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Supported Housing Social Media Week – #OurSupportedHousing

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This week we are dedicating all our social media accounts to our Supported Housing services!

Did you know that Supported Housing is where Richmond Fellowship started – over 60 years ago? These days we’ve grown to deliver a wide range of mental health services, but we continue to be pioneers in the field of supported housing. We know that people need to feel safe, secure and supported in their accommodation in order to be able to focus on their mental health. Our supported housing services provide people with a real home as well as access to support from Richmond Fellowship’s team of highly trained recovery workers.

We now have over 50 supported housing services across England, and all our residents receive individually tailored support plans from a highly trained team to support them on their recovery journey. Our staff work with our residents to create a model of support that best suits their needs and goals.

“Richmond Fellowship helped me with life skills and built my confidence up. I went from being in and out of hospital all the time to managing my symptoms using techniques Richmond Fellowship taught me. I’ve been out for two years, and I thank them for that.”

Person we supported

All week we are going to be giving you a look behind the doors of our supported housing – you’ll meet the staff; hear from the people we support and see what really happens in this type of specialist housing.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Supported Housing this week and check out the hashtag #OurSupportedHousing.

To find out a bit more about our Supported Housing click here.

Young People’s Week: Castle service’s Community Mural

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Richmond Fellowship’s Castle service is based in the University City of Cambridge. The service provides Supported Housing for young people between the ages of 16 and 25. It regularly gets involved in community activities including the Mill Road Winter Fair and is very active in fundraising and organising activities for people we support.

But did you know a mural, situated in one of the most cosmopolitan areas of Cambridge was created in partnership with the service?

It’s located on the city’s Mill Road bridge, the same road as the service’s office and has been a positive talking point of the area since its creation in 2006.

The artwork was designed by Sharon, a person staying at the neighbouring Youth Foyer as part of a competition. She spoke to the Cambridge News/Cambridgeshire Live website about it in 2019:

“Castle service were wanting to find a design that would adorn the Mill Road bridge and were encouraging people staying at the Youth Foyer to submit ideas.

The winning concept would be decided by a vote after all the designs were publicly exhibited, she was told.

So, inspired by the multicultural vibrancy of Mill Road, Sharon set to work with a huge, two-metre-long piece of paper and began to create her vision.

The idea, which was intended to represent both “the community of Mill Road and the wider world,” was comprised of a series of adjoining and overlapping flags, all overlaid with a line of irises.

Sharon said: “It took about three or four months for me to actually finish it.

“I was doing it every day, even on the weekends. It was my way of trying to stay afloat and not sink into depression.

“I didn’t know where I was going to go after.”

The designs were voted on, both by members of the public and residents of the Youth Foyer and the Castle Project, and Sharon’s proposal was chosen as one of the winning designs.

So, along with volunteers and residents from the Castle service and the Cambridge Youth Foyer, she set about painting the mural in the summer of 2006.

Sharon said: “We all got together and painted it. It really brought us together.

“After that, it really helped us to remain bonded. For many of us who didn’t have anywhere to go at Christmas, it was nice to have that little feeling of community and camaraderie.”

She added: “I’m extremely proud of the effort and support put in by the volunteers who helped me to create a moment so bright in my life when there was only darkness.

“This project spring-boarded me forward into where I am now.”

Follow our social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with #YoungPeoplesWeek.

Recovery Focus group named in the Top 10 Most Inclusive Workplaces 2021

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The Recovery Focus group, which Richmond Fellowship is part of, has come 10th out of 100 in the National Centre for Diversity’s FREDIE Awards’ Most Inclusive Workplaces Index 2021.

The National Centre for Diversity is responsible for the industry standard Investors in Diversity accreditation. Their FREDIE Awards recognise excellence from private, public and third sector organisations around Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement (FREDIE).

Helen Edwards CBE, Chair of the Recovery Focus group said:

“This award recognises the hard work we’ve undertaken to embrace diversity, equality and inclusion across our group of charities. It also highlights the hard work of all our staff and volunteers across the Recovery Focus Group of charities – especially in what’s been a challenging year.

There is always more to do, and as a group we’re committed to continuing the work, listening to our staff and ensuring a fair and respectful workplace culture”.

Solat Chaudhry, Chief Executive at the National Centre for Diversity said:

“I send my warmest congratulations to Recovery Focus Group on successfully reaching number 10 in the Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index 2021. It’s been a challenging year and yet, it has not dented the excellent work that organisations and individuals do in promoting FREDIE best practice.

We had to have these awards this year. We could not ignore the fantastic efforts that everyone has continued doing. I congratulate everyone who works so hard day-in day-out to maintain these high standards.

Through the work of the FREDIEs we are able to build a better society, and our winners come from a wonderful cross section of private, public, education and charity sectors representing the very best.”

To find out more about working at Recovery Focus and the charities in the group, click here.

Mental Health Awareness Week – BBC News presenter Julian Worricker blog

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For Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, journalist Julian Worricker has penned a personal blog exclusively for Richmond Fellowship about his experience of a friend’s battle with mental ill health.

Julian is a presenter on the BBC News channel, Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.

“I have a photo on the window ledge of my study, and each time I look up from my computer keyboard it catches my eye. It’s a close-up of a dear friend of mine…she’s leaning forward, chin resting on her hands, smiling broadly, as she so often did. I look at her sometimes when I’m in need of a bit of wise advice – she was always very good at wise advice – and occasionally I look at her with a hint of envy because she remains ever youthful while I’ve added lots of grey hairs and a few kilos since we were last able to meet in person. You can probably guess where this story is going.

This dear friend – Sue – took her own life in 1998; a shattering blow to her partner, her family, and to all those of us who knew her. It was a horrible culmination of acute mental health issues that she wrestled with over a number of years, and it’s why shining a brighter spotlight on mental health has always been important to me.

I’ve been very fortunate, in that my experience of fragile mental health has been mostly seen through the travails of others. Like everyone I’ve had my ups and downs, my good days and bad, but none of those come close to the challenges faced by people like Sue. Her normally bright and bubbly personality could be transformed in a matter of hours by her illness. The shutters would come down, there’d be a blankness to her facial expression, and whatever you tried by way of casual conversation was met with a look of tiredness, indifference and confusion. I didn’t understand why, but you could tell she didn’t either.

I feel sure that if she were alive today, she’d be able to look back with pride at an increasingly successful broadcasting career…and still forwards, too, to more of the same. She’d still love a bit of gossip about the workplace, she’d never lose sight of some of the dafter aspects of what we do for a living, and she’d still be thinking of others before she thought of herself.

So I hope Mental Health Awareness Week can reduce the numbers of stories like hers.

The global pandemic has tested all of us, and it’s probably raised the issue of mental health in the minds of people who’ve not had to think about it a great deal before. The timing, therefore, could be serendipitous. Let’s make the push for greater awareness count, and ensure that our decision makers live up to their promises on this crucial issue”. – Julian Worricker.

You can watch Julian’s introductory video to Mental Health Awareness Week at Richmond Fellowship here and follow our social media channels across the week for more Mental Health Awareness Week stories.

Radio Sparky: May Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 video special

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To mark Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, we’ve a special video episode of Radio Sparky, the podcast which shines the spotlight on the excellent work happening at Richmond Fellowship services across the country.

In May’s edition, Matt Webb, Communications and Marketing Officer speaks to John from our Cambridgeshire Employment Service and Leah from Leicestershire Life Links about how they’ve been Connecting with Nature as coronavirus lockdown restrictions begin to ease.

Radio Sparky: April 2021 podcast

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Listen to our latest edition of Radio Sparky, the podcast which shines the spotlight on the excellent work happening at Richmond Fellowship services across the country.

In April 2021’s edition Matt Webb, Communications and Marketing Officer speaks to Stephen Purcell, Service Manager at our Beeches 24 hour Supported Housing service in Liverpool about what it’s like working on the frontline in a service, how they’ve adapted during the coronavirus pandemic and their service’s involvement in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

“We’ve done activities within the service. We’ve done the Big Garden Birdwatch for the RSPB whereby that was observing birds in your garden and recording them which the residents really enjoyed, so it was an activity that we could do within the confines of our beautiful garden here in The Beeches” – Stephen, Service Manager.

Bath, Swindon & Wiltshire IPS Employment service achieves Centre of Excellence status

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Richmond Fellowship’s Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire IPS Employment service has been recognised as a high fidelity service and has once again become a recognised Centre of Excellence in IPS Employment Practice across the local Clinical Commissioning group by the Centre for Mental Health.

Following expansion with Wave 2 and 3 IPS funding, the Wiltshire service has grown from 7 staff to 19 across the Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire areas.

The team has been working to achieve a Centre of Excellence status for the 2 new services, building on the Wiltshire service’s original award 3 years ago.

Speaking to the Service Manager Mariana Law; Jan Hutchinson, lead auditor from the Centre for Mental Health said:

“Your team are a really vibrant and energetic group who are providing great examples of their work. Also your NHS colleagues are speaking very highly of them. I am impressed.

I am left with the lasting impression that Richmond Fellowship has been fabulously successful in recruiting a special group of people who have the right skills, but also the right attitude and are willing to go ‘the extra mile’ for their clients on a regular basis”.

The service has supported a total of 132 clients into paid employment from April 2020 up to February 2021 and a further 19 clients to retain their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

There are currently 23 Centres of Excellence in England and Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire will now be one of these.

Radio Sparky: March 2021 podcast

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Listen to our latest edition of Radio Sparky, the podcast which shines the spotlight on the excellent work happening at Richmond Fellowship services across the country.

In March 2021’s edition, Matt Webb, Communications and Marketing Officer speaks to Joy Ridley for our Old Moat Garden Centre in Surrey about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected them and also finds out about their latest award. Matt also speaks to Deborah Low from Sparky’s Cafe in Blackpool about how they’ve adapted their social enterprise during the lockdowns and how they are preparing for their reopening to the public.

“The award reflects on everybody involved with the Old Moat, the whole Old Moat family. So the staff, the volunteers, the people we support and our customers. Everybody could take a bow.” – Joy, Fundraising and Events Officer, The Old Moat.

 

Employment services: Minderjit’s recovery story

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We’re proud to be highlighting the work of our Employment services this week!

Minderjit, a person we support at our Redbridge and Havering IPS Employment service shares her personal recovery story:

“Before I was contacted by Richmond Fellowship I felt hopeless and was unable to find employment! I accessed the service on the 20 March 2020; Sabrina from Richmond Fellowship got in touch with me and told me she would work alongside me to achieve my employment goals.

I found working with her helped me find my feet and she is very understanding and extremely helpful.

I would have weekly appointments with her and complete the target we would set for each session, whether that was completing applications or calling potential employers. I would find each week that I would get closer and closer to my employment goal because of target setting.

Sabrina helped me get into studying a childcare course and assisted me with getting a place at a local nursery for my placement. This was achieved by Sabrina completing some employment engagement on my behalf, speaking to the manager to secure the placement at the childcare centre with an agreement of paid employment at the end of my placement period. I was happy with this outcome and was excited to start my new journey in childcare.

I couldn’t thank her enough for all the support she has given me! The service from Richmond Fellowship is excellent and I would recommend it to those whom need help finding employment”.

Listen to our January 2021 Radio Sparky podcast where we hear from John Veir, Employment Advisor at Richmond Fellowship’s Cambridgeshire Employment service by clicking here.

Radio Sparky: January 2021 podcast

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Listen to our latest edition of Radio Sparky, the podcast which shines the spotlight on the excellent work happening at Richmond Fellowship services across the country.

In January 2021’s edition, Matt Webb, Communications and Marketing Officer speaks to John Veir, Employment Advisor at Richmond Fellowship’s Cambridgeshire Employment service about his role, how he came to work for the charity, his passion around highlighting men’s mental health and we also find out more about the Huntingdon service moving to new premises.

“I just see the difference that can be made just talking about mental health because if you go to the gym to look after yourself physically, talking about mental health in whatever capacity is another positive thing – that’s the gym for the mind as I see it.” – John, Employment Advisor.

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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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