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Humankind and Richmond Fellowship to merge

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Humankind and Richmond Fellowship to merge to better support people facing multiple disadvantage

Richmond Fellowship and Humankind have announced that they are merging to form a single charity to better support even more people facing multiple disadvantage.

This exciting development builds on the rich heritage of two charities that share values, ambitions and decades of experience supporting people with substance use, mental health, housing and associated needs.

Derek Caren, CEO of Richmond Fellowship, said:

“Our organisations have a lot in common. We share a heartfelt belief that everyone should have a fair chance to live a life they value, and since our inception in 1959, Richmond Fellowship has worked hard to make recovery a reality for all.

“Joining forces with Humankind will allow us to break down some of the barriers that stop people getting the support they need and allow us to offer innovative, integrated services to more people across England.”


Paul Townsley, CEO of Humankind, said:

“From the very start of my career it’s been clear that drug and alcohol, housing and mental health support need to be brought closer together and work better for the communities we support. That’s why I am so excited about this new chapter for both organisations.

“This merger creates a unique opportunity to develop new, broader service models, invest more in our people, and use our shared experience and insights to influence policy and practice across the sector.”

Further information on next steps of the merger will be shared in the new year.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Derek Caren, CEO of Richmond Fellowship, is retiring in early 2024 and Paul Townsley, CEO of Humankind, will become CEO of the new organisation and oversee the merger.

Carolyn Regan, current Chair of Recovery Focus will become the Chair of the new organisation, whilst Caroline Gitsham, current Chair of Humankind will become the Vice Chair.

Aquarius (currently a subsidiary of Richmond Fellowship) will become a subsidiary of the new organisation.

For all media enquiries contact:

Veronica Beserve
Richmond Fellowship Head of Communications
veronica.beserve@richmondfellowship.org.uk / 07468 763772

We launch two new Mental Health Crisis Services in south east London

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New Crisis Service SE LondonWe are delighted to be launching two Crisis Recovery Houses in partnership with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. These will offer new community-based crisis support for people living in the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Croydon.

We will be working in partnership to deliver a two-year crisis recovery house pilot starting in 2023. One of the pilots will include a crisis recovery house for young people – the first of its kind.

The houses will deliver 24/7 community-based crisis response as an alternative to acute inpatient admission. People referred to the service work on a one-to-one basis with highly trained teams to develop collaborative support plans and coping mechanisms to better manage their mental health following their stay. The houses offer hotel quality accommodation within the community where guests have the freedom to manage their own schedule, cook for themselves and access the community as they would were they in their own home.

They will be the tenth and eleventh Crisis Recovery Houses for Richmond Fellowship, who have pioneered this approach to mental health crisis support since 2005.  The Crisis Recovery House for young people is a new model, working with CAMHS teams to support young people aged 16 and up.

Leaders from the two organisations came together recently for a ground-breaking ceremony at the Lewisham site, which will open officially later in 2023.

Derek Caren, Chief Executive of Richmond Fellowship said:

“These crisis services will ensure that people in crisis are accessing the right service at the right time, as well as providing an alternative to those presenting themselves A&E in crisis.  We are delighted to be working in partnership with South London and Maudsley – bringing together our experience in Crisis Services with their clinical expertise and sector leading approach to meeting the needs of their communities.”

David Bradley, Chief Executive of South London and Maudsley said:

“We are really pleased to be working with the Richmond Fellowship to develop new crisis recovery houses for young people. These are the first of their kind and a big step forward in improving the services that we provide to young people experiencing a mental health crisis.”

Rod Booth, Director of Performance and Contracts at South London and Maudsley said:

“We are proud of our partnership which will enable us to provide a community asset that will deliver person-centered care for individuals and their carers during a crisis. The crisis house model delivers recovery-focused support to avoid escalation, build resilience, develop strategies, and achieve long term, sustainable outcomes for individuals who access this pathway. The Centre for Mental Health is also supporting an independent evaluation of the service model in year one, so we can learn from staff (including peer support workers), service users and carers in how to deliver the best care possible.”

James Lowell, Chief Operating Office at South London and Maudsley, added:

“This is a hugely valuable service which will support young people who are experiencing mental health problems or a period of personal crisis. Early intervention and prevention is a priority and working together to provide the right support will help us to provide more effective care, designed to meet the needs of our communities.”

Young People’s Week – opening the doors to Castle Supported Housing

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At Richmond Fellowship we are proud to be part of the Recovery Focus Group of charities, supporting people impacted by mental ill health, domestic abuse, and the harms caused by alcohol, drugs and gambling.   

This week the Recovery Focus partners are focussing on our Young People’s Services we collectively deliver across the Group. At Richmond Fellowship we deliver the Castle Supported Housing service in Cambridge supporting young people aged 16 – 25 years old with their mental health. Our Castle Service recently became part of the Young Futures Partnership, working to support young people in Cambridge threatened with homelessness. This partnership will help the lives of many young people in Cambridge, with all organisations associated drawing on their collective experience, expertise, and resources to offer a consistent and quality service. 

The young people that enter the Castle service are often in a vulnerable state, unsure of where to turn next. Some young people have suffered a death in the family that trigged mental ill health. Others faced harsh experiences as a child that led to poor relationships with their parents or carers. Some young people were originally planning on pursuing education but a life altering experience made them change course. These young people have experienced a lot already at a young age in a very formative part of life when they are trying to figure out what their next steps are, what they want to do and who they want to be.  

With the support of the Castle service, young people have a safe place to live while they consider what those next steps might be. Our recovery workers work with the young people to develop their confidence and independence. The young people can learn how to budget, look after their own home, access training and education opportunities, learn coping mechanisms for their mental health and much more. 

There are many recovery stories to tell from our Castle Service. Below is some insight into the kind of impact our staff have seen in the young people that they have supported. 

“The service has offered Ryan a safe space to grow, express and action change of his own choices. The space he now has from his parents has had a positive impact on his mental health. He has decided he would still like to engage with the mental health support he has on offer and in place already, but this is now his choice, not his parents. The service has allowed Ryan to become more independent and self-confident to make choices of his own.” 

“Liam admits he is in a much better place and his relationship with his father is finally getting a chance to flourish. His job has given him a sense of belonging and being offered a promotion has proven to him that people have faith in him. He has seen the importance of engaging with support and has learnt how to access these independently so that he has a safety net going forward. Liam watched other service users move on positively and at one time felt very negative that this would never happen for him. Securing his own place has been and will continue to be a life changer. Finally having the opportunity to grow and become fully independent.” 

“Julia is now set and determined to go to university and improve her future opportunities and although even six months ago she could not allow herself to feel excited, she says she is excited and not so fearful of change, she has acknowledged all the change she has already survived through no choice of her own. Going to university is her choice and her chosen change.” 

The names of these young people have been changed to protect their identity. 

Help us to continue offering this essential support to young people. Donate now to the Castle Service here. The Castle Service is one of the chosen charities for this year’s Northstowe Running Festival, find out more and donate now!

Volunteers Week 2022: What Being A Peer Support Volunteer Coordinator Means To Me

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Our Volunteer Coordinators play a vital role in supporting those who volunteer their time to help the people we support.

As part of Volunteers Week 2022 across the Recovery Focus group of charities, Judith, Peer Support Volunteer Coordinator at Richmond Fellowship’s Wakefield service explains what the role means to her.

“I feel truly privileged to work in this role, as our volunteers are such a core feature of the support we provide here at Richmond Fellowship’s Gaslight service in Wakefield.

We are a community-based service and run several groups and drop-ins which are well attended by our members. These could not function without our amazing team of volunteers, and it is my job to recruit, train up, supervise and support.

It is really rewarding and satisfying to see someone grow in confidence and develop their skills as they become part of the volunteer team, sometimes achieving things they never thought possible. It may have started with a tentative enquiry and then an informal chat about what is involved; or it may be someone who has progressed through our 12 week 1:1 support programme and this is the next step on their recovery journey.

I match up volunteers with activities / hobbies they are interested in and if we don’t have a group that fits then we can start a new one – nothing is off limits, you just need to be creative!

Our quarterly newsletter grew out of looking at options to keep busy and engaged through lockdown and now it is a regular feature. I love the variety and challenge of this role and no two days are ever the same.

Since becoming Peer Volunteer Co-ordinator, three volunteers have returned to employment and while we never like to say goodbye, seeing them find their feet and believe in themselves again is both an encouragement and an inspiration. I am very proud to tell you that one of our volunteers recently applied for the job of Community Link Worker and we are now looking forward to welcoming him on board as a fully fledged member of staff!”

Inspired? Check out our latest vacancies today by clicking here.

Volunteers Week 2022: What Volunteering Means To Me

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All this week we’re shining the spotlight on what it’s like volunteering for Richmond Fellowship as part of Volunteers Week 2022 across the Recovery Focus group of charities.

Steve, a Volunteer at one of our Northern services, has written this blog explaining how volunteering has helped him.

“I’ve been involved with Richmond Fellowship for a good few years, going back to when it was previously run by ‘Mental Health Matters’ so I’ve seen many changes.

I had been referred to their employment support scheme by the Job Centre and was then invited to attend a drop-in. I’ve got to know people over a long period of time which has helped me to build up trust and feel safe there.

Becoming a volunteer seemed a natural progression and was something I had often thought about. I found that I enjoyed helping out when I could and got a lot of satisfaction in seeing others grow in confidence and come out of their shell. This was something I could really identify with as it was difficult for me at first to talk to new people when they joined the groups and drop-ins. I found that it gave me a positive focus, something to think about other than my struggles with PTSD, anxiety and depression. It also gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

A bit like riding a bike, I kept on getting back in the saddle, not that I talk about cycling much, honest(!) As the saying goes, practice makes perfect and I feel I am much more confident and at ease in this role now.

Some people may find the sense of responsibility in being a volunteer a bit daunting but for me it was a motivating factor. I didn’t let the negative thoughts take hold or convince me not to go out or do anything because others were relying on me and I didn’t want to let them down. I had a duty so could finally win that battle!

Being a volunteer has broadened my horizons and prevented me from getting stuck in my own world. I’ve made new friends, been well supported by the team and learnt a lot.

Listening to other people’s experiences has enabled me to see things from different perspectives. I don’t think this would have happened otherwise. My volunteering role began with joining the Castleford walk on a Friday morning and I’ve been doing it ever since. This progressed with attending the drop-in there and also supporting a Thursday walk.

It’s very rewarding when you feel you’ve made a difference and if I was to advise someone thinking about becoming a volunteer I’d say ‘put your toe in the water’ and  give it a try. You may already know some of the team and so it would only a small step forward in a safe and positive environment. I highly recommend it”.

Inspired? Found out more about volunteering at Richmond Fellowship here.

Being a Recovery Worker at Richmond Fellowship

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Restrictions may have eased but the impact of the pandemic continues to bite, with recent figures showing that mental ill health has increased amongst adults and young people. We know that people will need support and services like ours ahead more than ever and we are proudly able to deliver that support and be part of the solution ahead to mental health.  

However, without our Recovery Workers, this support wouldn’t exist. They are our frontline staff, providing the direct support that makes recovery a reality for many people every year. We are proud of our recovery workers and the important work they put in to make recovery reality for the people we support. We want to send out a huge thank you to all our recovery workers for their dedication to continue delivering this needed support to people experiencing mental ill health.  

So, what is it like to be a recovery worker at Richmond Fellowship and what does the role actually involve? This week you’re going to be hearing from staff in a whole range of different services and models to support recovery. People we support will be sharing their stories and how the support they received from their Recovery Workers made a real difference in their lives. And this month’s Radio Sparky will be talking to staff at Holder House about their work, and what being a Recovery Worker with Richmond Fellowship has led to for them. 

You won’t want to miss out on the week, and we can’t wait to share some of the stories of our recovery workers. Make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and check out #RFRecoveryWorkers to stay up to date! 

Our recovery workers are inspiring individuals that make a real difference in people’s lives every day. Much of their work can be very challenging but equally rewarding. You could also be a part of our team of recovery workers across England. Why not see if there are vacancies in your area and start your journey with us as a recovery worker? See our vacancies here.

Opening the doors to our Kirklees Employment Service

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This week we have been hearing from staff and people we support all about what it’s like to work within and be supported by one of our Employment Services. Our employment services help people to maintain or gain meaningful employment, training, education or volunteering opportunities that are right for and tailored to them. We deliver 38 employment services across England – and one of them is Kirklees Employment Service. We’ve already heard this week from some of our Employment Advisors at Kirklees over on our social media. Today we’ll be getting even more insight into the support that the service delivers, as well as hearing from our Kirklees Service Manager about what’s coming up next for the service.

So, what does the support look like at our Kirklees Employment Service? Their team of staff let us know…

Our employment advisors work with individuals aged 18 and over experiencing mental ill health and/or hidden disabilities. We work on a 1-2-1 basis to form an individual plan on how we can work together to achieve their goals. We provide practical employment advice and support around identifying skills, finding the right job for that person, creating CVs, interview preparation and much more, including retaining employment.

There’s so much more we do in between as well; we listen to people’s worries around employment and their confidence and skills, and we really focus on empowering people to see their own value and strength – there’s really nothing better than watching someone learn to realise that they can do these things and achieve their goals.

Without a doubt Kirklees Employment Service has a huge impact on the people they support – but what do they have to say about it?

“I was given so much support and encouragement that I considered a career in mental health support to try and help people as much as I was helped. I’m now a support worker feeling very satisfied in a job I might not even have considered if not for my advisor.” Person we support

“I have been able to find new volunteering opportunities which will strengthen my CV and have applied for jobs with the help of my employment advisor. Without her it would have been an impossible task.” Person we support

“The support that I have received from my employment advisor has enabled me to live a more confident and happy life. She has provided me with support and encouragement.” Person we support

“I felt like I was alone and back to square one, but my employment advisor made me feel like I mattered and always called at precisely the right time when I needed some help and guidance the most. I would definitely recommend the Richmond Fellowship for anyone going through difficulty with mental health.” Person we support

Kirklees Employment Service very recently won their contract to continue delivering this important support in their area. So, what’s coming up for service as they continue delivering support? Our Service Manager at Kirklees gave us an update.

“We recently won our contract to continue delivering our employment service in Kirklees. Towards the end of last year, I was lucky to be involved with the retendering of the service, working alongside our central service team. To support with this process we involved all staff, volunteers, customers, referrers and partners. We supported commissioners with consultation sessions, and made sure to use the feedback of people we support to help with identifying the needs of our service users to create a vision of a new employment service from April 2022. I was happy to see commissioners had taken on board people’s feedback from the consultation process, and the new service specification reflected the feedback of people we support.

We are always striving to increase the support we can offer to the community. As we begin a new year, and new contract, we are going to be increasing our offer to employers which will show us providing tailored support to organisations around mental health in the workplace, and support with the retention of employees.

We are linking up with far more organisations across Kirklees to provide our peer workshops around mental health and wellbeing into the community. We are also going to be providing community transition and integration workshops to minority groups.

We are excited about our new website that is currently under construction. The website will help us to reach even more people across Kirklees. The website will host some online guides to developing employability like a CV builder and interview tips. People we support will be able to seamlessly book onto peer support sessions and find out which service is best for them. The website will also host our new online referral system to services.

I feel lucky and privileged to be a part of shaping the future Kirklees Employment Service and supporting people across Kirklees.”

In 2021 our Kirklees Employment Service supported 472 people to find new employment, training, education or volunteering opportunities, as well as retain their current work. We can’t wait to see the impact they make this year – congratulations to the Kirklees team!

All our Employment Services put in important and necessary work to help people with mental ill health access employment opportunities. We are proud of the work they put in to inspire recovery. Check out employment services in your local area here, or find out more about Kirklees Employment Service here, as well as how to be referred to the service. 

Stay tuned to hear more from our other Employment Services across England this week. Including our Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire IPS Employment Service in this month’s Radio Sparky Podcast. Follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page to keep up to date.

Winter Wellbeing

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The month of January can be a difficult time of year for people, what with winter weather, the start of a new year and finances biting after the festive season.  All too often we’ve started to see and hear the term Blue Monday being used to describe this particular Monday in January – packaging all these effects up and applying them to one day, and how people might be feeling.  

As a leading mental health charity, we don’t believe Blue Monday is the best way to talk about mental health and wellbeing. As we all know, people experience mental ill health throughout the year, not just on one day. We do acknowledge that the winter can be particularly hard on people’s mental health though. So, we’re turning our social media and internal communications focus on Winter Wellbeing – today and through the rest of January.  

Many of our services are for people experiencing severe mental ill health, often for people who need long term specialist support and help – maybe through our Crisis Services, or our Supported Housing. However, as a national mental health charity, we know that from time to time we all need to remind ourselves of the simple acts that can support our wellbeing. Basics that we could all be doing more often – particularly after a challenging two years when many of us may have not noticed the long-term impact a pandemic has had on our mental health.   

One of our models to support recovery at Richmond Fellowship is Community Support, and we’ll be particularly drawing on their expertise this month. As we all know, having community around us that can help to lift us up is so important for our overall wellbeing.  Our Community Support services work to limit social isolation and reach individuals experiencing mental ill health to help reconnect them with their communities. They’re tailored to the individual and work in multiple ways to deliver support. This could be either 1:1 support with day-to-day activities such as shopping and finance, or group support sessions with opportunities to volunteer, get outside and involved with local people.  

“I could discuss my triggers with a staff member without feeling ashamed. His lived experience allowed me to become more confident in expressing myself and to feel less ashamed of my illness. I have never found this support anywhere else.”

Person we support

 

“I feel that every person should be given a chance to achieve things in their life, no matter how big or small. I enjoy building relationships with people we support and their families – this enables them to get the best support tailored for them.”

Community Link Advisor

Our community services and staff encourage the people we support to develop new skills and further their interests knowing the powerful impact that has on people’s wellbeing. For instance, at Our Time Community Support in Liverpool, Marshall, a person we support developed podcasting skills through his support from us. Marshall then featured on our very own RadioSparky Podcast to share his experience within our community support services and how the opportunities he had to develop his creative skills improved his mental health. You can find out more and listen to the RadioSparky podcast here.  

“I feel our community services have a massive impact on the people we support. We give them hope and a purpose as we help them achieve small meaningful goals they set themselves. Our support is very service user led and we work with them to develop their own ideas into achievements.”

Community Link Advisor

So, as you can see our Community Support teams are experts in everyday wellness and mental health recovery – and this week and month we will be sharing their advice on wellbeing, particularly in the winter season, whether that’s how they facilitate wellbeing in their own lives or with the people we support.  

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page to stay up to date with our #WinterWellbeing advice straight from our specialist staff. 

Find out more about our community services and the support in your area. 

International Men’s Day: Men in the frontline social care sector

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Today is International Men’s Day. The day highlights some of the issues men and boys face in society. It also looks to promote jobs and sectors which men traditionally haven’t chosen for careers.

A report in 2019 published by The Guardian highlighted that only 18% of people working in social care are male. As a charity that works in the social care sector, across Richmond Fellowship, less than 30% of those working in front line roles are men. Whilst this may be better than others in the sector, as an organisation we still want to improve on this statistic. As the Guardian also said, social care ‘needs to change the public’s perception that a career in care is only for women’.

In the last month, the UK government launched a nationwide recruitment campaign to encourage more people to join the adult social care sector, so the conversations around the subject couldn’t be more timely.

To mark Men’s Day 2021 we hear from Matt, our Communications and Marketing Officer who previously worked as a front line member of staff in one of our services about how he finds working in a charity rewarding and how, as a man, you can make a real difference to people’s lives if you choose a career in the social care sector.

“As someone who’s been a person we support, worked in a service in a frontline role as a Community Link Worker and now work in our central services team as Marketing and Communications Officer I’ve been at all the touching points of our charity.

I’ve also met some incredibly inspiring men along the way. John, who I spoke to as part of our Radio Sparky podcast in January this year is one of those. He was also a person we support before he became an Employment Advisor. He uses his lived experience to support others and finds his role as a frontline member of staff very rewarding – we’ll be hearing more from John as part of our International Men’s Day social media campaign.”

“I would recommend Richmond Fellowship as a good place to work. It’s got a good work-life balance for me. One of the first things we did when I first started at Richmond Fellowship was take my daughter horse riding lessons” – John, Employment Advisor, Cambridgeshire Employment service.

“I personally came to Richmond Fellowship as a person we support, after experiencing bullying at work and domestic abuse by an ex-girlfriend and never considered working for the organisation. The thought never crossed my mind, until one day I was told about a vacancy in a service as a Community Link Worker. I came into my final Employment session with my Advisor, Anna in Cambridge and I said I’d applied for a job as a Community Link Worker at Richmond Fellowship. She was over the moon and 2 weeks later I went for the interview and was lucky enough to secure the role.

When I joined the Supported Housing service in Sudbury, Suffolk there were only 2 male members of staff out of a team of 8, myself and the Service Manager. When the Service Manager moved on, I became the only male member of staff. It then dawned on me, why do so few men apply or want a career in frontline services – not just within Richmond Fellowship but across the whole sector?

Our frontline roles such as Recovery Workers, Administrators, Employment Advisors and Community Link Workers are so rewarding, the difference you can make to people’s lives and helping the people we support along their recovery journeys is so inspiring. I know… I’ve done it.

I think that diversity across every part of an organisation or charity is vital. It’s important we break down boundaries to encourage more men to work in roles within sectors where they’re underrepresented just as it’s important that support is there for women to do the same. You need a diverse workforce and talent across all levels of an organisation to make it flourish.

I’m proud to work for a charity that has open and honest conversations about this, and there are ways we can raise issues at senior level through Listening Lunches, but the onus is on all of us, whoever we are, whatever our job role, to make change happen.

If you’re a man who’s never considered a job in the charity or care sector, it really is a great place to work. The roles can sometimes be challenging, but the feeling that you get from supporting people is incredibly rewarding. I never thought that I’d be where I am now 10 years ago and Richmond Fellowship has played an incredibly important part in my career progression, both personally and professionally”.

Inspired? Check out our vacancies page today and support us with Making Recovery Reality!

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Richmond Fellowship is part of Recovery Focus, a group of charities with the shared aim to Inspire Recovery Together www.recoveryfocus.org.uk

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