Earlier this year pre-pandemic my husband brought me a birthday gift. It was something i’d given heavy hints about and was pleased that he’d actually listened, remembered and purchased the thing that I wanted. This spared him my look of feigned appreciation (which i’m not very good at), so it would have just been blatant disappointment. Phew, we were both spared. The gift was a DNA test! Yay!! Now to
Mentally Healthy Leeds achieves recognition in a report published by the Centre for Mental Health which examines the initiatives of nine local authorities that are rising to the challenges presented by mental health in their communities. Read the full report Our place: local authorities and the public’s mental health here.
Touchstone’s Shafa project helps BAME offenders to rehabilitate by using skilled case workers with lived experience. Critically they know the language of the offenders and are of the same community. This enables trust to be developed in a way that might be difficult for a Probation Officer, and Shafa provides an invaluable resource for the Probation Service to turn to. Asif (not real name) was convicted of a first time
Black History Month is an annual celebration of the contributions and history of people from the African diaspora. Black History Month started in the United States, where celebrations take place during the month of February, whilst in the UK, BHM is every October. Black History Month was started to showcase the amazing contributions of Black people and communities from across the world. In Britain, our culture has been enriched and
Touchstone is aware of the current conversations about the use of the term BAME and other terminology that serves to "other" Black communities and people of South East Asian heritage. We are grateful for the invaluable work of Inc Arts and are pleased to share the outcome of their #BAMEOver survey. Touchstone is currently reviewing how our staff describe the communities we serve and this statement will be a useful
Shafa provides a personal touch and a common language to help South Asian offenders to break the offending cycle. With a high rate of compliance and completion, Shafa is an invaluable resource available to the probation service. Touchstone’s Shafa project works with people of South Asian origin, who have been involved with the Criminal Justice System and helps their Case Managers to gain a better understanding of the their needs.
Second chances don’t come along very often, especially if you are stigmatised by an offending history. Sometimes you need to believe in yourself before you can expect an employer to believe in you. Touchstone’s West Yorkshire Finding Independence (WYFI) project had been working with people who experience multiple and complex needs, including those who have been through the justice system, to gain the skills and the self-belief to get back
In 2019/20 a total of 9657 service users were supported by Touchstone services with a total of 8374 services users referred into services. On any given day Touchstone has about 4,000 (3963 on 31st March 2020) active/live service users. Gender: Slightly more men were supported than women during 2019/20. In terms of referrals 54% constituted men compared to 45% women. 54% Male 45% Women
Click on the links below to see the pre-recorded presentations. WEST YORKSHIRE FINDING INDEPENDENCE (WY-FI) – ROAD 2 RECOVERY EXHIBITION A co-produced arts exhibition about experiences of homelessness, addiction, reoffending and mental health. Presented by: West Yorkshire Finding Independence https://www.flickr.com/photos/187738946@N07/albums COPRODUCTION IN COMPLEX REHABILITATION A short presentation on the process and challenges of using coproduction in a complex rehabilitation environment. Presented by: John Kerslake and Sofia Haouar, Complex Rehabilitation
Mental health problems are common. They affect thousands of people in the UK, and their friends, families, work colleagues, and society in general. In Leeds around 106,000 people experience a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression (Leeds in Mind, 2017). Local hospital admissions for self-harm have been increasing for young women over the last 5 years (Young Women’s Mental Health Outcome Based Accountability Report, 2020). In Leeds, men are five