October 2007

Date	Press release title
1 October 2007	Mid Sussex (South) Access Group comes to Help Point
1 October 2007	Talk to Pension Experts
3 October 2007	Help Point Awareness Week - You're Invited
5 October 2007	Fit for The Future
10 October 2007	Half Term Activities
12 October 2007	Mid Sussex (South) Access Group come to Help Point.
19 October 2007	Place a poppy on the People's Wreath
26 October 2007	Age Concern comes to Help Point
26 October 2007	Police available to hear your Concerns

Mid Sussex (South) Access Group, which works to promote disability awareness and access in Mid Sussex, holds twice monthly advice surgeries at the Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill. The service is available on the 1^st and 3^rd Friday mornings of the month from 09.30 – 11.30am . The next surgery will be held on Friday 5 October and as it operates on a “drop-in” basis there is no need to make an appointment.

The surgery provides service providers with advice on how to make their services more accessible to everyone in the community. It also provides people with the opportunity to discuss problems of access to shops, other buildings, and services such as local transport. So, if you would like information on access issues as a carer, as a disabled person or as a service provider please come to the Help Point to speak to a representative from the Mid Sussex (South) Access Group.

To obtain further information about the sessions, callers can contact the Town Council Help Point on 01444 247726.

Local people can find expert advice on pension issues at Burgess Hill Town Council ’s Help Point, 96 Church Walk. The next advice session takes place on Monday 8 October 2007.

State pension advisers have helped people with their number worries for some time. No appointment is necessary for the advice surgery – simply call in. The service is available at the Help Point on the second Monday of each month from 0900 – 1600 hours.

You may have noticed Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point, located near the Stone Garden on Church Walk, but have you ever popped in? If not, now's your chance. Help Point Awareness Week begins on Monday 15 October, so come along and find out how your Help Point can be of service to you.

Maybe you are looking for some Half Term holiday ideas to entertain the children, maybe you are new to the area and would like details of local doctors and dentists, or, maybe an elderly person you know is concerned they are unable to carry on living in their own home? The friendly, knowledgeable staff at the Help Point can help with all these queries – and many more.

If staff are unable to find the answer to customers' questions or problems immediately, they will pass the details to the relevant organisation who will respond with the required information. Several organisations and council departments also offer one-to-one services at the Help Point offices, 96 Church Walk, such as the assistance with council tax and housing problems or registration of births and deaths.

Andrew Barrett-Miles, Chairman of Burgess Hill Town Council, said: "The Town Council Help Point, part of the West Sussex Help Point Network, is already a popular and well-used resource for both Burgess Hill residents and visitors to the town, but we want to reach people who may not know the full range of the services we offer. Whether it is reporting a broken street light or applying for concessionary travel – we can do it all at the Help Point."

So whatever you want to know, come to the Help Point – helping you is the point!

Residents of Burgess Hill and surrounding villages will have the opportunity to find out more about the proposals for the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and how more health services will be provided in the community by local Doctors and other health professionals.

Members of the West Sussex Independent Patients and Public Involvement Forum will be holding a special surgery at Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point, 96 Church Walk to explain the proposed changes and help people forward their views and opinions to the West Sussex Primary Care Trust, the organisation responsible for the proposals.

The Patients & Public Involvement Forum is monitoring people's opinions on these changes so please come and tell them what you think and they will make sure the West Sussex Primary Care Trust receives your responses. The Forum will be at the Help Point on:

The school half-term holidays are nearly upon us and autumn has arrived. Are you at a loss to know how to entertain the children now the weather is not so reliable? Fear not, Burgess Hill Town Council ’s Help Point has produced a free leaflet listing various attractions in and around Burgess Hill where there will be special activities to keep children happy during the half-term.

Whether you fancy the ‘Halloween Horrors’ at Borde Hill Gardens, Haywards Heath, the autumn ‘Industrial Trains Day’ at Amberley Working Museum or a ‘Winter Bird Walk’ around Bedelands Farm Nature Reserve in Burgess Hill there is so much to do.

For a copy of the free leaflet pop into Burgess Hill Town Council ’s Help Point at 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill or telephone 01444 247726 or email helppoint@burgesshill.gov.uk and a copy will be sent to you. The leaflet will also be available on our website www.burgesshill.gov.uk, via the homepage ‘Events In and Around Burgess Hill’ section.

Mid Sussex (South) Access Group, which works to promote disability awareness and access in Mid Sussex, holds twice monthly advice surgeries at the Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill. The service is available on the 1^st and 3^rd Friday mornings of the month from 09.30 – 11.30am . The next surgery will be held on Friday 19 October and as it operates on a “drop-in” basis there is no need to make an appointment.

To obtain further information about the sessions, callers can contact the Town Council Help Point on 01444 247726.

The ‘People’s Wreath’ will be available at Burgess Hill Town Council Help Point, 96 Church Walk, for local people to fill with Remembrance Day poppies in memory of all who have lost their lives in conflict around the world. The wreath, available from Saturday 27 October, will be laid at the base of the town's War Memorial on Sunday 11 November 2007 as part of the Remembrance Day Parade and Service.

The 'People's Wreath' consists of an empty wreath base which can be gradually filled with poppies donated by customers and visitors to the Help Point over the weeks leading up to the 11 November commemorative service. Poppies may be purchased by making a donation to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Chairman of the Town Council, Andrew Barrett-Miles, said, "The Help Point is delighted to host the 'People's Wreath again this year. We hope local people and visitors to Burgess Hill will give generously to the Poppy Appeal and create a wonderful wreath to lay at the 11/11/11 commemoration service."

Age Concern offers older people the chance to talk face-to-face to an adviser in Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point. The organisation also runs a county-wide telephone information and advice service, as well as its Fairfield Road day centre.

A trained adviser provides free and confidential information and advice on the 2^nd and 4^th Friday of each month from 9.30am-11.30am at the Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill. In November the advice sessions will be held on the 9^th and the 23^rd of the month. The service is open to anyone aged 50 or over, or to a family member or carer looking after someone over 50. The sessions operates on either a ‘drop-in’ or appointment basis, and will deal with issues such as welfare benefits, housing options, care at home, family and personal issues and leisure activities.

To obtain further information about the sessions contact the Town Council Help Point on 01444 247726 or to make an appointment contact Age Concern West Sussex Information & Advice helpline on 0800 019 1310. This freephone number operates from 10am to 4pm , Monday to Friday, where advisers are on hand to help with a wide range of issues relevant to older people.

A scheme has been set up whereby local people are invited to drop in to Burgess Hill Town Council’s Help Point, 96 Church Walk, to discuss any worries they may have with a community police officer.