Previously divorced with children Ms. B had managed to maintain a good standard of living in that she had made a beautiful home. She felt lonely and thought she would never find a partner who would be with a divorcee with children. So when she met her second husband it made her feel that she had found the right man. Soon after marrying, her new partner began placing demands on her such as expecting her to pay off debts. His behaviour
The Peer Led Brokerage Service offers free, independent advice and practical help with putting together Self Directed Support (SDS) packages for individuals, which are funded by their direct payment personal budget from Kirklees Council. PBS is designed and delivered by people with experience of mental health difficulties and mental health services. We help people to choose the kind of support they want and to work out what’s best for them and their recovery. During the past 12 months we have worked with a total
A woman in her 70s approached the dementia worker following a talk at a local women’s group, sharing her concerns of having similar symptoms for the last few months. She was advised to contact her GP and advised to ask for a memory test if she felt that her memory loss was not a part of her normal ageing process. As well as contact details for the BME Dementia Service, she was also given a fact sheet on ‘How the GP
I was a university student, studying accountancy but dropped out due to poor health and then worked as a security guard before joining Touchstone. I was once a service user with Touchstone and was introduced to the Touchstone volunteering course by my housing officer. I have been volunteering for two years now. I don’t visit service users but I see them in the drop-in at the Support Centre on a weekly basis. I support with emotional and practical issues. At the drop-in
I am a carer for my daughter. After hearing about Carers Leeds I went to their office for support. Shuria arranged to come and visit me at my home to discuss my support. I was happy to see her as before this I had no proper support. My worker introduced me to a volunteer at Touchstone who provided language support for us to communicate better; this was very helpful. Shuria supported me to appeal a Disability Living Allowance decision and prepare for
During 2015–2016 we have continued to deliver free psychological therapy to address anxiety and depression from a wide range of community venues across Leeds. We currently see people from community venues in Harehills, Chapeltown, Armley, Hyde Park, Woodhouse, City Centre, and Beeston. Touchstone IAPT have offered appointments to 4,052 clients over the year and a total of 2,807 clients have been seen by a Touchstone clinician. We have completed 12,261 appointments over the year across a range of different CBT based interventions, including group based Stress
The client was from a BME background and referred herself to IAPT after being recommended by her GP due to anxiety. On attending her first appointment she reported that this had a significant impact on her mood so the worker explained the concept of behavioural activation and made plans to continue her levels of activity. The sessions changed to telephone sessions at the request of the client after her first treatment appointment as she advised she would not be able to
I didn’t realise how poorly I was and it took people and services to show me. When I heard about WY-FI and that it was formulated by Experts by Experience and staff combined, I wanted to find out more. Through my learning and being in the project I have been surrounded by a wealth of people and information and know that there are people in WY-FI who have experienced their ‘rock bottoms’. I could talk about the things relating to
Touchstone’s BME Carers Service provides support to carers from black and minority ethnic communities. We work as part of a city-wide Carers Service in partnership with Carers Leeds and Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust to provide a dedicated Single Point of Access for all carers in Leeds needing information, advice and support. In 2015, Carers Leeds launched Charity Log, its new database. This has been an exciting step forward in providing high quality support to carers, enabling us to monitor our work and
Touchstone East Leeds Health for All (ELHFA) aims to reduce health inequalities and promote local health improvements. In 2015–16, we used community development approaches and engaged with local communities and partner organisations to improve health and wellbeing directly as well as addressing wider determinants of ill health. ELHFA ran eight different project activities that promote healthier lifestyles and wellbeing. People who accessed our services improved on average from 0.6 to 1.2 points on all the seven areas of outcomes on the Wellbeing Wheel measures. Our Activities