Are you at risk of Type 2 diabetes?

Finding out your risk of Type 2 diabetes only takes a few minutes and could be the most important thing you do today.

Leeds, let’s be Winter Friends from afar this year and safely help those around us

Last week, we highlighted some great ways to stay healthy, well and warm this winter, such as getting your free flu jab and staying physically active.

This week, we want to look at what being a Winter Friend is all about – safely helping others to stay well and keep warm this winter!

As helpful and friendly members of their communities, Winter Friends look out for those around them, maybe by sharing a warming winter recipe or collecting essentials for a more vulnerable neighbour.

With the Covid-19 pandemic making this winter more challenging for many, we spoke to Michelle, the Winter Friends co-ordinator, about easy, effective and safe ways to support vulnerable neighbours over these colder months.

Can you support Leeds efforts to get more older people applying to the EU Settlement Scheme?

At present, those aged over-65 make up a small proportion of EU citizens in the city registering to live in the UK after 30 June 2021.

With some exemptions* and other considerations** (both detailed below), it’s important that many of the older EU, EEA*** and Swiss citizens living in Leeds know about the settlement scheme: a successful application protects the rights of participants in terms of access to healthcare, benefits and pensions.

Top tips for staying healthy and well in Leeds this winter

Ever since the Met Office declared it a ‘white Christmas’, it feels like the winter weather has really started to roll in, with the last few weeks seeing snow, ice and sub-zero chills.

With temperatures dropping and a new national lockdown keeping us at home, we wanted to share some handy tips for staying healthy and well in Leeds this winter.

Leeds comes together to support National Grief Awareness Week

2020 has been an extremely difficult year for those grieving, even more so than usual, with the restrictions in place to help keep us safe from Covid-19 making it harder than ever to reach out for support and talk about our grief.

This is why Dying Matters Leeds are proud to support National Grief Awareness Week (2-8 December 2020), which looks to try normalise grief and get people talking about this typically uncomfortable subject.

Organised annually by The Good Grief Trust, who bring together bereavement services, support organisations and helplines from across the UK under one umbrella, this year’s key messages focus on the impact of Covid-19 on those experiencing grief.

The Bunting Festival – using crafts and creativity to bring people together to reflect on their experiences of Leeds in lockdown

The Bunting Festival, a four-week long community arts event, has invited the people of Armley to create their own handmade bunting flags, designed to reflect their personal experiences of lockdown.

Once the flags are finished, they will be collected and strung together before being hung proudly over each participating street in the area, rekindling a feeling of celebration and community positivity in a time when it might have been lacking.

By bringing together everyone’s individual responses in this way, We Belong Here, the community arts organisation behind The Bunting Festival, wants to celebrate the local community of Armley.

Delivering the Leeds Digital Health Hub through lockdown

Members getting involved in some virtual crafts as a way to stay connected over lockdown

Last year, for Get Online Week, the first Digital Health Hub was launched in Leeds, offering local residents an opportunity to discover the benefits of being online and develop digital skills whilst having fun.

With this year’s lockdowns requiring many to stay at home, there has arguably never been a more important time for people to have access to digital devices and feel confident online.

Whether you are looking to access trusted information and attend virtual GP appointments or simply stay connected with friends and family, we are delighted to see a fantastic range of digital support on offer in Leeds.

We spoke to Samantha Haggart, Digital Inclusion Worker for the Cross Gates and District Good Neighbours’ Scheme CIO, about how the Leeds Digital Health Hub has tailored its offering through lockdown to support its members to continue developing their digital skills.

Services across Leeds are here to help you stay healthy and well during the lockdown

The first national lockdown, with its banana bread, doorstep clapping and Zoom calls, gave us a reminder of just how resilient the people and communities of Leeds truly are.

However, it is important to remember that these restrictions are challenging for us all in different ways, and it is okay to reach out for support as and when you need it.

As the night’s draw in and, where possible, we stay at home and avoid contact with those we don’t live with or have formed a support bubble with, we wanted to highlight just some of the fantastic services and support Leeds has to offer.

Leeds, it’s time to feel good about ageing!

As we grow older, how we see our age shifts drastically. From the exciting first tastes of independence to worries brought on by slowly creeping up the survey age brackets – the way we view ageing is constantly evolving.

In Leeds, we want our communities to enable older people to remain healthy, active, connected and supported, which is where Time to Shine comes in.

For the last year, their Age Proud Leeds campaign has been celebrating the role older people play in our city, raising awareness of the ageism they face and changing the narratives around ageing.

Having launched the campaign’s final key message earlier this month, we spoke to Linda Glew, Programme Manager (Legacy) at Time to Shine, about how people in Leeds can feel positive about growing older.

Leeds, let’s celebrate those we’ve loved and lost as part of this year’s Day of the Dead festivities

The Grief Series, a sequence of diverse art projects designed to create spaces for the open discussion of bereavement, are encouraging the people of Leeds to celebrate those we’ve loved and lost over the next few weeks.

Led by Ellie Harrison, the artist behind the project, a colourful ofrenda will be built in the city centre as a way to remember and honour those who have sadly passed away.

Meaning offering in Spanish, these beautiful displays are a long-standing and much-loved tradition in Mexico, forming a key part of their annual Day of the Dead festivities.

As a project centred on celebrating life, a key theme at the heart of The Grief Series, they want you to get involved by sending in a photo and a memory of someone you have lost.