available to the public, let alone provide the immersive technology available at VR therapies. “My background is learning disabilities,” Rebecca added. “All of my work has been learning disabilities, brain injuries, autism and everything neurological. Everything is designed in mind for people with disabilities and of all ages and abilities but everyone is welcome. It’s for the community and I want everyone to come and have a go.”

The new crowdfunding campaign is their last hope after being declined loans from both banks and government support. Without any income during the lockdown period, they were unable to demonstrate the “profitability” required for government-backed “recovery loans”, despite this lack of income directly being due to government-imposed lockdowns. In the business world it all comes down to accounts, but this often ignores the great work done by charities and social enterprises.

Crowdfunding campaign page

Video about our campaign

VR therapies website

Contact Rebecca Gill by emailing Rebecca@vrtherapies.co.uk or Ros Stone by emailing Ros@vrtherapies.co.uk

Central Government has moved forward on its roadmap regarding the easing of restrictions. However, there is much evidence to suggest that COVID is far from over, and yesterday we witnessed the highest number of new infections within the UK for some time. At VIN we are taking a very cautious approach to this easing of restrictions. Most staff are still working from home, and the office is supported by a skeletal staff still observing a rota. It is very unlikely that we will open our doors until September. Each VCSE organisation has to look at the easing of restrictions through their own lens. What might be right for one organisation might not be right for another: And against this rests the spectre of a further lockdown which has not been ruled out by either Government or their Scientific Advisors. So my plea is to be careful and work with your staff and volunteers, doing what’s right for them whilst preserving the organisation. It’s a tricky balancing act. Here are some hints and tips though:

• Continue to observe the social distancing guidelines.
• Get staff and volunteers to test regularly.
• Set in place some form of rota if your premises does not allow for social distancing easily.
• Continue to wear masks and update your hygiene protocols.
• Keep abreast of guidance.

We all know that we will be living with COVID for some time to come me and perhaps even forever. There will be times when staff or volunteers succumb (even if they have been double vaccinated) and this on occasions may be problematic for the organisational function. However, the sector is a people business. They are our assets, so let’s make sure we look after them.

Place Based Social Action (PBSA) is about people coming together to solve the problems that are important in their communities, and Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire (VIN) is working with communities to support them to create the changes they want to see, and encouraging collaborative planning and working together.

Social Action is a way for communities to build on the strengths, and address local priorities, in their communities. It involves people giving their time and other resources to do this. This can be in a number of ways, from small neighbourly acts to volunteering or developing community owned services and assets.
Alongside this, both the government and local service providers are committed to moving to local, place-based design and delivery, so PBSA also provides opportunities for communities to be involved with, and influence, the services they receive

Through the Thorplands Place Based Social Action programme, VIN will work with residents to identify, prioritise and then deliver the change they want to see locally – whether that is further developing what is already good, creating new projects, or tackling issues and problems.

Have your say

If you are a Thorplands resident and haven’t yet completed a survey, please do so. This is your chance to say what matters to you, and to make sure that any support offered is for the things you really want to see happening.

You can find the survey here you will see that the Group ID box says vin-thorplands. If it doesn’t, please go here, and type vin-thorplands into the Group ID box – without this information, your replies won’t be included in the results.

The questionnaire consists of 14 questions about the physical and social elements of Thorplands, and is quick and easy to complete. There are also two questions are about priorities: the first asks which of the issues you have identified you think are priorities, , and the second gives you a chance to say which actions, if any, you would like to be involved with in regard to those priorities.

You will see that the questionnaire is completely anonymous, so we are only using it to gather how much interest there is in different activities. However, if you would like to be kept informed about the next steps, please do drop Jackie McQueen an email at pbsa@voluntaryaction.org.uk. When you have completed the final section, please remember to click finish.