Touchstone is working with people and partners to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week (#MHAW) with a whole Week of Kindness. Working with Mindwell, Forum Central and others, we have set aside Friday 22nd May for being kind and generous to each other.
At Touchstone we have been staggered by the generosity already shown by our staff, volunteers and supporters during the Covid-19 Crisis and we want to say a big thank you to everyone!
We also need to carry on the hard work and need the help of anyone that can contribute funds to help feed those in need.
Touchstone works within the communities of Yorkshire to provide mental health and wellbeing services to over 2000 people a year.
Through the Covid-19 crisis, Touchstone is continuing to run all of its services, helping to protect vulnerable people, despite the additional risks.
However we are increasingly concerned that the problems our most vulnerable service users experience are being made worse by hunger and the anxiety associated with getting enough food for themselves and their loved ones on a day to day basis. Many are hungry, isolated and unwell.
That’s why we have set up an emergency food distribution centre in Harehills to provide and deliver food parcels for our service users, primarily in East and South Leeds and to complement the great work being done all over the city by Leeds City Council and other charities.
Many of our service users find it difficult or impossible to get to foodbanks and many are in groups most susceptible to Covid-19 and need to stay isolated, so it is vital that we are able to take food to them.
In the past week we have helped 364 individuals in 174 households by purchasing food and delivering it all over East and South Leeds. 50% of people receiving emergency food parcels are from BAME communities. Our staff and volunteers have been working tirelessly to buy, pack and deliver food parcels and taking the opportunity to check-in with people to make sure they are coping as best they can and offering support to those that aren’t. This support is vital to the wellbeing of the individual and also reduces the pressure on the NHS. Support has been given in various ways; we have had friendly chats to make sure people know someone is thinking of them but we have also undertaken a number of vital suicide interventions. Covid-19 has given a whole new set of worries and problems to people already struggling to cope.
We are all becoming increasingly aware that Covid-19 is going to be with us for some time and we need your help to keep the deliveries going and to ensure we keep our most vulnerable residents fed through this crisis, so they can concentrate on dealing with the rest of life’s problems.
We have received help from Morrisons, St. George’s Crypt and Cook Leeds with the purchase of dry and long life goods but we desperately need funds to purchase fresh foods on a daily basis.
Please help us to continue this great work by donating or fundraising. Every £25 donated will supply a food parcel that will keep an individual fed for a week, and 100% of your donation will go directly to the purchase of food.
To date we have raised over £4.5K, but we desperately need this generosity to continue.
You can support the #TouchstoneLovesFood campaign by clicking the following button.
