Celebrating Eid-al-Fitr To celebrate Eid our colleague Gul H has written the following piece to explain about the festivities. Eid-al-Fitr is said to have originated when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) arrived in the city of Medina, he found some people celebrating two explicit days on which they used to entertain themselves with recreation and merriment. When he asked about this, the response was that these days were occasions of
On an annual basis questionnaires are sent out to service users in order to ascertain their views/opinions about Touchstone and the service they have received. The feedback and views of service users plays a key role in identifying best practice, areas for improvement and informing our approach to delivering quality outcomes and continuous improvement. During early summer questionnaires were sent out to a total of 1498 Service users. The key headline
Annual Information Report 2015/16 Often service users come up to me describing what great services Touchstone provides. This always brings a big smile to my face. However I also recognise such comments may be subjective in nature. Certainly nothing wrong with this as feedback from service users provides a very useful insight into whether we are providing a quality service. By adding data and intelligence to the mix you will
Back in March 2016 we welcomed Minja and Zellany, 2 Creative Practitioners from the South Community Mental Health Team temporarily to the Community Support Team. The aim is to create new alliances and partnership working across the CMHT and CST, develop new ways of working to supporting colleagues with caseloads and enable clients in their recovery. They were tasked to identify resources within the locality, strengthen the relationship between NHS
July 10th is Disability Awareness Day, and so I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the disabilities which people may not be aware of or even recognise in the community. Hidden Disabilities can be defined as a physical or mental health condition that limits a person’s movements, senses or activities, yet may not be immediately apparent or recognised. As a Housing Support Worker, I find myself providing a
As we approach the end of Ramadhan, Carers Leeds and Touchstone would like to share some information on what it means to observe Ramadhan and how it may affect the daily lives of carers and others. Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar. For 30 days Muslims spend the daylight hours in a complete fast (19 hours this year). Muslims abstain from all food and drink. Ramadhan
At our recent coproduction conference, we asked all the attendees to write down some of the words that they felt were most important when considering coproduction (design of services in a way which allows equal input from the people who use those services as well as those who deliver, fund or facilitate them). The finished list was used by poet Adam Montgomery to inspire the following poem, which we're publishing
This week, June 28, will mark the 47th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the event largely regarded as a catalyst for the LGBT movement for civil rights in the United States. The riots inspired LGBT people throughout the country to organize in support of gay rights, and within two years after the riots, gay rights groups had been started in nearly every major city in the United States. At the
To coincide with refugee week our colleague, Morteza H at IAPT has written about his experiences of being a refugee. Happy refugee week Having come to this country as a refugee, I feel obliged to acknowledge the Refugee Week with extra care; or perhaps the prosperous life I have established makes me feel proud to celebrate this special occasion as a way of thanks giving. Regardless, I am very proud
We asked some of the men who come to the Men’s Gym and Swimming Group organised by Touchstone Community Development service the question "How do you beat stress?". Here's what they had to say. “I love swimming, I feel relieved whenever I have the chance to swim. I also find that exercise, eating healthy and watching television helps me beat stress. Volunteering and helping other people gives me a sense