This is my story. I came to know about Touchstone Housing through a friend. My tenancy in the place where I was living was ending and this caused me a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Then this friend of mine introduced me to Touchstone and she gave me their number. I rang them and they just took me in, this was like a light shining into darkness. I met with this lovely lady who said she was going to
2015–16 was our second full year of delivering the combined IMHA (Independent Mental Health Advocacy) and community advocacy contract and having successfully secured additional funding we have been able to enhance our team and our service offer. We have recruited a new full time community advocate and as a result we have brought down our waiting list and waiting times. The IMHA service continues to provide vital support to people detained in hospital and we have seen referral numbers in this team
As Touchstone’s longest standing service user, Peter (who turns 79 this year) agreed to speak to me about his background and how he first came to access our services in Leeds. Following a minor offence as a teenager, Peter found himself having to spend three years at an approved school in Todmorden. Life here was tough, and it was during his third year at the school that Peter attempted to take his own life. (Until 1969 approved schools were institutions modelled on
SDS provides individuals with person-centred one-to-one specialist mental health support. Support is tailored, flexible and recovery focused. Support is delivered by experienced Mental Health Support Workers; we aim to deliver a culturally sensitive service which meets the needs of the communities in Leeds. We currently have a staff team of 12, working across the city, 7 days per week. We recently introduced a volunteer to the team who will further enhance the current support being offered and provide additional opportunities for our service
This has been another successful year for the Sikh Elders Service with growing numbers of elders joining in regular activities and trips. The service continues to advocate on behalf of elders via one-to-one support in accessing statutory services to enable them to live independently. Despite the challenging financial environment we are always actively looking for new growth opportunities to make the service sustainable. Our membership has grown by 200% over the last two years and we circulate 300 newsletters every quarter to our elders
A Touchstone Service for the Rehabilitation of South Asian Offenders working together with the National Probation Service and the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC). What is Shafa? Shafa is a newly formed Touchstone project working across the whole of West Yorkshire. Shafa means renewal, restoration and healing in Urdu. Touchstone’s approach is to work with people who have offended from the South Asian community based on a recovery and strengths-based approach. Skilled and experienced staff will work with South Asian people who have committed
National probation case I was charged by the Parole Board to make enquiries of my client’s wife. My client is a Lifer – following a domestic murder of a female partner. Ijaz (Shafa staff member) had a good understanding of the family, and of my task, in relation to the information sought by the Parole Board, who will ultimately make a decision to release my client, or not. Ijaz was engaging and interested, which helped, given the sensitivity of the
CST is an assertive outreach service, working with people over 18 who have complex mental health conditions who are excluded from other services or unable to access other services. CST work with service users primarily on a one-to-one basis. CST use a strengths-based recovery approach, which is a person-centred model with a focus on finding the strengths and interests of service users and working positively towards service user-set goals. There are some groups available to CST service users, run in conjunction with different partners, e.g.
Heidi has historically struggled to engage in mainstream services and often found them unhelpful. Depression and overwhelming feelings of hopelessness have often played a large role in Heidi’s life. Heidi had a difficult past, growing up in Local Authority care, and struggling with illicit drug use. She made a decision that she wanted things to change. She stopped using drugs without the help of any services, and no longer uses drugs as a means to manage her mental health. Heidi has a
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