Winter and Christmas can be a challenging time for many of us. If you need support over the festive break, there are places that can help. Touchstone have put together a Winter Wellbeing booklet to help you find support over the holidays across Leeds, Kirklees, and Wakefield. It contains information about: mental health support for adults and young people; domestic violence and abuse support; staying warm this Winter with
Our Inclusive Crisis Alternative project has been working hard gathering insights into how we can improve crisis alternative provision for people who are neurodivergent and/or have a learning difficulty. We are excited to share the project's process and findings so far! This piece of research by Touchstone, a VCSE mental health charity in West Yorkshire, has been commissioned by NHSE (North East and Yorkshire), and is being led by
This Carers' Rights Day is all about knowing and using your rights as a carer. Read on to learn more about Carers' Rights from our Carers Staff Network Lead, Tristan. Do you care? Know your rights, use your rights. I’ve had a lot of conversations about being a Carer, recently. No matter how often I do, I’m always surprised to learn that people don’t like to class themselves as
What is Islamophobia Awareness Month? November is Islamophobia Awareness month. This month shines a spotlight on the Islamophobia and hatred experienced by many Muslim communities across the UK and the globe and unites us in the fight against it. This year’s theme is ‘Flip the Script’, focusing on how we can all positively challenge negative narratives that stereotype, demean, and harm Muslims in our communities and highlight the positive
We at Touchstone are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific attack in Manchester yesterday, targeting the Jewish community. Any attack on any place of worship regardless of faith and belief is unacceptable and is an attack on us all. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community as we do with all faith communities who are subject to hate and persecution. We denounce all forms of hate, violence
Podcast Links Being Men - Touchstone - Podcast - Apple Podcasts Being Men - Touchstone | Podcast on Spotify Being Men - Touchstone Podcast | Listen on Amazon Music The Being Men podcast grew out of the Touchstone Men’s Network, a network of men working across the mental health sector in Leeds. At its heart, the network is a peer support group
At Touchstone we are saddened by the rise in hostile and divisive language and actions directed towards minority groups, migrants, asylum seekers/refugees and diverse communities. Words that once would have been seen as discriminatory or hateful are increasingly being normalised, creating fear and anxiety, and contributing to the rise in hate crime incidents. We take pride in being a diverse organisation, employing colleagues from many different backgrounds and serving
This Loneliness Awareness Week, we are spotlighting our Being You Leeds service! Being You Leeds supports communities in Leeds to stay well, by creating spaces for people to connect with each other, learn about their mental health, and boost their wellbeing. Read on to learn more about their support in their own words... Being You Leeds is a partnership service, funded by Public Health, that helps people to connect
May is Maternal Mental Health Month. This month promotes the importance of mental health support for all mothers and particularly raises awareness of mental health problems experienced before, during and after pregnancy (the perinatal period). Touchstone provides a range of specialist mental health support for people in the perinatal period. This month, we want to spotlight the forms of support we offer. Perinatal Support at Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service
This month is National Walking Month! Walking can be a great way to boost our mental health and connect with other people in our communities. To celebrate this month and shout about the amazing power of walking, we are a shining a spotlight on our Active Travel Project, which runs friendly, accessible walking groups across Leeds and Yorkshire. If you would like to get walking, read on to learn