The Maltings welcomes back familiar faces - FitzRoy
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The Maltings welcomes back familiar faces

Published: October 30, 2020

Members of our day service The Maltings in Norfolk have said they ‘love being back’ after the service reopened last month.

And, after months of hard work making sure the service is covid-safe, their first few weeks have been a resounding success, made even better with a generous donation from a local business.

We spoke to The Maltings service manager, Kerensa, about the hard work that has been put in to open up the day service again after a long period in lockdown – and how it feels to welcome back members.

“I had to attend a lot of meetings at the beginning of lockdown and was given so much information on the preparations day services had to put in place before reopening. We had to change the whole layout of the building, create a one-way system and include in the plan a quarantine room which meant we have lost the kitchen.

“To ensure we can properly socially distance, we aren’t able to have all our members back yet, but we have offered home support and Zoom sessions to those who are unable to or just aren’t ready to come back yet.”

“We have had to be very creative with the activities we have provided, as most of the places we used to use are not open. The staff team have been excellent, and I am so proud of them. We have created theme days like Mexican Friday, and we are now getting ready for Halloween.

"The people we support have been great and they have adapted to the new ways of doing things at The Maltings well, it’s so lovely to welcome them back. Everyone has really pulled together!”

Debbie, a member at The Maltings, said: “I know things are difficult for people and when I first came back I did find it hard that things were different than they were before, but I am used to it now and I love being back.”

We also heard from one of our support workers Toby who said: “The team have pulled together and welcomed back the people we support, I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces as the weeks go on.”

The Maltings also received a generous donation of £285 from Fakenham Auto club, who have been fundraising for them for the last three years. The club has also chosen The Maltings to be their charity of the year for another year.

Dennis, from Fakenham Auto Club, said: “In 2018 our chosen Charity of the Year was the Fitzroy day service, The Maltings. We began our fundraising efforts with great enthusiasm after visiting The Maltings and being inspired by what we saw.”

“We were very pleased to be able to make a record-breaking donation at the end of that year, and, after The Maltings had such a lasting impression on us, we selected them as our charity of the year for the second time this year.”

Kerensa added: “We were so pleased when we received the donation from Fakenham Auto Club, the money means so much, especially during these times. We plan to use the donation towards our sensory room, which we will turn into a more modern sensory space for the people we support.”