Blog Archives - Page 33 of 49

LGBT History Month – Chelsea Manning

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

2020-04-17T10:26:00+01:0010th February 2017|Blog, Equality and Diversity, LGBT History Month, LGBT*|

Mental Health within BAME and LGBT communities

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,

2020-04-17T10:25:57+01:003rd February 2017|Blog, Equality and Diversity, LGBT History Month, LGBT*, Research|

Better in Kirklees case study

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

2020-04-17T10:25:52+01:0031st January 2017|Blog, Carers, Case Study, Social Prescribing|

Sharing your Equality Expertise Makes the World a Fairer Place

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

2020-04-17T10:25:25+01:0020th January 2017|Blog, Equality and Diversity, Partnership|

'The dangers of not knowing and not doing'

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,

2020-04-17T10:25:05+01:0013th January 2017|Blog, Diversity, Equality and Diversity|

Christmas time and mental health

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

2020-04-17T10:24:46+01:0020th December 2016|Blog|

Winter Solistice has arrived…but what does it mean?!

Wednesday 21st December marks the Winter Solstice. However, not many of us are aware of what this means and it's significance. To enlighten us Touchstone IAPT CBT therapist Paul P has written this wonderfully witty piece to bring attention to this time of reflection. Enjoy and happy solstice one and all. Winter Solstice. Aren’t they lovely words? They make me think of Bond films; of crisp snow-capped mountains, skis and

2020-04-17T10:24:44+01:0020th December 2016|Blog|

Peer Mentor Training

WY-FI runs regular Peer Mentor Training, to encourage people to pass on the benefit of their experience to others who may be struggling with similar circumstances. Using their own knowledge and lived experience of local services and recovery options, WY-FI Peer Mentors support and build up mentoring relationships. Because they’ve been through similar situations to the people they’re working with, they demonstrate that recovery is possible, and therefore can give

2020-04-17T10:24:41+01:0016th December 2016|Blog, Complex Needs, Feedback, Partnership, Volunteering|

East Leeds Health For All case studies

After contacting a service user whom we had not seen for a couple of weeks, we were informed that they had had no heating or hot water for three months (the weather was very cold at the time). The service user was in bed trying to stay warm and had given up. We encouraged the service user to visit the Winter Wellbeing Café; they had symptoms of hypothermia and a severe chest infection. A hot meal and clothing were given and emergency

2016-12-10T16:36:50+00:0010th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Case Study|

Better in Kirklees case study

Mrs M is 72 years old and lives in the Cleckheaton area of Kirklees. She recently lost her husband to a long term illness and was a carer for him, in addition to caring for her mother and a friend, both of whom passed away in the space of two years. Before going through bereavement and a difficult time, Mrs M had an active lifestyle; she enjoyed being an active member of the church and going to local social groups

2016-12-09T15:48:12+00:009th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Case Study, Social Prescribing|