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NEWS
August 26th 2010
Alcohol Awareness Course Pictures!
Swansea People First in conjunction with the Community Support Team have recently completed a second
'Alcohol Awareness' Training Course for service users in Glandwr Day Service.
A selection of pictures from the sessions including the group posing with their well earned certificates can be seen our galleries at the following link Alcohol Awareness Course 2010
Information and some accessible and easy read resources used in the course can be found at our SESSIONS section
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August 12th 2010
Annual Health Fair Video 2010 - Part 2
The second video from Swansea People First's
Annual Health Fair - 'Fit for Living!' featuring edited highlights of the dancing displays, exercise demonstrations and speeches can be seen below:
If you would like any further information on this year's Health Fair or how to get involved for next year in 2011 then please contact us :)
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August 6th 2010
New Summer 2010 Newsletter!
Swansea People First's brand new
Summer Newsletter 2010 is now ready and available to download online HERE (WORD, 18.6MB)
It is packed full of news, information and photos from the past 3 months here at Swansea People First including our 'Leadership Skills' Course , Question Time sessions with local politicians, 'Well Woman' Health Groups and news of further funding.
It also contains a lots of pictures and information from our recent Annual Health Fair 2010 - 'Fit for Living' which was held on Friday June 18th 2010 at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.
Thank you all for coming!
If you would like a paper copies of the newsletter please contact us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or by phone on (01792) 405333
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Annual Health Fair Video 2010 - Part 1
The first video from Swansea People First's
Annual Health Fair - 'Fit for Living!' featuring the opening speech from our trustee and Management Committee member Dr Dai Lloyd AM is available to watch online and can be seen below:
More videos of the Fashion Show, Wheelchair Aerobics and Dancing displays on the way very soon!
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July 16th 2010
Women's Group Pics
Pictures from our recent Women's Group peer health sessions held at St James' Church Hall in Uplands supporting women with learning disabilities with female health issues can now be seen at our galleries at the following link Women's Group 2010
This group part of our 'Back of the Net' outreach project was partly funded by
Baily Thomas Charitable Fund who are a charity that helps people with learning disabilities
We plan to hold similar sessions for Men's Health issues very soon!
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'Breaking Down Barriers to a Good Life' Video
Swansea People First have completed a video on 'Breaking Down Barriers to a Good Life' starring participants of our 'Leadership Skills' Course in Fforestfach Day Service with Gorseinon College.
You can see the video below:
The video is a series of 'talking heads' which explain 'things that make life good' compared to 'barriers to a happy life' for people with learning disabilities.
The video was done for the Welsh Alliance for Citizen Directed Support which is made up of organisations are working to create a model of citizen directed social care services for people in Wales.
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July 15th 2010
Annual Health Fair Pics!
Pictures from our recent Annual Health Fair - 'Fit for Living!' can now be seen at our galleries at the following link Health Fair Pics 2010
More pictures are on their way very soon as well as a video with highlights of the day.
If you attended the fair, had a stall or took part in any way we would love to know what you thought!
You can download a Feedback Form from HERE
If you could complete this for us and return it to us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or post it back to us at
Swansea People First, C/o Longfields, 6 Bethany Lane, West Cross, Swansea, SA3 5TL
Thank you all for coming!
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July 9th 2010
New Summer Blog Update!
A new summer blog by Swansea People First Member and employee Andrew Evans is now available online
about his work for the Project and experiences over the past few months.
The blog can be read at this link swanseapeoplefirst.blogspot.com
Watch this space for more updates and our Summer 2010 Newsletter next month!
Here is Andrew at our Annual Health Fair in the Liberty Stadium last month.
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July 5th 2010
Back in the Office...
Swansea People First have returned fresh from an extended break after the Annual Health Fair last month
Can we just say a big thank you to everyone who attended or took part in the 'Fit for Living!' event on Friday June 18th in the Liberty Stadium.
Lots of people came and the day was a great success!
Pictures, videos and info from the day will be appearing here very soon as will our Summer 2010 Newsletter
If anyone has any pictures or videos of the day themselves could you send them us and we will display them on our website and facebook page
You can email us here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or send us a message on our Facebook page HERE
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June 11th 2010
Annual Health Fair 2010 Next Week!
It's that time of year again and Swansea People First's Annual Health Fair
is upon us in just 1 week
This year's event is called 'Fit for Living!' and is to be held at the Liberty Stadium next Friday June 18th from 10.30am to 3.30pm
It will be a fun packed day with stands and speakers, demonstrations and displays on all aspects of Health and Well Being :)
You can find out all about the day at the link
HEALTH FAIR 2010! which includes a list of stands, links to organisations taking part and a Timetable for the events at the fair.
If you want to contact us for more information please email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or send us a message on our Facebook page HERE
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SCVS Compact Fund Grant!
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) towards the running costs of this year's Health Fair!
We are very grateful for the £1000 which will be very helpful in providing this event which is the centerpiece of our year here at Swansea People First.
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June 4th 2010
Annual Health Fair 2010!
It's that time of year again and Swansea People First's Annual Health Fair
is upon us in just 2 weeks!
This year's event is called 'Fit for Living!' and is to be held at the Liberty Stadium on Friday June 18th from 10.30am to 3.30pm
It will be a fun packed day with stands and speakers, demonstrations and displays on all aspects of Health and Well Being :)
You can find out all about the day at the link
HEALTH FAIR 2010! which includes a list of stands, links to organisations taking part and a Timetable for the events at the fair.
If you want to contact us for more information please email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or send us a message on our Facebook page HERE
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CO-OP Community Fund Grant!
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the Co-operative Community Fund towards the running costs of this year's Health Fair!
We are very grateful for the £500 which will be very helpful in providing this event which is the centerpiece of our year here at Swansea People First.
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May 21st 2010
New Funding Grant!
We are delighted to announce that we have received another small funding grant from the
Baily Thomas Charitable Fund who are a charity that helps people with learning disabilities.
We are very grateful for the money which will be used to pay for some 'Well Women' and 'Well Men' outreach groups in Swansea.
We will keep you posted on what will be called the
'Back of the Net' project :)
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Menopause Awareness Booklet
As part of our recent 'Menopause Awareness' Training Course for women with learning disabilities in Longfields Day Centre in West Cross, Swansea People First and the 'Longfields Ladies' have designed a handy easy read booklet about the Menopause called 'Don't Panic!'
We hope that this booklet will help more women with learning disabilities to understand and come to terms with the symptoms of the Menopause.
The booklet can be downloaded HERE (Word, 3.1MB)
If you want to contact us for more information please email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or send us a message on our Facebook page HERE
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May 5th 2010
Election 2010
I'm sure that you all know that there is a
General Election tomorrow (Thursday 6th May) and we want to encourage you to use your vote.
Swansea People First has been running a
'Leadership Skills' course for adults with learning disabilities at Fforestfach Day Service and have been speaking to representatives from political parties about issues they face.
Recently we had Peter Black AM from the Liberal Democrats and Dr Dai Lloyd AM from Plaid Cymru come in to face the group and their questions
Photos from these 'Question Time' sessions can be found on our facebook page HERE
The group also visited and had a tour of the
Welsh Assembly Senedd Building in Cardiff Bay to see how politicians and leaders work
Pictures from the day can be found HERE
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Links and information about how to vote and who you are voting for can be found at Swansea People First's
The page contains links to Easy Read versions of party manifestos (what they plan to do) and links to campaigns run by Mencap and others to encourage adults with learning disabilities to vote.
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Swansea People First on TV!
On April 22nd as part of an election special a film crew from ITV Wales came along to speak to us with several service users and also filmed a peer advocacy health session in St Phillip's Community Centre in Swansea City Centre.
The programme was intended to highlight the problems adults with learning disabilities face in the health care they receive with the General Election coming up
SPF Project Coordinator Lynn Coleman was interviewed about the Project and spoke about her experiences.
A video of the show can be found at THIS LINK and some screenshots can be found HERE
Well done everyone who took part!
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If you want to contact us for more information please email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or send us a message on our Facebook page HERE
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April 22nd 2010
Swansea People First on TV!
Just a quick reminder that Swansea People First will feature as part of an election special on
'Wales Decides 2010' tonight April 22nd 2010 on
ITV Wales at 7.30pm
A film crew came along to speak to us with several service users and also filmed a recent health session which will be included to highlight the problems adults with learning disabilities face in the health care they receive.. Keep your eyes peeled!
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April 14th 2010
New Blog Update!
We are back in the office after the Easter break to tell you that Swansea People First Member
Victoria Smith has written a new blog about her work for the Project which is now available to read online at swanseapeoplefirst.blogspot.com
She tells us of her experiences representing the Project at the Learning Disability Implementation Advisory Group (LDIAG) in Llanelli and what the group is standing up for. The blog is also in our Spring 2010 Newsletter which you can download HERE.
Here she is with All Wales People First's Glayne Walker at the event last month.
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New Funding from
Lloyds TSB Foundation!
We are also delighted to tell you that we have been successful in a new funding bid to the
Lloyds TSB Foundation who have kindly contributed £15,000 towards our Project Coordinator's salary over the next 2 years.
On behalf of all of us at Swansea People First we would like to thank the Foundation for this grant and the money is greatly appreciated.
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April 1st 2010
New Spring 2010 Newsletter!
Swansea People First's brand new
Spring Newsletter 2010 is now ready and available to download online HERE.
It is packed full of news, information and photos from the past 3 months here at Swansea People First and includes details of our Annual Health Fair 2010 - 'Fit for Living' which is to be held on Friday June 18th 2010 at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.
You can also download the flyer for the event from this link HERE
Hope to see you there!
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Swansea People First on TV!
Swansea People First will feature as part of an election special on 'Wales this Week' on April 22nd 2010 on
ITV Wales
A film crew came along to speak to us with several service users and also filmed a recent health session which will be included to highlight the problems adults with learning disabilities face in the health care they receive. Keep your eyes peeled!
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Closed for Easter
Swansea People First's offices will be closed for the Easter Holidays from Good Friday (April 2nd) to
Tuesday April 13th 2010
If you need to contact us please email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or send us a message on our Facebook page HERE
We hope you all have a good time and try not to each too much chocolate! :)
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March 26th 2010
Session Resources Updated
Links to download accessible and easy-read resources used in current Swansea People First health and well-being sessions have now been added to the SESSIONS section of the website.
Here you will find documents, videos, presentations and links used in sessions such as our 'Leadership Skills' course and our 'Menopause Awareness' course for you to use and learn from if you wish :)
This page will be added to all the time with new things so watch this space!
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March 23rd 2010
New Facebook Page!
Swansea People First has now joined our friends at Cardiff People First, Bridgend People First and All Wales People First on Facebook with our new page which can be found HERE
If you are already on facebook you can become a 'fan' of Swansea People First but if not you can still access all our photos, links and videos on there and keep up with our events such as our Annual Health Fair on June 18th 2010
We also have a Twitter page which can be found at twitter.com/SwanPeopleFirst
Follow us for all your Swansea People First news!
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March 17th 2010
More AGM 2010 Pictures!
Hello and Happy St Patrick's Day to you all!
More pictures from our Annual General Meeting 2010 which was held at St James Church Hall in Uplands on
Friday February 19th are now available to see online HERE in the PHOTOS section.
Easy Read Annual Reports and Accounts from the night will be posted to all members along with the
Spring 2010 Newsletter very soon.
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March 12th 2010
Question Time with Andrew Davies AM
As part of our Leadership Skills Course held at Fforestfach Day Service we recently invited politicians who represent the Swansea area to come and meet up with adults with learning disabilities and to answer their questions on issues that affect them.
Labour Assembly Member Andrew Davies was kind enough to be the first to have a 'grilling' last Thursday 4th March and was asked some very tough questions on a range of subjects. An easy-read list of these can be downloaded HERE
He promises to take their thoughts and issues on board.
We have Dr Dai Lloyd AM from Plaid Cymru and Peter Black AM from the Liberal Democrats coming in next month to face the group and hopefully provide adults with learning disabilities a voice in politics that they do not usually have, especially with a General Election coming very soon.
Conservative Party candidates have so far not responded to our invitations.
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March 5th 2010
All Wales People First Relationships Conference
Project Coordinator Lynn Coleman and Swansea People First member Emma Tamlin recently visited All Wales People First's conference on Relationships between adults with learning disabilities.
They met lots of people from all over Britain and talked a lot about this important and often ignored issue.
Emma spoke very well about her own experiences and represented the project and her peers in Swansea very well.
A selection of photos from the day can be found HERE in the PHOTOS section.
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February 25th 2010
AGM 2010 Pictures!
Our Annual General Meeting 2010 was held at
St James Church Hall in Uplands last
Friday February 19th 2010 and was a great success.
We would like to thank everyone for coming and for the contributions you have all made to the Project over the past year.
We talked about what we had been up to since Feb 2009 and certificates were given to participants of our 'Breast Awareness' Course
There were some great presentations from Matt James from the Speech and Language Therapy Department, Community Support Team and from Mandy Jenkins from the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust on the accessible documents they have worked with us at Swansea People First to produce.
A selection of photos from the night can be found HERE in the PHOTOS section. More to be added soon!
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February 17th 2010
AGM 2010
Our Annual General Meeting 2010 is to be held at
St James Church Hall in Uplands this
Friday February 19th 2010
The flyer can be downloaded HERE (pdf, 717KB)
Information for members and guests can be downloaded HERE (WORD Doc, 370KB)
Our AGM Annual Report 2010 can be downloaded HERE (WORD Doc, 44MB)
A map to the Church Hall can be found HERE
Members and Trustees have been sent further information by post but if you would like more details from us please contact us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or by phone on (01792) 405333
There will be speeches and presentations about the Project and from guest speakers who have worked with us.
Afterwards there will be a buffet and a disco.
Hope to see you there!
February 11th 2010
New Leaflets!
Swansea People First have designed some new easy read leaflets about complementary therapies like Reflexology and Indian Head Massage which are things that can help you to be healthier as well as your normal treatments from the Doctor.
You can download them in our Resources section HERE
Also available online is the easy read 'Someone has Died' leaflet from Cruse Bereavement Care starring Swansea People First members Andrew Evans and Alison Rees which will help you to understand how you may be feeling if a loved one has died.
You can download the leaflet HERE
If you would like a paper copies of the leaflets please contact us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or by phone on (01792) 405333
February 5th 2010
'Calling 999' Booklet Press Release
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust in partnership with Swansea People First, an organisation of and for People with Learning Disabilities have developed an easy read, pictorial booklet called 'What happens when you call 999'
The booklet advises people what questions will be asked when using the service, and what to do until help arrives.
Lynn Coleman, Learning Disability Coordinator from Swansea People First said
"This leaflet is the first one developed with the Ambulance Service specifically for people with learning disabilities and it has been a very positive and worthwhile partnership. We look forward to working together in the future"
The bilingual booklet has received an enthusiastic response from a number of organisations including Learning Disability Wales and The British Institute of Learning Disabilities and this work is a great example of developing information which is easy to use and understand.
Rachel Evans, Project Worker for 'Old Hands Warm Heart Carers Project', Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire said "this booklet gives very straight forward information and is a real gem as it reassures people about what to do in an emergency".
The booklet can be downloaded from The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust website: www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk
For further information or to receive hard copies, please call The Partners in Healthcare team on 01792 776252 ext 5400 or e-mail ppi@ambulance.wales.nhs.uk
January 27th 2010
SPF Member in Evening Post
Swansea People First member Linda Evans was pictured in the Evening Post yesterday (Tuesday 26th January) promoting the 'Traffic Lights' system which is to be used to help health workers care for people with learning disabilities in hospital.
She is pictured at Singleton Hospital with friends and supporters of the Project, Aleanna Ledger and Kim Walker (Community Support Team, Learning Disability Services)
Well done Linda!
January 13th 2010
Happy New Year and AGM 2010
Swansea People First would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!
We hope you all had a great time over Christmas and didn't overdo it!
Our Christmas Newsletter 2009 which is packed with info, pictures and news is still available to download
HERE (pdf, 8.9MB)
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We have lots of things planned for 2010 including a new 'Menopause Awareness' training course here at Longfields and the continuation of our
'Leadership Skills' Course in Fforestfach Day Service.
Our first big event is going to be our
Annual General Meeting which is going to be held at St James Church Hall in Uplands on
Friday February 19th 2010
The flyer can be downloaded HERE (pdf, 717KB)
Members and Trustees will be sent further information by post but if you would like more details from us please contact us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or by phone on (01792) 405333
December 16th 2009
Have a Healthy and Happy Christmas!
Swansea People First would like to wish all of our members, service users, staff and anyone we have worked with over the past year a very
Merry Christmas!
We have had a great and very successful 2009 and we hope to continue the development of the
Peer Health Advocacy Project next year in 2010.
We have a lot planned already and hope to make the Project bigger and better for everyone.
Good Health for All!
To help you overcome the temptation to overdo the eating and drinking this Christmas, we would like to remind you of our 'Healthy Christmas Eating' presentation which we used last year in 2008 to great effect.
It is full of useful hints and tips on how to stay healthy over Christmas and still enjoy yourself.
The presentation is available to download
HERE (pdf, 1.7MB) or in our RESOURCES section under 'Forms and Health Aids'.
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The Swansea People First office will be closed between 21st December 2009 and 4th January 2010
If you would like to contact us in the meantime please send us an email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or leave a message by phone on (01792) 405333 and we will get back to you when we come back in January.
See you all next year!
December 9th 2009
New Pictures!
Photos from our recent workshops at
Learning Disability Wales' Annual Conference
'Feel Good, Stay Well' and the 'Breast Awareness' Course we held for our female members are now available to see in the PHOTOS section.
Learning Disability Wales Workshop Pics
'Breast Awareness' Course Pics
Thank you to everyone who attended. We hope to run more training courses in the new year so watch this space!
December 1st 2009
Christmas Night Out!
Tonight is Swansea People First's Christmas Night Out where we will be taking our members to a well deserved trip out to see a performance of
'The Snowman' with the Welsh Chamber Orchestra in the Grand Theatre in Swansea.
The show will start at 7pm and finish at 8.30pm. We hope that everyone who is coming will enjoy!
November 24th 2009
'Breast Awareness' Course
Swansea People First ran 2 training sessions for our female members on 'Breast Awareness' this month where we worked with Learning Disability Nurse
Kim Walker.
The course was very successful and we hope that our members are now empowered with the information about Breast Awareness and Breast Cancer so that they can help themselves and their peers.
Thank you very much for coming!
November 23rd 2009
Learning Disability Wales Conference
Thank you to everyone who attended our workshops at the Learning Disability Wales' Annual Conference
'Feel Good, Stay Well' - Ideas and action for the health and well being of children and adults with learning disabilities on
Thursday 19th November 2009
The day was a great success and Lynn, Daniel and Swansea People First member Linda Evans took the trip to the Holiday Inn in Newport to run workshops on
'Communication Tools to improve health outcomes for adults with learning disabilities'
We demonstrated a lot of or resources such as our 'Alcohol Information Credit Cards' and
'My Health Book' as well as some new ideas such as our 'Snack Swapper' (watch this space!)
More pictures on the way soon!
November 13th 2009
Learning Disability Wales Conference
Swansea People First will be running workshops at Learning Disability Wales' Annual Conference
'Feel Good, Stay Well' - Ideas and action for the health and well being of children and adults with learning disabilities on
Thursday 19th November 2009
The conference will be held at the
Holiday Inn in Newport for two lively days of workshops, speakers, drama, film and discussion.
Our workshops will start at 11.30am and 1.30pm and will be based on using
Communication Tools to improve health outcomes for adults with learning disabilities
Hope to see you there!
October 30th 2009
Breast Awareness Course
Swansea People First are holding a
'Breast Awareness' Training Course for its female members next month.
The course will be held over 2 evenings with the first one on Wednesday 11th November 2009 and then the second one the next week on
Wednesday 18th November 2009.
Taxis will pick you up at about 5pm to bring you here to Longfields in West Cross and then take you back at 8.30pm.
A buffet will be available so there is no need to have tea before you come.
If you would like to come then please contact us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or by phone on (01792) 405333
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African Community Centre Health Fair
Earlier this month Swansea People First attended and had a stall at the African Community Centre's health fair in Townhill, Swansea.
The day was a great success and we made some new friends and contacts that hopefully will keep in touch and come to our Health Fair next year in 2010.
Swansea People First member Linda Evans was on our stall handing out leaflets and talking to people about our Project. Watch this space for some pictures!
On behalf of all of us at Swansea People First we would like to thank the African Community Centre for putting on the event and inviting us, not to mention the tasty free African food!
October 7th 2009
Alcohol Info 'Credit Cards'
Swansea People First created a new handy resource for use in our 'Alcohol Awareness' course in partnership with WGCADA back in the summer.
These wallet sized cards explain how 'strong' certain types of alcohol are and what 'units' mean and how much Doctors say you are allowed to stay healthy.
These are now available online and can be found and downloaded from Here in our Resources section and printed off if you wish.
If you would like to request printed cards from us please contact us by email here info@swanseapeoplefirst.co.uk
or by phone on (01792) 405333
October 1st 2009
Health Check Members Meeting
Parts 3, 4 and 5
Back in September of last year, the members of Swansea People First held a meeting with
Joanne Lane from Swansea Local Health Board to talk about their experiences and thoughts of the Annual Health Checks
Parts 3, 4 and 5 of the video are available to watch below
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
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