Touchstone Operations Director Arfan Hanif reflects on the value of collaboration and how to do it well. Increasingly everything we do at Touchstone is done in collaboration, whether between colleagues in the same office or with those who work for a number of our diverse partner organisations. If I did a quick count I could easily name over 50 partners we work with. In fact we are very good at
The Positive Care Programme first ran in 2004 – providing support and learning for people with long term health conditions. The Programme introduces people to activities and therapies that can become part of their daily toolkit for living life and managing their condition. Since the programme is aimed specifically at people who would not normally be able to afford the therapies and group activities on offer, it depends on external
Touchstone Business Development Team A Journey in Coproduction (Part 1) Working Together for Equality Resource Pack A few weeks ago I attended ‘News For You’ – Touchstone’s Service User Forum. A room filled with around 20 service users, each an expert in their own right, it was wonderful, and a privilege to see how the group runs. They rotate the chair/minute taker each month, and run through the
As part of LGBT History Month, Touchstone is profiling a famous LGBT person a week on our website . This week, we are celebrating the boxer, Leeds loiner and bisexual woman, Nicola Adams. Nicola Adams, MBE (born 26 October 1982) is a British boxer and the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title. The Gold Medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, as of 2015
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning is a Trans woman and a former United States Army soldier. Born Bradley Edward Manning on December 17 1987, Chelsea was convicted by court-martial on July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act, after disclosing nearly three-quarters of a million classified or unclassified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeak’s founder Julian Assange. In August 2013, Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment and was dishonourably discharged
To celebrate LGBT History Month, but also to acknowledge the impact of bullying and discrimination on people from LGBT communities, Touchstone chief executive Alison Lowe has written a blog on this issue. This article also appears in 2017's LGBT History Month magazine. Mental health amongst minority communities is a political as well as an ethical issue. Evidence shows that marginalised groups such as black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people,
Better in Kirklees is a social prescribing service that uses a holistic approach to support people to be active and involved in their community, keeping people happier, healthier and independent for longer. A bit of background… Lisa is a 68 year old woman from Huddersfield, and was referred to BiK by Fieldhead Surgery. Lisa is a full-time, unpaid carer for her 78 year old uncle and another family member that
Here at Touchstone, we love to share our experience of inclusion and diversity to make the world a better place for all. As the number 1 ranked Top 50 Most Inclusive Employer in 2016, Touchstone can show it knows a thing or two about equality but we don’t want to hug that knowledge to ourselves - our mission is to share this expertise - so that everyone can benefit and
In the run up to World Religion Day (15th January), Arfan Hanif (operations director) explains why Touchstone is introducing training on Islamophobia and Mental Health. As an organisation diversity and inclusiveness is in Touchstone's DNA - we do what we do because it needs doing and we can’t rely on or expect others to do so. With the rise in reported hate incidents in all its nasty manifestations whether it be anti-Semitism,
Self-proclaimed Christmas lover and CBT Therapist Nicole C has taken time to write a very important and moving reflection about the festive period and the potential effect on mental health. As somebody who loves Christmas and the whole festive season it is important to be reminded that not everyone feels this way. I wanted to write something about how Christmas may be a difficult time for some people and how