Nubian Life is an award winning organisation as recognised in our achievement of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services. Birthed from Hammersmith & Fulham Black Senior Citizens, a charity set up in 1991 by a group of African and Caribbean Elders; who felt excluded from mainstream services. As a lunch club, members were concerned about the lack of culturally based services for their generation aging in the UK. Working with Josephine Kwali, then an Assistant Director of Social Services in Hammersmith & Fulham, HFBS were successful in their tender to the Department of Health to develop a culturally specific day care service; Nubian Life was established as a Company Limited by Guarantee in 1996.
Over two decades on, the work of the organisation is unrivalled in providing detailed care and support for African & Caribbean older people; alongside expanding the work of the organisation into the wider community. The organisation has been successful in attracting funding for innovative projects from mainstream funders such as Comic Relief, Queens Jubilee Fund, Henry Smith, Tudor Trust and The Kings Fund to name a few.
Today the organisation employs 11 members of staff and is funded by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Adult Social Care and H&F Clinical Commissioning Group.
The relief of the African and Caribbean people and the wider community, living in the United Kingdom, in particular without prejudice older people by the provision of interest of social welfare, education, recreation and other leisure time, occupation with the objectives of improving the condition of life of such person.
People
To Recognise, Respect and Value the individuality of each member
Purpose
To meet the needs of all the community through effective, efficient and affordable person centred services.
Passion
To deliver all our services with Passion; inspiring and empowering our members to achieve their personal aspirations with the support of our qualified staff, knowledge of the community and expertise within the sector.
Nubian Life receives joint funding from Hammersmith & Fulham Social Services, inclusive of funding from the former Primary Care Trust for statutory services under the Department of Health’s Fair Access to Care Criteria. (FAC)
For non-eligible residents Nubian Life actively fundraises to provide self-financing services; such as the holiday club and the Valuing Independence Project.
Circles of Support is a peer support group for people living with dementia, the group has two aims,
1. Seeing the person and not just their diagnosis.
2. Enabling and supporting members to make informed decisions whilst they have capacity.
The group activities evolve according to the memories, desires and aspirations of the participants. Group members have enjoyed salsa dancing, a river boat trip along the Thames to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Flower Show at Hampton Court Palace alongside open and frank group discussions around the challenges of living with this long term health condition. The group also provides support to relatives and Carers. (Please see more information for relatives support & learning in Community Services)
The NOK service provides an essential link for our members and can be evaluated via the support provided to an isolated member in residential care. The service provides administrative physical and emotional support to members.
• 24 Hr Advocacy Crisis Management
• Power of Attorney
• Fund Management
• Funeral Planning
• Will & Estate Planning
• Living Wills
Freshly cooked food prepared daily by our onsite catering team. Café Carib caters for the different dietary requirements of our clients; providing nutritious and culturally specific menus. Café Carib also caters for off site events, Working Lunches, Christenings, Weddings, Funerals and Birthday Celebrations.
Nubian Life provides transport for Day Opportunity clients resident in Hammersmith & Fulham. The transport service covers the whole of the borough. The service is in demand and we support and assist clients to apply for taxi card and dial a ride membership as this improves helps to travel with support outside of the centre as well getting to the centre.
Valuing Independence Project is a personalised service which support clients to maintain their independence, establish peer networks and take part in social and community learning with the support of Personal Assistants. Clients can pool their budgets to buy in small group support or 1-1 support in the centre.
VIP is aimed at adults over the age of 18 living within Hammersmith & Fulham, who do not meet the Fair Access to Care Services criteria.
The service and activities offered are preventative and encourage residents to access social company and peer support to participate in a range of activities enabling them to remain active, healthy and independent.
In consultation with VIP members, a personal health & wellbeing action plan is created for everyone entering the programme. This will is monitored and evaluated every quarter. The types of services and activities offered are divided into various strands and can be accessed as a package or individually
Members of the gardening group
Nubian Life provides day support for people with complex health conditions such as Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and physical disability. We co design with our members a range of health, social, spiritual and educational activities which meet their personal aspirations as individuals and as a collective.
We run LifeStyle clubs in Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea. These clubs are for anyone in London interested in improving their health & wellbeing. The club meets once a month to socialise, action plan and access health professionals. Each month members receive a health check consisting of a weigh in, waist measurement and blood pressure readings; records are kept to track individual progress. Additional activities include social outings organised by the group, such as dinners, theatre trips and social evenings; and fundraising for other charities.
To date the NU LifeStyle Club has organised a Sponsored Walk for Changing Faces and a Coffee Morning for the Neonatal Units at Queen Charlottes, St Mary’s and Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals.
Launched in 2007, over 21 members aged 10 to 89 have travelled to The Gambia, Turkey, visited 9 Caribbean islands on a Southern Caribbean Cruise, Egypt, Cuba and islands on a Mediterranean Cruise. Holiday Club members set the destination, budget and duration of their holiday. Nubian Life provides the administrative and holiday support.
The Savings Club has been up and running since 2006. Members start saving at the beginning of the year and the club closes the last week in November with savings being paid out in the first week of December. The rules are simple, “Members save what they want, how much they want, when they want”. There is a one off administration fee at the end of the year for the card.
Nubian Life Resource Centre is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, (registered charity number 1059460, registered company number 03227383