Downham’S Attractions Demand Not to Be Left on the Margins
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Creating opportunities for partiCipation and reCovery Cosmo Lewisham Community opportunities serviCe newsLetter issue 8 winter 2011 Right at the limits of Lewisham, Downham’s attractions demand not to be left on the margins. take d ownham – a diversion and discover the way to hidden treasures. Many of the roads are named from the legends of out and about king Arthur, so keep looking around for the holy grail. here it is no longer “the same old story” – there are lots of places to try out. Using the theme again of “five steps to wellbeing”, on page two we make many suggestions about places to visit in the new year and beyond. if anybody would like to recommend ideas to feature in the next newsletter, all submissions will be warmly welcomed. You can contact us at [email protected]. pause donna walker and for thought neil bellers winter is in Photograph: Grove my head, but Park station is southern eternaL spring Lewisham’s gateway to is in my heart. Downham and district. viCtor hugo (Jaiteg). in this issue stars shine hear us CeLebrating “today i bright roar hope feeL positive” sLam Community south east Lions worLd hearing pameLa’s team of 2010 football club voiCes Congress story page 3 pages 4&5 page 5 page 6 Cosmo No 8 Winter 2011 2 Cosmo five steps to wellbeing Co-editors Downham – out and about Frances Smyth Peter Robinson Connect Simply, connect with the people around you. 1With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, the newsletter team work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the Christian Papantoniou cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them Donna Walker to support and enrich you. Jaiteg 999 Club, 424 Downham Way, BR1. Meeting place for people Joseph Johnny who are homeless or living with mental health or drug issues. Laurent Downham Community Centre (Wesley halls), 2 Shroffold Neil Bellers Road, BR1. Parent and toddler, yoga, dance, keep fit, martial arts. Pamela Moncrieffe go to downhamcomcentre.org.uk or phone 020 8698 1464. email be active Go for a walk or run. Cycle. Play a game. Do [email protected] 2 some gardening. Dance. Exercise makes you feel good. go to So discover a physical activity that you enjoy, one that suits www.camhs.demon.co.uk your level of mobility and fitness. Downham health and Leisure Centre, 7-9 Moorside Road, COSMO is a newsletter in BR1, phone 020 8461 9200. 25 metre swimming pool and which users of Lewisham teaching pool, fitness suite, aerobics studio, badminton and Community Opportunities table tennis, martial arts and outdoor floodlit astroturf area. Service report on local Beckenham Place Park BR3, contains large areas of ancient initiatives and organisations woodland, a golf course, tennis courts and football pitches. they are involved in. Our purpose is to share take notice Be curious. Catch sight of something positive stories about people 3 beautiful today. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the and services we find inspiring moment, whether you are walking, eating lunch or talking to or think could be helpful to friends. Awareness of the world around you, what you are people who are living with feeling and your experiences will help you appreciate what mental distress. matters to you. there are many roles Downham circular walk, thursdays, 10.30am, meet in you could get involved in at Downham health and Leisure Centre main reception area. Cosmo, including editing, grove Park circular walk, Wednesdays, 10.30, meet at publishing, photography, Ringway Centre, Baring Road. Phone Sonja 07836 548870. writing articles, interviewing and administration. Keep learning Try something new. Rediscover an old We meet Wednesdays, 4 interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different 1-4pm, COS Central, 1 Aislibie responsibility at work. Learn to play an instrument or how to Road, Lee SE12 8Qh. Phone cook your favourite food. Learning new things is fun and will 020 3228 9370. make you more confident. to get involved, phone Community Education Lewisham, grove Park Centre, Pragnell Frances on 020 8694 6519 Road SE12, phone 020 8314 7775. Adult education classes or 07973 218 851, or email including art, cooking, textiles and supported learning. [email protected]. grove Park Library, Somertrees Ave, SE12, 020 8314 7686 if you have any comments Downham Library, 7-9 Moorside Road, BR1, 020 3049 1980. about an article or would like to have something included in give Do something nice for a friend, or even a stranger. our next issue, why not send 5 Take time to thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. us an email? Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community COS North can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the 32-34 Watson Street, people around you. Deptford, SE8 4AW. Community Allotment group, Oldstead Road, Downham, Phone 020 8694 6519. BR1. Contact Nigel Carroll from COS on 020 3228 9370, COS Central grove Park Community group, 268 Baring Road, SE12. go to 1 Aislibie Road, www.gpcg-ringway.org.uk or phone 020 8857 7980. Lee, SE12 8Qh. Compiled by donna walker (pictured in the gym) and neil bellers Phone 020 3228 9370. All photographs by Jaiteg, other than Community Allotment Group Cosmo No 8 Winter 2011 3 five steps to wellbeing sLam Community team of 2010 award Downham – out and about Stars shine bright patrick moore from the Enhanced Recovery team (ERt), at the Ladywell Unit, writes here about the work of his team and why it was highly Commended in this year’s prestigious SLaM Nursing Award ceremony. hen eRT was announced as one of SLaM’s Community Teams of 2010, among the applause there may well have been some murmurs of “Who?” w eRT, formerly the Lewisham Rehabilitation Team, is based at Ladywell House and works across Lewisham. We recently changed our name to reflect the recovery model which underpins our service. Recovery is now – quite literally – our middle name. We are a multi-disciplinary team, composed of six The Enhanced Recovery Team, with Patrick on the right. care-coordinators from nursing, social work and occupational therapist backgrounds. We also have and implementing the WRAP (Wellness Recovery psychology and consultant psychiatry input. Action Plan) – a personal guide that helps service eRT works with individuals with severe and users to focus on how they can improve their quality enduring mental health problems whose support of life and avoid relapses. Our previous research into needs include residential settings, outreach service the Mental Well-Being Impact Assessment was and high support independent living. We aim to published in a journal last year. support individual recovery and rehabilitation, We also successfully moved residents out of promoting maximum independence and quality of Westwood Hill, a “hospital in the community” which life. This involves working closely with residential was closing. Our service evaluation showed that providers, including providing training, and participants generally felt very supported throughout supporting relatives to maintain their involvement. the process and there was no relapse amongst this group at the time of evaluation. Close-knit We are delighted to have our achievements We are a close-knit team and pride ourselves on being recognised with this award. Through enabling our more like a family – only less dysfunctional than clients to achieve greater independence, we not only most. We are bonded by a shared commitment to the support them in their recovery process, we also save Recovery model and our legendary team lunches! money for SLaM, which should ensure the enduring eRT’s other recent achievements include adapting value of ERT in the changing times ahead. heather close reCovery group a meeting what they wanted without patients at Heather Close, surprise everyone there got of minds fear of being judged. the moving-on team, social involved, asking questions “Some really good things workers and doctors. and giving their opinions. FRom Heather Close – an came out of it, mainly “We did a presentation “When that happens it is inpatient rehabilitation unit based on our experiences at Heather Close. To our like, ‘oh wow, people have in Hither Green – comes an of recovery. We decided had similar experiences, they example of organic recovery. what would be good topics understand what I’m talking A talking group found its to discuss. We covered about’. own direction and the shopping, budgeting, “The whole idea was discussion was put on paper safety, and moving on to to help people move on. as a booklet. independent living. Help them survive in the “We used to meet every “We decided it would community and have a week in a cafe in Catford and be a crime not to write decent standard of life”. talk about many different our experiences on paper. interview by Laurent things. People could say We gave the booklets to and pamela moncrieffe Cosmo No 8 Winter 2011 4 asK a professionaL south east Lions football club Your worst critic h ear us roar negative thoughts can have a big impact on our mood, energy levels and behaviour. Patterns of negative thinking, such as self-criticism, can become habits that we get so used to that we do it without even being aware of it. One way of tackling this is to develop a more “compassionate mind”. This can be particularly useful for people who tend to be judgemental and critical towards themselves. The first stage is being able to notice what you are doing, and this is not always easy. However, you can start by pausing for a moment when you feel down, stressed or angry and notice what thoughts are going through your mind.