Spell Checker by Jim Armstrong
14
Nov
10
Nov
Rethink Mental Illness News – November 2019
With a general election on 12 December, we want to make sure that the voices of people severely affected by mental illness are heard.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be campaigning to make sure that the next government addresses the key issues faced by people living with mental illness and their carers.
Right now, we want to make sure that everyone who wants to vote can.
The deadline to register to vote is Monday 25 November. We’ve created a guide to support you through the process and help you register in time.
We know that people living with mental illness often face challenges when it comes to voting. Some may be in hospital, detained under the Mental Health Act or unable to leave the house on polling day. Our guide covers these situations to help you ensure your voice is heard in this election.
More people detained under the Mental Health Act
New statistics published by NHS Digital show how the Mental Heath Act is being used in practice.
The figures show an estimated 2% rise in detentions under the act compared to last year. They also show that black people are four times more likely to be detained than white people.
These numbers point to more people, particularly from BAME backgrounds, being treated for a mental illness without their consent – potentially being subject to forced medical treatment, coercion and a lack of choice about their care.
A white paper to modernise the Mental Health Act had been promised by the end of the year. Now that an election has been called we will campaign for all parties to include a commitment to in their manifestos to modernise the act.
Our Mental Health Act Campaign
Help make a house a home this Christmas
This Christmas, your generosity could help someone living with severe mental illness to build a better quality of life.
By giving to our appeal today, your support could help fund starter packs for our new housing service tenants.
Lee, who received a starter pack when he moved in, says:
“Now I can cook the meals I want to have and eat off a plate. I can offer my support worker a cup of tea or coffee when she visits. And this December I’ll be able to spend some precious time with my son, which definitely wouldn’t have been possible if I was still living in a tent.”
09
Nov
Please Help Us Save Self Injury Support’s Services before January 2020
Dear Colleague
This is an incredibly difficult email to write but I hope you’ll understand why I am sending it to you.
As you may know we have been offering direct peer-led support to women who self-harm for over 30 years. Every year we support over 2000 women and girls at high risk of self-harm and suicide to have a safe space to talk, work out their next steps and move forward with their lives.
Now we need to ask for help to save our services and carry on giving lifesaving help to women and girls who use self-harm, because without your support the only free, UK-wide self harm support service will close in early 2020.
Despite our best efforts, we are struggling to secure funding to carry on running our services after the end of January 2020.
In the current climate, there is less and less funding available for small organisations like ours (and so many others) which do unique and vital work, but don’t have the capacity to fundraise full-time.
We have set up an appeal on our website: https://www.selfinjurysupport.org.uk/appeal/save-our-services-without-your-support-they-will-close-in-2020
If you feel able to support us I would appreciate it very much – if everyone we are connected with as an organisation was able to give us £5 a month then we would never need to apply for funding again…
Thanks for taking the time to read.
With best wishes
Naomi
Naomi Salisbury
Director
Self injury Support
naomisalisbury@selfinjurysupport.org.uk
Working Days Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
Self injury Support
PO Box 3240 Bristol BS2 2EF
0117 927 9600
Subscribe to our ebulletin at selfinjurysupport.org.uk
Regular training on self injury and BPD: Find out more and book
To be the first to know about our upcoming training and consultancy please click here
Support for women and girls, resources and training for all
TESS text & email support for women affected by self-harm. Tues-Thurs 7pm-9.30pm
07537 432444 or email/webchat via links on website
CASS Women’s Self Injury Helpline. Tues-Thurs 7pm – 9.30pm. 0808 800 8088
28
Oct
Football for Health
Hi,
Please find details of Football for Health sessions.
Weather permitting the outdoor pitches at the Parks are used. In poor weather there are indoor facilities.
People can attend on the day and enrol or contact Ali Donkin, North Tyneside Recovery College Worker, beforehand if they would like to be accompanied at their first session – Tel: (0191) 643 2628
E-mail: ali.donkin@voda.org.uk
Download poster here.
22
Oct
Mind Campaign – Make Sick Pay Work
The current rate of Statutory Sick Pay is far too low. We’re calling for it to be raised to the minimum wage. This would be based on the number of hours someone usually works. This is a basic level of income that would reduce the risk of people being put into poverty by simply being unwell.
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We need as many people as possible to join us as a campaigner to make this happen.
This video (which you can view by clicking on the Facebook or Twitter link) shows how low statutory sick pay is. We’d love it if you could share it with your friends and family and encourage them to sign up to be a campaigner.
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Together we can demand better employment rights for anyone with a mental health problem.
Take care,
Charlotte from Mind
19
Oct
Every Mind Matters Campaign
The new Every Mind Matters campaign from Public Health England encourages adults to be more aware of their mental health and helps them to discover simple steps to look after their mental health and wellbeing.
It also has a free NHS-approved online tool on the Every Mind Matters website, which helps people build an action plan to deal with stress and anxiety, boost their mood, improve their sleep and help them feel more in control.
08
Oct
Be a Game Changer business toolkit
Newcastle United Foundation has recently launched a business toolkit for the mental health campaign #beagamechanger. The toolkit provides employers with a how-to guide of running health and wellbeing campaigns in their workplace using a range of FREE resources. This toolkit will be especially beneficial to workplaces that have a high ratio of male employees or male service users who may often be reluctant to engage with regular health campaigns.
21
Sep
Insights, self injury peer support group
The Self Injury peer support group is a space for anyone who self harms or knows someone who self harms and wants to gain a better understanding and access support. The next North Tyneside group will meet on Saturday 28th September, 10am -12pm at Costa Coffee on Wallsend High Street. See the poster for further details.
21
Sep
Sonya Martin
The Importance of the Visual Arts on Young People’s Mental Well Being
At John Spence we believe that the study of Art, Craft and Design provides a platform for students to positively observe the world around them and bravely find their own unique place within it. Opening doors, broadening horizons and creating opportunities for self-discovery regardless of ability or background. Visual art is a valuable tool for discovery, experimentation and development, where the process of creating is equally as important as any final outcome.
We expect students to be open-minded, to make links between creative skills and other aspects of their lives and to value the importance of the arts on their own mental well-being.
We hope students enjoy creating, are enthused, playful in their experiments, and have fun!
16
Sep
Read about the impact of Statutory Sick Pay
Hopefully you’ll have seen our recent emails introducing our work on Statutory Sick Pay – a key part of our all-new campaign on mental health and employment. For those who are eligible, the current minimum rate an employer can pay an employee who is off sick is £94.25 a week. That’s far too low for people to live on.
But don’t just take our word for it. Many of you have told us about your experiences of receiving Statutory Sick Pay and the effects of such a drop in income, and we’d like to thank you for sharing your stories with us. You’re going to help us fight for a better rate of sick pay.
Jenny’s story highlighted many of the reasons why the current rate of sick pay just is not working for those of us with mental health problems.
“This financial trouble caused by Statutory Sick Pay wasn’t just a drop in pay, it was the difference between being evicted or not, between eating or not. It had a HUGE impact on my mental health. I’ve never felt so trapped in my whole life.” – Jenny, 2019
You can read more about Jenny’s story in her blog on our website