We are delighted to announce that Touchstone has been awarded the new Mental Health Peer Led Brokerage contract by Kirklees Council, to commence on 1 October 2017. Touchstone has been delivering the pilot of this innovative service for the past four years, enabling people living with mental health difficulties to use their Direct Payments to access a wide variety of Self Directed Support (SDS) solutions. With this new contract we
Touchstone supports people from a wide range of backgrounds and we aim to reflect the same diversity among our staff. To check how we're doing, each year we ask staff to complete a brief survey. The results of our 2017 survey are summarised below. 16% of staff have a disability, compared to 14% the previous year. Our current objective is 15%. 9% of our current service users have a disability. 47% of
Time to Change Leeds is looking for passionate volunteers who have experienced mental health problems. Joining the Champion Campaign Group is an opportunity to meet like-minded people and campaign together to celebrate mental health in the city. You are essential to making a difference. If you want to find out more, please attend the information session on: Wednesday 9th August, 1.30pm – 3.30pm West Room, Civic Hall, Calverley Street,
Depression is much more common than we often think; sometimes we do not even recognize what it is... Depression is debilitating and it can hit anyone of us: male or female, young or old, regardless of our social circumstances. The important thing to realize is that there is hope and things will get better - recovery is a reality. Leeds Grand Mosque is happy to announce that it will be
Unpaid carers are crucial both to our communities and to the sustainability of health and care in the city. If Leeds is to be the best city in the UK for health and wellbeing then it has to be the best for carers. The Leeds Commitment to Carers has been co-produced by members of the Leeds Carers Partnership, which includes a significant contribution from carers, to set out what being the best city for carers would look like. That
What do I need to become a WY-FI Peer Mentor? To become a WY-FI Peer Mentor you must have: previous experience of volunteering or peer mentoring (supporting people) lived experience of at least two of the following: homelessness addiction to drugs, substances and/or alcohol re-offending behaviour mental ill health How do I become a WY-FI Peer Mentor? The next WY-FI peer mentor course will begin in August 2017. Closing dates
At Touchstone we strive to model all that is great about coproduction. In 2016, we delivered Leeds’ first ever coproduction conference which included contributions from all sectors and - of course - experts by experience as a given. We also wrote a blog about the conference for SCIE, which can be found here: http://coproductionweek.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/coproduction-conference.html On 6th July 2017, to coincide with Coproduction Week, Touchstone and our partners Leeds Involving People,
As part of Dementia Awareness Week, Touchstone (in partnership wit the Reginald Centre and Feel Good Factor) is organising a dementia information event for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities on Thursday 18th May. We'll be at the Reginald Centre on Chapeltown Road in Leeds from 9:30am to 1pm. Join us at this free information event and hear from: Tim Sanders, Integrated Commissioning and Transformation Manager, Dementia, NHS Leeds Clinical
Last Friday Brudenell Groove – the not-for-profit dance party held an event at HiFi raising money for Touchstone and Yorkshire MESMAC. We’d like to say a huge thank to you Brudenell Groove, for supporting us and for challenging discrimination and for creating safer party spaces. To find out more about Brudenell Groove head over to https://brudenellgrooveleeds.tumblr.com where you can read their pieces on Touchstone and Yorkshire MESMAC. Thank you!
Positive Care Programme What is this? A 4 week programme of complementary therapies and workshops How can this help? The treatments can help with: Depression Loneliness Anxiety Chronic physical pain Fibromyalgia Chronic stress Sleep Issues And a range of other conditions… What will be available? One to one Complementary Therapies to de-stress and deal with both physical and mental health conditions Workshops to help with stress relief and coping mechanisms, including