‘On the 8th day of Christmas Care Opinion gave to me the opportunity of a DEI journey…..’
My name is Louise, and I am the Operational Support Officer here at Care Opinion. More recently I have taken on the role as lead and coordinator for Care Opinion's DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) focus and work.
At first, I was a little nervous and apprehensive about adopting this role and I wondered whether I could do it justice and questioned, ‘What if I don’t get it right?' However, I quickly realised that DEI is a process, not a tick-list activity. It is a ‘journey’ that we will always be on together, a journey where we can explore the ever-growing landscape of DEI. A journey where we are always striving to learn, grow and develop our knowledge, understanding, and implementation of DEI as an organisation, but also as individuals.
Whilst I have been in this role, I have come to realise that small changes are the ones that can make a difference. I wanted to celebrate our small changes and learning so created a celebratory video for the Care Opinion team to show what we have done so far. Below are some stills taken from the video, showcasing these changes:
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One of the most recent things we have done within the team is conduct a survey on the ways in which staff could be supported around Mental Health. We had a great response from staff and, as a result, we created a short resource of ‘ideas, activities and resources’ to choose from if they wish. The resource pack includes:
- The Shelf Care book club – an occasional meet-up to discuss a book read and decided by the members of the group.
- Signposting to useful websites and mental health resources.
- Signposting to uplifting news websites, such as ‘The Happy Newspaper’.
There is so much to learn and explore but, for me, as long as we keep open hearts and minds, then that is gift enough!
