Your Voice Counts

16/10/2026

Our book club is going from strength to strength and we’d love some new members! 📚

Join us every Monday at Birtley Library from 10am to 11.30am for a friendly, welcoming and accessible book club for people with a learning disability.

We explore Books Without Words, using pictures to create our own stories without needing to read any text. We’ve also started designing our own stories which we’re hoping to have illustrated! 🎨✨

Whether you love stories, enjoy being creative or simply want to meet new people, we’d love to see you there!

📍 Where: Birtley Library
🕙 When: Every Monday, 10am–11.30am

Call us on 0191 478 6472 or email [email protected] for more information. Everyone is welcome! 💙

16/10/2026

A little while ago, we shared Anthony and Barry’s stories as they began their journeys towards being alcohol-free 💙

We’re delighted to share that they’ve both now achieved over 200 days alcohol-free! 🎉👏

We celebrated their amazing progress at a recent drop-in group with certificates and a card. Both Anthony and Barry continue to attend South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service regularly and receive support from our own Ashleigh Scott.

A huge well done to you both! It’s fantastic to see you working towards your goals and achieving so much. Keep up the amazing work! 💙

15/10/2026

Thinking about quitting? 🚭

It's so you might have heard some people talking about stopping smoking. If you smoke, you might even be thinking about it yourself.

There is so much help and support available for anyone who needs it. We've even got trained Stop Smoking practitioners on our team who can provide support and signpost you to Ni****ne Replacement Therapy if you need it.

Get in touch or pop along to one of our drop in groups to get some advice. We can help you or your family or friends too.

📧 [email protected]
📞 0191 478 6472

15/10/2026

15/10/2026

During we’re very proud to share a blog from our Senior Advocate Gem who leads our Advocacy service in Newcastle.

In the blog, Gem shares her personal experiences of being autistic and having ADHD (AuDHD) and reflects on the importance of understanding herself, learning to work with her brain and being kinder to herself 💜

As Gem says: “You can't always see how hard somebody's brain is working just by looking at them.”

Please take a look at our website to read Gem's blog and see some more snapshots from her life 📸

Huge thank you to Gem for sharing and helping to build understanding of neurodivergence.

https://www.yvc.org.uk/single-post/adhd-awareness-month

14/10/2026

Our football sessions are back! ⚽

Whether you've played before or are completely new to football, everyone is welcome.

We meet every Friday until 13 November at Leisure United, Downhill, Kingsway Road, SR5 4BB.

Email [email protected] or contact Karen on 07587 736476 for more info ⚽

13/10/2026

Last week our Volunteer Coordinator Ann was at the University of Sunderland Volunteers’ Fair to share information about our volunteering opportunities and how we can support students looking to get involved.

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat with Ann and find out more about what we do 💚

If you're interested in volunteering with us, visit our website to find out more about our volunteering programme www.yvc.org.uk/volunteers

13/10/2026

Connected Caring Organises Events Every Single Week; check out the information below as your guide and get in touch if you need anything further!

Age Concern Tyneside South

12/10/2026

Join our team as an Independent Advocate 📢

We’re recruiting across Newcastle, South Tyneside and Gateshead.

Help people have their voices heard and ensure their rights, views and wishes are central to decisions about their lives and care.

✨ What we offer:

👉 Salary of £27,115–£31,754 pro rata
👉 Full-time, part-time and sessional opportunities
👉 Flexible working, with some remote work
👉 Training and development opportunities

Whether you’re new to advocacy or experienced, we’d love to hear from you!

Find out more and apply on our website

We are committed to making Your Voice Counts a great place to work and offer a supportive and fulfilling environment for our staff team. We’re proud of the benefits we offer all our staff including:

12/10/2026

Our colleagues at South Tyneside Council are looking for ideas about a name for a new joint service 💡

Getting the service's name right is key to making sure it is accessible, welcoming and useful - see below for more info and to share your ideas 👇

What should we call our new joint service?
We're developing a new approach to support older people and those who may need extra help to stay connected to their community and live well at home.

We'd like your help choosing a name!

You can vote for your favourite option or suggest your own. Every response will help us choose a name that's clear, meaningful and easy to understand.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-JdbClyQf0aIG7xbSNaBeeSzGFghsohEqXpnT3FqGR5UQzlZUUMzM05QUjE4RzFOTzRTTDFHTUZCTy4u&route=shorturl

Votes can be submitted until 14 October.