Our colleague in Touchstone IAPT Carlyn B has written a piece about a topic close to her heart to celebrate Black History Month. We hope you enjoy reading it... BLACK HISTORY MONTH Many people do not know but the month of October every year is dedicated to black history month. The month is dedicated to remember the history of African diaspora; remembering events and important people throughout history. Black History
Raat Di Roti is ever increasing to become a popular project where volunteers and matched elderly participants come together in a cosy environment to share stories, laughter, joy, and a meal. We have had positive feedback from a few of the elderly participants and likewise from the volunteers expressing they find the experience so endearing that they have decided to engage in Raat Di Roti on a weekly basis rather
‘Parity of Esteem’ is essentially: ‘Valuing mental health equally with physical health’. More fully, parity of esteem means that, when compared with physical healthcare, mental healthcare is characterised by: Equal access to the most effective and safest care and treatment Equal efforts to improve the quality of care The allocation of time, effort and resources in proportion to need Equal status within healthcare education and practice Equally high aspirations for service users;
The Patient Empowerment Project is a social prescribing service commissioned by the West Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and delivered in partnership between BARCA Leeds, Better Leeds Communities, Mind and Touchstone. The project supports people to take control of their health and wellbeing. Participants are referred by their doctor and are supported to access groups, services and resources in their local community to help them achieve a better life. Following a one
As businesses and communities prepare for Leeds Pride this weekend, we can expect to see a plethora of rainbow flags adorning the buildings of Leeds city centre. The flag has been a symbol of LGBT unity and strength for nearly 40 years – so much so, that we rarely think about what they flag’s origins might have been. In 1977, artist Gilbert Baker was asked by gay rights activist Harvey
Delivered by Touchstone, Raat di Roti matches Punjabi-speaking volunteers with Punjabi-speaking older people to share an evening meal together. Though originally planned as a fortnightly event, some volunteers have enjoyed the activity so much that they have increased their visits to every week. In this short video, a volunteer talks with Project Worker Jesvinder about how she has benefited from the experience. For more information, please contact: jesvindert@touchstonesupport.org.uk (originally published on the Time
Photo by Bruce Wetzel, Harry Schaefer, via Wikimedia Commons 28th July is World Hepatitis Day. This year is particularly special as The World Health Organisation will deliver its Global Elimination Strategy for Viral Hepatitis, outlining the goal of eliminating the threat viral hepatitis by 2030. Viral hepatitis is curable. Hepatitis B can be prevented and hepatitis C can be treated. Better still, they can be avoided. Hep. B
Sikh Elders Service manager Chani Batebajwe describes the most recent outing organised for users of the service. SES went out on their annual trip on the 25th June to Whitby via Pickering on a steam train experience. Everyone, all 55 of them, attentively listened to the volunteer guide talking about the history of the railway and the area. At one time I thought I was going to see us riding on
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