Category Archives: News

Reconnect Through Cookery – Pizza Party!

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On Friday our amazing members got creative in the kitchen, making delicious homemade pizzas! They prepped mushrooms, peppers, and a fresh, healthy salad with lettuce, cucumbers, spring onions, and tomatoes. Using tortilla wraps as the base, they spread tomato purée, then topped them with cheese, ham, pepperoni, sweetcorn, and even pineapple (yes, we went there!).

A HUGE thank you to Cheryl and Zoe for all your help, especially since some of us had to leave early to attend the Police Crime & Justice Plan launch. And thanks to everyone who helped out in the kitchen!

Ffion & Nat at the Police Crime & Justice Plan Launch

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Our amazing volunteers Ffion and Nat had a great afternoon on Friday at Penallta House, Caerphilly, for the launch of the Police Crime & Justice Plan 2025-2029, when they received a special thank you from the new Gwent Police Commissioner, Jane Mudd, for working with Rhian and her team to make the plan accessible and easy to read.

The top priorities for Gwent are: preventing anti-social behaviour, safer communities, protecting the vulnerable, putting victims first, and reducing reoffending.

Jane Mudd highlighted the importance of working together to make Gwent a safer, better place by bringing partners together to improve efficiency and effectiveness. It was also great to hear Ruth Jones MP supporting the plan and sharing her views on better support for victims of crime, especially those affected by domestic abuse. Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said: “This plan is not just a document—it is a roadmap for a safer and more just society.”

We will be meeting Rhian this week to add the finishing touches to the easy-read version.

Annual Health Checks Filming

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Morgan and Ffion had a fantastic day today filming with Primary Care Liaison Nurses Clair and Babs! They talked about Annual Health Checks — how they feel visiting the doctor, what to expect, the examinations involved, and the reasonable adjustments that can be made to support people during their appointments.

We’ve had an amazing few weeks working with the nurses and learning so much about the importance of health checks. Plus, we’ve had loads of fun filming to raise awareness! A huge thank you to Andrew the cameraman – he was fab with our members and made the filming experience even better!

We can’t wait for the big launch and to watch the final result… with popcorn, of course! Stay tuned!

Hackathon: My Beautiful Life – Part 2

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We had a fantastic day yesterday at Llanhilleth Miners Institute working in collaboration with other People First groups on the My Beautiful Life project!

We explored what truly matters to us in health & social care, community, and housing. We brought our discussions to life through art, music, and drama, and the results were absolutely amazing! Some of our members helped write a song, others took part in acting, while some expressed themselves through musical instruments and canvas drawings. It was incredible to see so many individuals come together and share their voices in such creative ways!

A huge thank you to all Caerphilly People First volunteers and members for attending, and to Jenny from Torfaen People First and Blaenau Gwent People First for an absolutely fantastic creative event!

We Love Reconnecting Through Music!

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We had another brilliant Reconnect through Music session in Fleur-de-Lys today, with our extra-talented members belting out 27 different songs! The singing, dancing, and smiles were a joy to see. Once again, we welcomed a few new faces, and everyone enjoyed a tasty buffet prepared by Cheryl and Zoe.

Thanks to everyone who came (and helped to tidy up afterwards), and a special thank you to Ffion for doing the register and collecting the contributions for teas and coffees. We can’t wait to see you all in a fortnight’s time, same time, same place, when once again our members will blow the roof off the place!

Crafting Fun with Multiply

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On Monday we had a lovely visit from Sarah from Multiply to gather feedback on our recent craft sessions. Our members shared how much they enjoyed the sessions – they found them relaxing, educational, and a great way to socialise with each other. They loved making spring wreaths, bracelets, bookmarks, plaques for their bedroom walls, and lots of other fun creations!

A huge thank you to Sarah and the amazing team from Multiply for making these sessions possible, and we hope to see more sessions in the future!

Police Crime and Justice Plan – Easy Read Version

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Yesterday, our focus group had our second meeting with Rhian, the Communication and Engagement Officer for Gwent Police’s OPCC team. We continued our discussion about the Police Crime and Justice Plan for Gwent and explored photographs for the easy-read version using photo symbols.

A big thank you to Rhian and the team for their collaboration as we work towards clearer communication and engagement in our community!

Filming Day with the Primary Care Learning Disability Team!

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On Friday we kicked off an exciting project—filming with the Primary Care Learning Disability Team. We’ve been discussing the importance of Annual Health Checks and sharing our experiences to help raise awareness. It’s been a great opportunity to have our voices heard and highlight why these checks matter for our health and well-being!

Community | Friends | Happy

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Massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped our Reconnect through Cookery session go ahead on Friday while some of us were busy filming! We made it back just in time to enjoy the delicious food.

Our amazing members prepared a healthy salad to go with a yummy sausage pasta bake, topped with cheddar cheese . We also had a fun quiz & bingo session! We welcomed a few new faces and dished up 64 portions – WOW!

A week Friday, we’ll be making pizza, chosen by our lovely member Kirsty – we can’t wait!
See you all Wednesday for music!

Making the Police Crime & Justice Plan More Accessible

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This morning, we worked with Rhian, Communication & Engagement Officer, and her colleague from Gwent OPCC, to review the Gwent Police Crime & Justice Plan (Easy Read version).

We identified difficult words and replaced them with easier ones, and we suggested adding lots of photo symbols to make it clearer. Next week, we’ll help choose the best symbols.

It’s great to be involved in making important information more accessible for everyone!