Staying Connected in Lockdown 3

As we settle in to our third lockdown of the pandemic we know how important it is for our wellbeing to stay connected.

Aspens runs a mixture of fun, educational and social online sessions to help those we support feel connected in these strange times.

Organised by Aspens' Engagement Lead Janine Jacquin, the online sessions are a mixture of fun, fitness, education and socialising and have run since the start of the pandemic last spring. 

Examples of sessions on offer this coming week are local and world news on Monday, Celebrity Guess Who on Tuesday, Covid Vaccine information on Wednesday, our befriending group Aspens Angels on Thursday and information on how to avoid being scammed on Friday.  Other regular favourites are Zumba, fancy dress discos and quizzes. 

Janine decided to start the sessions to replace the meet ups, exercise sessions and social occasions that took place in 'real life' before the first lockdown. 

The regular Zoom sessions provide a safe, fun and social space for those with learning disabilities and on the autism spectrum. As well as being for the people Aspens supports, the sessions are open to anyone in the community over the age of 18 who has a learning disability or autism. Everyone joining the sessions is made to feel very welcome by the friendly group, which is supervised by Janine. 

The Zoom session participants call themselves Our Voices Our Choices (or OVOC group). Regular users of OVOC have told us how helpful the sessions have been during the previous lockdowns and for coping with the impact of the pandemic in general. Regular OVOC  member Tony, who is shielding due to health reasons, said: "The group is like a happy, supportive family. If it wasn't for the online sessions I would've ended up in a very bad place due to loneliness and I think that's the same for a lot of us."

If you'd like to find out more about the group please contact janine.jacquin.aspens.org.uk.