Annual review 2007/08
In your area
West Midlands
Making a difference
We currently have 83 services in our region, ranging from employment and education, through to a theatre company. We provide high quality services over four counties and our plan going forward is to expand and develop more services in Shropshire and Herefordshire to improve further the lives of local people with mental illness who need us.
Making it happen
- In conjunction with our Research Team our AAP KI AWAAZ Project completed comprehensive research into the Pakistani community and their mental health views, needs and concerns. We also provided Community Engagement Projects for these groups in and around Small Heath.
- We provided mental health services to Young Offender Institutions and Adult Prisons. The first was Brinsford Young Offenders Institute (YOI) near Wolverhampton and our service was well received by in-mates and staff alike. At Swinfen YOI we have provided a more extensive service provision to in-mates. We’ve also given mental health awareness training to prison officers in twelve prisons throughout the West Midlands.
- In Hereford/Worcestershire we’ve been liaising with student support officers within local secondary schools to look at ways in which we could work together to raise awareness and reduce the stigma which surrounds mental illness. We arranged a Well-Being and Anti-Stigma session which was open to teachers, pupils, and parents in a local secondary school.
- We were pleased to be awarded funds for a social and vocational worker, who’ll work one to one with service users to provide support in accessing employment, education, volunteer placements and social activities in the Staffordshire Moorlands community.
- To promote cultural understanding amongst the service users at Staffordshire Moorlands day Services we held various events including a Polish, Indian and Mexican day, an Irish evening, an Italian event and a Chinese evening. We also organised an exchange of service user students with students from Tenerife which was covered by Spanish national TV and involved a meeting with the Spanish Education Minister.
Making an impact
- Our research project will support the on-going awareness raising and education programmes within the Pakistani community and enable us to better reach Muslim service users and carers to get them involved in local forums and campaigns.
- The YOI service has encouraged individuals to develop their personal resources, raise their self esteem, assess how their behaviour is affecting their mental health and to set new goals and targets.
- Our Well-Being and Anti-Stigma event was very successful and had positive feedback from teachers, parents and pupils alike.
- A significant number of service users at our Social and vocational project in the Staffordshire Moorlands have already benefited from our work leading to the enrolment on college courses and even holidays abroad.
- Because of all our cultural events at Staffordshire Moorlands Day Services people now have increased understanding of their community and other cultures.
Moving forward
- We’ll work with local and national mental health commissioners to provide a range of recovery focussed mental health services, including complementary therapies, that are sensitive to traditional and cultural values.
- After a successful pilot at Birmingham Adult Prison we’ve been given a 12 month contract to provide a continuation of the service.
- We’ve arranged four more Well Being and Anti Stigma sessions commencing in June 2008 for year 10 pupils. We will continue such awareness events for this age group, and look at funding opportunities to ensure our work develops.
- We’ll work to find additional funding for extra social and vocational workers and to extend the post after five years in Staffordshire Moorlands.
- We’ll continue to hold cultural awareness events to support our Social and Vocational Project and already have two more trips planned this year to Greece and Poland.
Moving you forward
If you would like to know more about our service in the West Midlands please contact 0121 525 8009 or email westmidlands@rethink.org.
