Blog

Parisa's Story – BME Carers Service case study

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

2020-04-17T10:23:55+01:005th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Case Study|

IAPT annual review

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

2020-04-17T10:24:12+01:005th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

International Volunteer Day

  By Debbie R - CBT therapist It’s International Volunteer Day on 5 December. International Volunteer Day was designated by the United Nations in 1985 as an international observance day to celebrate the power and potential of volunteering. The act of volunteering is found in all cultures, languages, and religions. Each year, hundreds of millions of people volunteer their time and skills to help make the world a better place.

2020-04-17T10:24:09+01:005th December 2016|Blog|

A sense of purpose – IAPT case study

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

2020-04-17T10:23:55+01:005th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Constantly learning – WY-FI case study

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

2020-04-17T10:24:19+01:004th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Case Study|

BME Carers Service annual review

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

2020-04-17T10:24:20+01:004th December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

East Leeds Health For All – annual review

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

2020-04-17T10:24:05+01:003rd December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Community Development Service annual review

Touchstone Community Development Service (CDS) aims to improve the quality and equity of mental health access, experience and outcomes for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in Leeds. To achieve this, the CDS team actively engages and works co-productively with various statutory, third sector and community and faith-based partners. In 2015–16, for each quarter, we engaged with over 70 groups, services, and strategic and local multiagency networks. CDS is funded by Leeds City Council Public Health to deliver on three key priorities: Challenging stigma and discrimination

2020-04-17T10:24:21+01:002nd December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

West Yorkshire Finding Independence (WY-FI) annual review

WY-FI entered Year three of the project in June 2016. A Big Lottery funded partnership working collaboratively with services and beneficiaries (service users) across West Yorkshire as part of 12 National Fulfilling Lives Projects. Our aim is to engage and support individuals with experience of Multiple Complex Needs (MCN: Homelessness, Offending, Mental Health & Addiction) and contribute to movements in system change that improve accessibility to individuals experiencing MCN. As a specialist provider within the partnership we lead on BME Engagement & ETE (Employment, Training & Education).

2016-12-02T13:08:50+00:002nd December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Housing Service annual review

The importance of safe, stable and secure housing in promoting wellbeing and positive mental health cannot be overstated. The Housing Team strive to support people to find appropriate accommodation as well as manage and maintain existing tenancies more effectively. 216 service users were supported in the last year. Outcome Star Scores for the year demonstrate significant improvements – especially around tenancy management and improved mental health. Service user feedback from recent questionnaires has been very positive about Touchstone’s Housing Service: 100% of service

2020-04-17T10:24:01+01:002nd December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|