in Croydon Summer Newsletter 2013

Positive Steps walk opened by Ronnie CorbettWe were delighted that Ronnie Corbett was able to open our first ever fundraising walk, Positive Steps, in Lloyd Park, Croydon on Saturday 25th May.

Over 100 people took part in the 15km Positive Steps walk to raise awareness of mental health and to help fund our work in the community.

Comedian and local resident Ronnie Corbett opened the inaugural Positive Steps event from the top of a London double decker bus on Saturday. The event marked national Mental Health Awareness Week and featured a Living Library on the bus, with five service users on board providing an opportunity for the public to speak to people with lived mental health experience.

The walk was preceded by an aerobic warm up by local group training company, Fit By Sonic, and Crystal Palace FC coach Michael Harrington, accompanied by his community football coach, ran football skills workshops during the day. Food was provided to the hungry walkers on the day by London based Japanese food experts The Sushi Experience.

We have raised well over £3,000

from the event – a final figure will be published soon as money is still coming in.

First to the finish line were Daniel and Hayley Newnham who were walking with five other family members and Keith Tidball came in third. We are particularly proud of Keith who really didn’t think he would be able to manage the walk.

Photos from the event are on our Facebook page, search for Mind in Croydon and take time to ‘like’ our page which is regularly updated with interesting information.

With special thanks to all of the walkers who took part and raised money, Ronnie Corbett for opening the walk, Liverpool Victoria and the Maudsley charity who provided funding for the event, County Paramedic Resources, Fit by Sonic, Veolia Environmental Services, Crystal Palace Football Club, The Sushi Experience, Striders of Croydon and Park Run (who helped us with the route and lent us boundary markers), Cheap Leaflets and finally our wonderful volunteers and staff who gave up their Saturday to help out at the event.

If you would like to register your interest for next year please email events@mindincroydon.org.uk.

“I’m really pleased that my thirteen year old daughter, Hayley and I came first. There were seven of us in total who completed the walk because a close friend of ours, David Smith, sadly lost his life last year through depression. We plan to do this every year now to support Mind in Croydon so that they can help others who have suffered in the way that our family has.” Daniel Newnham

“I was worried that I would not be able to complete the walk but with encouragement from Mind in Croydon staff I managed to do the whole course and came third!” Keith Tidball, Social Network Service User

Ronnie Corbett with CEO, Richard Pacitti

Hayley Newnham, Keith Tidball & Daniel Newnham

Carers UpdateOur Carers’ Services have now been operating since October 2012.

We have been extremely busy helping carers in Croydon via our Carers’ Counselling Service and our Mental Health Carers’ Support Service.

The Counselling Service, who offer up to six free sessions to any carer in Croydon, have seen 32 carers up until the end of April.

The Carers’ Support Service offers a variety of support for those who are caring for people with mental health problems. This includes information, signposting, advocacy, emotional support, events and support groups.

The service holds support groups on a Tuesday evening at our building in East Croydon (10 Altyre Road, CR0 5LA) from 6pm – 8pm and Friday mornings 10.30am – 12.30pm.

Carers come to the service with many different issues and concerns. One of the main themes is the frustration carers feel at being unable to access any form of supported housing for adult relatives with mental health problems, carers are often under considerable stress trying to care for people at home. Another main area of concern for carers is not being included or informed of care plans and support programmes, they often feel that they are left in the dark with regard to the service the people they care for are receiving from Community Mental Health Teams.

As part of the Carers’ Support Network we hosted a Tea Dance on Friday 14th June at Fairfield House. This event was part of Carers Week and the Carers’ Support Network had different events being hosted by the various organisations in the network throughout the week. This gave an opportunity for Carers and their

families to have fun whilst also gaining information on the different services available to them. We are very pleased that Councillor Margaret Mead, cabinet member for Adult Services and Health was able to attend.

We are also having an Empowering Family and Carers Event hosted by South London and Maudsley (SLaM) on Tuesday 30th July. This event is an opportunity for carers to find out about mental health services available to them. SLaM will have surgeries where carers can meet professionals, get information about benefits, support services, medication, care and treatment. This is also an opportunity for carers to raise any concerns or complaints they may have regarding the people they care for. All family members and carers of new and existing service users are welcome.

To find out more:For counselling please call 020 8763 2064 or email counselling@mindincroydon.org.uk. For Mental Health Carer’s Support please call 020 8688 1210 or email carers.support@mindincroydon.org.uk.

Day Care SurveyWe are gathering information about peoples’ experiences of day care services over the past few years.

We are planning to open a new day care service and would like to gather as much information as possible about peoples’ needs and the kind of services people think would meet these needs.

We are holding some open sessions where people can come along and complete the questionnaire in a supported environment. The first sessions are based at: Fairfield House, 10 Altyre Road, Croydon, CR0 5LA on the 22nd and 23rd July from 11am to 3pm. A buffet will be provided to participants on these dates.

Other dates in different locations as follows:

July 25th – 9.30am – 12.00pm at Tamworth Road Resource Centre

July 25th - 10.00am - 1.00pm at Salvation Army

July 30th – 1.00am-3.00pm at Purley Resource Centre

July 30th – 9.30am – 3.00pm at Westways Resource Centre

If you can’t make these dates you can call us to arrange another time to come in, complete the questionnaire over the phone, request a questionnaire in the post or complete online via our website.

Call Jacqui for more information: 020 8688 1210.

A few of our carers enjoying their tea and cake at the Tea Dance

FundraisingWe’ve had a lot going on since our last newsletter in the Autumn. Read all about it below.

Michael cycled 180 miles around LondonOn the weekend of May 18th and 19th, Michael Greenwood completed the MITIE London Revolution cycle ride, an epic 180 miles around London.

Michael is a resident in the Borough of Croydon and completed the ride in support of the great work that Mind in Croydon does in his area.

To sponsor him, please visit: http://www.justgiving.com/msgreenwood21.

Raised £500.06

Wills FortnightFrom the 21st the 30th May we held a Wills Fortnight as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.

We partnered with two local firms, Omega Wills and McMillan Williams Solicitors, who gave their time to write wills in exchange for a donation to Mind in Croydon.

We are very grateful to both firms. Without their help this couldn’t have happened.

We will be holding this event again next year and will be looking to promote it more and booking in appointments more in advance.

Raised: £1500,00

Partnership Working with Rockmount Primary SchoolWe have partnered with Rockmount Primary School in Crystal Palace to raise money for the community.

Parents at the school have been asked to bring in their unwanted clothes and DVDs to be recycled or sold in our shop at 18 Westow Street, Crystal Palace.

We provided the school with bins and pricing guns and the school has decided what is good enough to sell in the shop and tagged the items. Money from the project will be split between the school and us.

We are hoping that this innovative new project will encourage other schools throughout the borough to get involved – raising valuable funds, spreading the word about mental health and working closely with the community.

“This is a great project that everyone in the school community can contribute to. It is an easy way to raise funds for playground equipment and at the same time support a local charity. We hope to maintain the relationship with Mind in Croydon to make it a regular arrangement.”Michael Wilson, Headteacher, Rockmount Primary School

Raised £TBCDo you want to raise money for us?We would love to hear from you! Please email events@mindincroydon.org.uk with your ideas!

AquathlonLaura Earle, who is our contact at Rockmount School, (see the fundraising story about Rockmount School on this page) is completing the Tooting Bec Aquathlon on June the 10th. She had originally entered the Crystal Palace Triathlon, however, was ill so decided to complete this challenge instead.

You still have time to sponsor Laura by visiting: http://www.justgiving.com/Laura-Earle

Raised: £330.00 (so far!)

Michael Greenwood after his cycle.

Connect with us... Like us on Facebook‘Mind in Croydon’

Follow us on Twitter@mindincroydon

Email: admin@mindincroydon.org.ukCall: 020 8668 2210

Write: 26 Pampisford Road, Purley, Surrey, CR8 2NE

Charity no: 1073880

Need help with your benefits?Try calling our Welfare Benefits Advice Line

020 8763 2037Open Tuesdays from 10am -1pm and Thursdays 2pm - 5pm.

Or you can email: wba@mindincroydon.org.uk.

You must be a Croydon resident, aged 18 - 65 and have a mental health problem

Skills Development ProgrammesWe have teamed up with Qube Learning to help people develop their personal and professional approach to work.

We held skills development courses on different topics which were free to our service users or volunteers in receipt of certain benefits and of an employable age. The courses covered essential tools to help participants set themselves apart from the crowd when searching for work.

Below are the courses we ran with Qube:

Skills DevelopmentMarch 11th for 2 weeks16 participantsGained Level One NVQ

Hospitality TrainingApril 15th for 7 days

Staff UpdateWe are happy that Mary Gaskin has taken over managing the Welfare Benefits Advice Service on the retirement of Rory O’Kelly. We have welcomed Peter Rogers in our Active Minds Service and Abi Rawlings as a Family Navigator. We have also been pleased to welcome Geeta Shah as one of our Enterprise Shop managers at Crystal Palace. Geeta will be moving to our new shop in Addiscombe when it opens in a few months.

We wish everybody well in their new roles.

Sad NewsWe were very sad to hear of the death of Graham Gwyther. He was a caring and loving individual; he had a great deal of patience and time for other people. Whilst with Social Networking Service he joined in with the cooking group, art, music and he attended jive classes on a Monday evening. He will be greatly missed by service users and staff alike.

Our thoughts are with the Gwyther family.

9 participantsGained Level One NVQ

Introduction to Customer ServiceMay 13th for 7 days12 participantsGained Level One NVQ in:Customer ServiceHealth & SafetyFood & Hygiene

These courses are all part of a recovery pathway to help our service users by offering them a range of training so they can develop skills and strategies to maintain good mental health and becoming active citizens.

We have also delivered a Mental Health First Aid course to carers, service users and staff in March and April. This course saw 26 participants and was separate to the Qube training.

To find out more about our courses please contact Jacqui Dyce: 020 8688 1210 or email: jacqui@mindincroydon.org.uk.

“I am really proud of myself for completing the course; I never thought I would be able to do the 7 days. I am now developing the confi dence to try other courses, thanks to the staff for their support.” (AM)

A few of the participants having their certificates presented by our CEO.