Students on placement with HOPE have visited the Rotherham Mayor at the Town Hall to talk to him about his relationship with the charity.
The students are in the third year of their medical degree at the University of Sheffield and have chosen HOPE as part of their month long community placement, which forms part of their course. The placements offer an opportunity for the students to experience real world experiences, whilst being supported by the charity.
The students spent their time shadowing staff and getting to know all aspects of the work the charity undertakes; from attending peer support groups, taking part in crafting activities, to taking part in a fire service training exercise to practice extricating a patient from a crashed vehicle, to observing the road safety sessions which the charity offers as part of its preventative approach.
HOPE is one of the Mayor’s chosen charities for his term of office and will receive a share of funds raised during the year.
The students were able to question the Mayor, Cllr Robert Taylor, the first citizen of Rotherham, about his role. He became aware of the Charity whilst working as a fire fighter. After attending fatal road traffic collisions and seeing families devastated by such sudden and traumatic deaths, he became a keen advocate for the services that HOPE offers.
The group was given a tour of the Town Hall to hear some of the history of the building and the town itself. They were shown in to the Council Chamber where the Mayor chairs full Council meetings and were able to quiz him on the workings of the democratic system.
Welcoming the students and HOPE, the Mayor said, “It’s like your family coming round when my chosen charities visit the Town Hall.”
Charity Operations Manager Maryann said, “It was a pleasure and an honour to be invited to the Town Hall to have tea with the Rotherham Mayor. We are so grateful to him for all his hard work raising money for his chosen charities, including us here at HOPE.
“It’s important that the medical students get to see the wider impacts of these sudden traumatic incidents. After someone has died the effects on their family, friends and communities can be huge. HOPE is there to offer support at that difficult time.”
The students said, “We were privileged to meet Mr Mayor in his parlour for tea and biscuits. Having been a firefighter in the past he had many interesting stories to share with us and lots of insight into the world of the fire service and his connections with HOPE. He was interested to hear what we had seen and learnt on our placement with the charity and gave Oliver lots of cuddles. We also got to hear from him about his busy day to day life as a mayor and the history of Rotherham.”
Of their placement with the charity, the students said “What HOPE does is so valuable. We have really got to see how what they do supports the families who come to HOPE.”
