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
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
A woman in her 70s approached the dementia worker following a talk at a local women’s group, sharing her concerns of having similar symptoms for the last few months. She was advised to contact her GP and advised to ask for a memory test if she felt that her memory loss was not a part of her normal ageing process. As well as contact details for the BME Dementia Service, she was also given a fact sheet on ‘How the GP
I was a university student, studying accountancy but dropped out due to poor health and then worked as a security guard before joining Touchstone. I was once a service user with Touchstone and was introduced to the Touchstone volunteering course by my housing officer. I have been volunteering for two years now. I don’t visit service users but I see them in the drop-in at the Support Centre on a weekly basis. I support with emotional and practical issues. At the drop-in
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
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
My name is Ikhtsham Lone. I’m a young man from Chapel Allerton and throughout my life, I had to live through somebody who was living with a mental illness. Things got so bad that it slightly broke the family apart. I ended up moving out but still went to visit my mother who was living with the mental illness. I eventually started realising the changes in her moods when she got in touch with Touchstone. I started to ask more
Two of the women who attend the Dosti group tell their story and explain the difference the support of the group has made to them. I used to attend ESOL classes, but my asthma got really bad so I stopped going. I then stayed at home. My husband passed away in 2011 and my life completely changed. I suffered from severe depression and never left the house, stayed at home
Seeking to improve diabetes awareness in the South Asian community (where the condition is particularly prevalent), Touchstone joined in partnership with Leeds Community Health NHS Trust to deliver Sadee Smile - an 8 week course to help people understand and manage the condition. 11 courses were run in a variety of venues around Leeds, by staff who were able to communicate with participants in their native languages. When the course