Oxfordshire Mind Annual Review 2015 We’re Mind, the mental I was able to talk openly and health charity. We’re here in a safe environment. to make sure anyone with a mental health problem has Feedback to the Managing Strong somewhere to turn for Emotions course advice and support. We’re part of the network of Mind associations working for I really enjoyed connecting better mental health across as a group. Great facilitators! England and Wales. Feedback to the Self Esteem course We’ve been working in Oxfordshire since 1967. Fantastic. Staff could not have been more helpful, Contact Us: Oxfordshire Mind always checking you were 2 Kings Meadow okay. Very open to questions Osney Mead and opinions. Oxford OX2 0DP Feedback on TalkingSpace service 01865 263730 [email protected] Very kind & skilled course Twitter: @oxfordshiremind leaders. Something different Facebook: oxfordshiremind www.oxfordshiremind.org.uk every week. Thank you – a fantastic course! Charity number: 261476 Registered company Feedback to the Managing Stress number: 4343625 course To request this information in Braille or larger print, please contact 01865 263735 or email [email protected] Front cover images: Active Body, Health Mind event, Oxford Half Marathon, Five Ways to Wellbeing roadshow, Active Body, Health Mind taster day, Tessa portrait, Football, Fitness and Wellbeing, South Korea Delegation visit to Mind. Copyright: Oxfordshire Mind. Introduction It’s been a busy year and we hope Our ambition is to make sure that this Annual Review will give that anyone with a mental health you a flavour of what we’ve been problem has somewhere to turn up to. You’ll see lots of statistics, for advice and support - and we’re some great stories from people making strides in the right direction who we work with, and some but we’ve some way to go before lovely photos to bring it all to life. we make that a reality. We couldn’t have achieved any of That’s one reason why we are this without the fantastic support so pleased to have joined up and commitment of so many people with Connection, Elmore, Oxford – our staff, volunteers, trustees, Health, Response and Restore fundraisers, partner organisations to form the Oxfordshire Mental and many more. It’s a team effort, Health Partnership. We believe and we wouldn’t want it any other the new partnership offers us the way. best chance to make full use of our combined resources and make It’s an exciting but unpredictable real lasting improvements into the time to be involved in mental future. We look forward over the health. On the one hand there next year to realising the potential have been great strides forward that must surely come from greater - ever growing recognition and collaboration and closer joint greater public understanding working. of mental health, more people and organisations than ever Thanks again to all those who have approaching us with offers of contributed to the successes of the support and help. But on the other past year. We believe it gives us a hand what we see all too often very strong platform to go forward is that many people struggling and face the challenges of the year with mental health problems are ahead. being hardest hit by the impact of austerity with benefit cuts and Onwards and upwards! reductions in social care funding having a real impact. By Patrick Taylor, Chief Executive of Oxfordshire Mind and John Copley, Chair of the Trustees Our Vision, mission, and values Our vision We won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect. Our mission We promote good mental health through the provision of high quality services and campaigning for positive change. Our values • Striving to make mental health services more human • Working alongside people to help them realise their potential • Raising awareness, promoting understanding and challenging stigma • The importance of community and the benefits of mutual support. Looking back at the year We’ve had a busy year, Within the Benefits Advice Service: which is just the way we • Our Big Lottery funded project like it! Here’s a glimpse of commenced • 688 people were supported what we’ve been up to... through benefits advice casework Within the Wellbeing Service: • Resulting in successful claims • There were over 2,000 calls for over £1.4 million in additional and enquiries to the Information benefit. Service • Over 1,500 people were helped Within the Supported Housing to cope and keep well through Service: our short courses and peer • We housed and supported 120 support groups people • We piloted a new Information • 36 people were helped to move Service based within the City on NHS Assessment Team. • We increased our housing stock from 69 to 73 units including more self-contained flats Commissioning Group) made their plans for the future. Meanwhile we Within the IAPT TalkingSpace prepared for the future by... psychological therapy service: • Pressing to make sure mental • We helped over 4,800 people health services were not struggling with anxiety and disproportionately affected by depression funding cuts • We expanded our staff team • Commissioning an independent and trained more Psychological review of the Wellbeing Service Wellbeing Practitioners in partnership with Reading • Working with colleagues at University Oxford Health NHS Foundation • We hosted a visit from Health Trust, Connection, Elmore, minister Norman Lamb who Restore and Response to create described the service as the ‘Oxfordshire Mental Health ‘inspirational’. Partnership’ • Using the Partnership to Developing our capacity to inform promote more joined up and influence: mental health service provision • Over 8,000 people were working across organisational reached through our public boundaries. events and campaigns including the ‘five ways to wellbeing’ And we strengthened the role of roadshows volunteers … • Over 300 people reached During the year 120 new volunteers through workshops for were trained including 28 ‘peer employers and community support’ volunteers who completed groups our specialist 25 hour training • Successful stalls and programme. We also maintained information events held at the our ‘Investing in Volunteers (IiV)’ Cornbury, Wilderness, Riverside accreditation achieved in the and Towersey music festivals. previous year. We also prepared for changes in our funding … We have three main contracts that, taken together, account for the majority of our income. All three contracts were extended to run to March 2015 or later whilst the main commissioner (Oxfordshire Clinical A spotlight on... Blue Light Resilience We know that people in the mental health problems. It means emergency services are more likely you have a better chance of staying to develop mental health problems well. due to the nature of the job and the exposure to difficult, traumatic The courses are run in partnership situations. with Oxford University, delivered by Oxfordshire Mind staff and are The Blue Light programme aims to supported by our brilliant ‘Blue address this by providing resilience Light Champions’ from within the training to these services. emergency services themselves. We look forward to continuing this valuable work with our emergency Since May 2015 we’ve run five services into the future. training courses with over 60 attendees from Thames Valley Police, South and Central Ambulance Services, Oxfordshire Fire Service and Oxfordshire Search and Rescue. 90% of attendees would ‘absolutely’ recommend the The course looks at how to deal with stress, anxiety, relationship course to a colleague issues, and difficult emotions like anger. By providing better ways to cope with these, there’s less danger of them developing into Well run course with knowledgeable trainers A spotlight on... Football, Fitness and Wellbeing Football, Fitness and Wellbeing their thoughts, emotions and is a programme that aims to behaviours. reach young people in excluded We look forward to continuing groups, such as those at risk of with the success of this campaign homelessness or living in rural through to 2016. isolation. Initially the campaign focused on young men, but has now been extended out to young women. It is a ten week, CBT- ‘Just to say a massive thank based course that has so far you...We have loved having involved over 100 people. Mind here and I personally Funded by Comic Relief for three enjoyed seeing the numbers years, the project works alongside grow and all the smiling an Oxford United coach and Oxford faces on the way out. Brookes University to deliver the Hopefully we can do more of course. the same in the future’. Engagement with the programme has given participants access to Feedback from Oxford City Football new opportunities to improve their Club. physical fitness and equip them with new skills to better manage Voices of Oxfordshire Mind Introducing Liam, a former tenant in one of our Housing Projects in Witney Liam became a tenant in Bramlings Liam – that his tenancy wouldn’t be house after his care coordinator at risk. recommended him for supported living as they considered some After a few months at Hedgerows more structure would be good for Liam was encouraged to live him. He moved into Bramlings in independently and he now lives in a August 2013 and then moved into flat on his own. Hedgerows in August 2014. “Basically the team helped me to Liam enjoyed living at Hedgerows move on. They give you support and found really good support from with your mental health issues the staff. and help you to move on so you can fully operate yourself. Now, “They talked to me, gave me having my own flat is quite a advice and put me on courses – challenge but I’m liking it. they put me on the right track” A greatly beneficial part of the It was a good experience and I’m project was the reassurance it gave glad I did it.” Introducing Tessa, a former tenant in one of Mind’s Housing Projects in Oxford Tessa was living in other supported it.