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LGBT History Month Profile – Virginia Woolf

To celebrate LGBT History Month in February 2016, Touchstone will profile a significant figure from LGBT history each week. Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century. Between the two World Wars, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a central figure in the influential Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals.

2020-04-17T10:09:48+01:0026th February 2016|Blog, LGBT History Month|

Four out of ten adults have experienced mental health problems. Findings from a new national survey about mental health.

John Halsall from the Community Development Service presents the second in a series of data blogs - examining the meaning behind reports and statistics from various sources. You can read his first blog here.   In January 2016 the Health & Social Care Information Centre published two chapters in the Health Survey for England, 2014: Chapter 2: Mental health problems Chapter 3: Attitudes towards mental illness This short article highlights

2020-04-17T10:09:31+01:0012th February 2016|Blog, Data and Statistics, Research|

Happy Chinese New Year!

​ By Geraldine M ​Monday 8th February 2016 is the day many people will be saying ‟Gong xi fa cai” (pronounced, roughly, ‟gong she fars eye”) - the Chinese greeting for ‟Happy New Year” - meaning ‟Be happy, get rich”.   …to which the response is often ‟Hong bao na lai” (‟hong bow na lie”) which means ‟Where’s my red envelope?” since a red envelope with money inside is a

2016-02-08T12:41:26+00:008th February 2016|Blog, Diversity, Events|

Harvey Milk – vision, courage and passion

To celebrate LGBT History Month in February 2016, Touchstone will profile a significant figure from LGBT history each week. Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk began his tenure by sponsoring a civil rights bill that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.

2020-04-17T10:09:25+01:005th February 2016|Blog, Diversity, LGBT History Month|

Thinking of friends on World Cancer Day – 4th February 2016

Thursday 4th February marks World Cancer Day, our Business Development Director Jess shares some of her thoughts and experiences of cancer and the support we can all offer:   On the 4th February we mark World Cancer Day and I wanted to write about some people I know who have been affected by the illness.    Firstly, my hike club friend, who I met through a neighbour.  She was in her

2020-04-17T10:09:21+01:003rd February 2016|Blog|

Writing for Wellbeing – National Story Telling Week

To coincide with National Story Telling Week (30 Jan - 6 Feb) one of our therapists Louise A has written a piece on the therapeutic benefits of writing for wellbeing: Writing for wellbeing When we feel upset, low or anxious we can often feel the urge to talk about it, whether that is with someone close to us or within a talking therapy. Sometimes though, we may not be able

2016-01-30T09:00:55+00:0030th January 2016|Blog, CBT|

Kirklees Advocacy Service – annual review

2014–2015 has been a busy and exciting year for Touchstone in Kirklees. We have continued our community mental health advocacy work and have now integrated the new Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) service into our existing team. We have taken on new staff, embarked on specialised training and increased our service activity by almost 300%. Our staff and volunteers have really embraced these changes and we are proud of the

2020-04-17T10:08:50+01:0022nd January 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Case Study|

Dissociation – The Hidden Mental Health Issue

The tagline isn’t entirely correct – so I’ll start by apologising for that. Very quickly, something about me. I’ve been a housing support worker here at Touchstone for less than a year but I’ve worked with people in crisis for about five years. It amazes me how commonplace dissociative issues seem to be, yet there’s so little awareness of them. So I thought I’d write something about them here. I

2020-04-17T10:08:52+01:0022nd December 2015|Blog|

The Last “Bhoolee Bisree Yaadein” (Forgotten Memories) of 2015

Bhoolee Bisree Yaadein (BBY) is a monthly musical event for 55+ years old service users and their friends organised by the Sikh Elders Service. The event is held on the last Thursday of the month at Apna Day Centre where the community gathers to hear local musical talent. The group also play popular Indian singing games remembering songs from the golden era of Indian film and share a vegetarian meal.

2020-04-17T10:08:54+01:0021st December 2015|Blog|