Diabetes Diversity

March 2016 has been another busy  month volunteering for Diabetes UK Cymru
There have been some key highlights in raising the awareness of the issues surrounding Diabetes

Deaf club Bridgend and International women's day. I was privileged to be representing Diabetes Uk at this event. Feeling a little out of place as  I was in the minority. Firstly I could hear and I couldn't use sign language but secondly I was a bloke  and definitely stood out. However, this meeting impacted me deeply, I was so warmly welcomed and inspired by the  tremendous achievements the group had made. With the aid of a sign language interpretor I was able to let them know how Diabetes Uk can help those with Diabetes and at risk of getting it.  There were examples of people who were born deaf because their mothers had diabetes!

The Minority Ethnic Communities (MEC) Health Fair

MEC Cardiff 2016

Held every spring in Cardiff City Hall since 2010, the aim of the Fair is to provide opportunities for positive engagement between people from minority ethnic communities and health providers across the city of Cardiff. Each year the Health Fair has sought to lessen the gap between services and communities. I represented Diabetes UK at this event, together with 3 other volunteers we  assessed the risk of getting type 2 diabetes in approximately 100  people from the community. Many realised that their ethnic background increased their risk of getting type 2 diabetes

North Cardiff Peer support
This is a new initiative in Cardiff brings together patients, healthcare professionals and volunteers from Diabetes UK (trained as peer support facilitators)
Our aim is to support one another in living healthily with Diabetes
We have had 5 meetings so far discussing:

• Diabetes in general,
• Cefn Onn park initiative
• Pedal power 
• 15 health care essentials

Meetings are held once a month and encourages an open forum to discuss diabetes issues, promote good control and provide support