Since the start of lockdown in March 2020 our volunteers have contributed over 1500 hours of their time! They have been...
Walking Whenever government restrictions have allowed our energetic and dedicated volunteer walk leaders have been determined to stride through the pandemic (and the weather) with four walks a month across Calderdale. Walks have been and are taking place in Mytholmroyd, Todmorden, Shibden and Sowerby Bridge and we hope to extend our reach further as we see an end to all restrictions with longer walks in different parts of the borough. Walks have been a vital source of community connection in this time of social isolation and nature and exercise essential for many people's wellbeing. Recovery and Support Groups, Workshops and Courses Our volunteers have remained committed to the delivery of our support groups albeit online) and have embraced new technology in order to this. As ever, volunteers have been involved in co-producing material for all of our workshops and courses and co-delivering the final product. Allotments (Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden) A small but committed team of volunteers have kept our allotment alive and growing when we were unable to open it to the public and were there throughout when we were. Our Sowerby Bridge allotment is being co-facilitated by our volunteer team and doing a fantastic job. Befriending Project Developed in response to the pandemic as a result of the increased social isolation and distress this caused. Our volunteers have been offering weekly phone calls to people who have described the service as a 'lifeline'. Our eight-strong volunteer team have showed remarkable commitment and empathy for the people they have supported. A true example of peer support in action. The team have made over 200 phone calls to people in distress, or isolated and lonely through the course of the pandemic. Peer Support Project This amazing team of seven volunteer peer supporters have been involved in the development of this brand new project for Healthy Minds, from co-production, to peer supervision, to training, to delivery, our volunteers have been involved at every step of the way. Four of them are now completing peer support worker training at Teeside University. The team have just started to accept referrals from the Crisis Team and are supporting folk currently by phone. They hope to start face-to-face work soon.
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The first thing to say is that Healthy Minds remains committed to providing easy to access services so that everyone who needs it can get support for their emotional health and wellbeing. Thanks to Community Foundation for Calderdale, local communities and, of course, a tirelessly dedicated staff team, we have been offering services in and around Todmorden for five years, and in the Hebden area for over two years. We have good connections with local people and organisations, and we want to continue providing support in these areas – although with some necessary changes.
The charity sector has felt the consequences of the Covid pandemic, with more people needing the valuable support charities like Healthy Minds provide and funding having to stretch even further. Although we have tried to secure ongoing funding from many sources, we are now in the position that we do not have the resources to continue the Todmorden and Hebden services as they are. This means that both services will close at the end of June 2021. From July, there will be a smaller team covering both areas. The Upper Calder Valley team will look to continue the support activities that are most needed by people in the area. For people who have been supported by the Todmorden / Hebden teams, we will try to make sure that support does not disappear, although some aspects of it might be different in the coming months – there may be staffing changes, for example. Healthy Minds has services that work across all of Calderdale and the Upper Calder Valley team will work with colleagues to make sure that we continue to support people in the right ways and places, listening to what people tell us. Healthy Minds, like many other charities, is facing challenges this year that will mean changes in some of our existing services as the future becomes clearer – the Upper Calder Valley team is the first of these. As well as challenges, there are some exciting developments and opportunities coming up, bringing new services and ways in which we can support Calderdale’s communities. Some of what we do will look a bit different but Healthy Minds is still here for the foreseeable future and, most of all, for the people of Calderdale. Healthy Minds is the operating name for Calderdale Wellbeing, a limited company registered in England & Wales. We are registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. The board of trustees is accountable for the delivery of Healthy Minds’ aims and objectives. Our trustees, with their date of commencement, include: Lydia Blundell (2017), Freda Davis (2010), Jen Fagan (2009), Kate Hallitt (2018), Carla Harrison (2017), Paul Hunt (2019), Jonathan Morrish (2018), Naomi Sutcliffe (2017), Jonathan Stephen (2017). A full list of trustees may be found at Companies House. The board of trustees meets 6 or 7 times a year. At our meeting of 20th April 2021, we agreed to begin publishing notes of board meetings. We plan to publish notes of each meeting, once they have been approved as an accurate note at the following board meeting. A note of our meeting held, 24th February 2021, may be found below. Our next meeting will be on 9th June 2021.
Get a print for free or print at home! For #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek we produced a '7 Days of Self-Care' zine activity for you to do at home! Find some light self-care tips and fun activities to introduce you to various themes around self-care. You can request a free print version which we can post to you, by getting in touch at [email protected] Or you can print at home! Just be sure to set it to print 'scale to fit' and 'fill entire page' to get the most accurate print. Or you can trim the edges of the sheet after printing to get those perfect folds! Best printed on A4 or A3. Find the pdf version for printing at home here:
We are ecstatic to announce we have 3 places allocated to our charity for the Virgin Money Virtual Marathon on Sunday 3 October!
We are now looking for walkers, joggers or runners to complete the marathon and help raise much needed funds for Healthy Minds, to support our important work throughout Calderdale. If you care about mental health services and enjoy a good challenge, why not get in touch with us to discuss joining! You will be well supported by our team at Healthy Minds, contact our community fundraising officer Vicky if you're interested in taking part: [email protected] We will be organising the marathon along a route through Calderdale, with support stops along the way, involving our 'Walk for Wellbeing' groups to cheer on our marathon walkers/runners. |
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