Hi. I’m back with (I’m sure) the highly anticipated part B of my musings about dementia. As promised below is a transcript of my interview with a person living with a parent with dementia. I hope you enjoy the read and even better if it changes the way you might view those with and those dealing with dementia, as it has done for me….oh and we also get to find
My name is Leota Benjamin and I have worked for Touchstone for several years. My current role is a Mental Health Outreach Worker with The Community Support Team. In addition, I work as an approved Foster Carer, employed by Leeds City Council Children Services for more than 10 years. Being a Foster Carer is a highly skilled and specialist role, which requires energy, compassion and understanding. My main role amongst
We are really excited to announce the launch of a new service in Leeds, Your Space, which will start on the 1st April 2019. The new service will deliver and promote a range of activities, awareness campaigns and signposting for people who live in LS8, LS9, LS10 and LS11. We will work with individuals and communities to develop and identify the tools, skills and know-how to live happy, healthy lives,
Yorkshire mental health charity Touchstone celebrates achieving coveted three star accreditation in the annual Sunday Times Best Companies to Work survey in recognition of its extraordinary levels of employee engagement. The charity, ranked 8th in The Sunday Times Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For 2019, was also given the Discovering Potential award for the third year running and the Giving Something Back award for first time. This is the seventh
International Women’s Day events are held worldwide on March 8 to celebrate women and their global contribution. Various women, including political, community, and business leaders, as well as leading educators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and television personalities, are usually invited to speak at events on the day, highlighting their successes to illustrate how much progress has been made, and often how much further there is till yet to go. Many students in
The Touchstone Volunteers Project is very open, diverse and service user (SU) friendly. Not only do our SU benefit from the contributions of volunteers, but some also take on the role themselves. Volunteers have the opportunity to volunteer in a number of roles across Touchstone and with partner organisations. Some of our volunteers are befrienders for SU's. This has resulted in SU's reporting an increase in attending social activities, a
Best Start Peer Support Project If you are pregnant or a carer of an under 2 yr old and live in South or East Leeds, why not get involved? Improve your self-esteem, learn new skills and help others in your community. What can we offer? The Best Start Peer Support Programme is offering a free course to help people manage better when pregnant or if they are a parents/carer for a
Jim Leyland (Touchstone's Operations Director – Inclusion) talks about the work Touchstone does to ensure adequate safeguarding for our clients and their communities. I am really excited in Safeguarding Week to share the work we have been doing at Touchstone with Leeds Safeguarding Adults Board. We were asked to contribute a service user voice to the new Leeds Safeguarding Adults policy and procedure. Colleagues from the board, including the chair of
The Best Start Peer Support Programme aims to empower individuals and families about the relationships they have at home and with professionals, in order that they make healthier informed choices about their lives and therefore become better carers and parents producing healthy children, in line with the Best Start plan for the city. In year one, we received 152 referrals. We have successfully found our niche and created a programme
The Migrant Access Project (MAP+) helps new arrivals in Leeds to connect with the local community, including finding volunteering opportunities. One of our MAP+ volunteers have shared some of her experience and feedback with us: "I suffered a really bad injury at work and had to reduce my hours, which meant I started getting into debt. My emotional health deteriorated. Meeting the Leeds Neighbourhood approach officers and Nick has helped