Volunteering is proven to help maintain a positive mental health and also aid recovery after experiencing a mental health difficulty.
People who take part in volunteering see improvements in their own wellbeing as they have a more active social circle, a sense of feeling valued and also experience an increase in confidence.
It is also a good stepping stone for people who are thinking of getting back into paid employment.
Volunteers get involved in a wide range of roles in the Trust including:
The People’s Forum is run by and for service users to consult with and represent the views of mental health service users across Leicestershire and Rutland.
Our aim is to ensure that you have a voice and that your views, opinions and ideas about mental health services are listened to. Through this we inform and influence the planning and delivery of mental health services.
We can keep you informed and involved through our quarterly newsletter, circulating consultation information and signposting engagement activities.
We meet every month to discuss current mental health issues and we visit wards, and meetings around the county to canvass views and share the work we are doing.
Members benefit from peer support and feel empowered.
To make sure your voice is heard contact the People’s Forum on:
Both ‘Akwaaba’ and ‘Ayeh’ mean WELCOME in Akan (spoken in Ghana) and Hindi (spoken in South Asia).
Akwaaba Ayeh’s main purpose is to help and empower Black (a collective term used to describe client groups who originate from South Asia (i.e.India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) Africa and the Caribbean, and their carers experiencing/living with mental illness, from the very acute to a mild emotional imbalance.
Advocacy is provided to the client groups identified above living in the City. Other services provided include:
Representation at Mental Health Review Tribunals, providing sufficient information as to enable choice, liaising with other related agencies.
Providing information, advice and guidance in relation to employment, training, finances and support.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) helps children and young people who have been referred by another healthcare professional.
Referrals are made if it’s thought the child or young person has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties at a level which requires specialist support.
We provide a range of services including initial assessments, therapy, group work, emergency assessments and in-patient care.
How can you access our service?
• Speak to your GP or Paediatrician • Speak to your Educational Psychologist – if you have one • Speak to a Social Worker – if you have one
The Carers Centre (LeicesterShire & Rutland) offers a range of services. Supporting carers across Leicester City, Leicestershire and Rutland. We can offer:
Advocacy support and representation
Community-based advice (including home visits)
Telephone/email advice and support
Emotional support
Carers groups and forums
Regular newsletters/mailshots
Consultation with carers and professionals on a range of carers’ issues
Partnership with a range of organisations to promote the needs of carers
Promote carer involvement in planning of carers’ services.
There is a regular drop-in on Tuesday mornings from 9.30am-12.30pm and some Saturdays (by appointment).
Aspiro is a not for profit social enterprise that provides employment advice and support for adults with a lived experience of mental ill health or a learning disability.
We provide most of our services through regular Employment Clinics across Leicester city, Leicestershire and Rutland.
All our services are free and people can self refer or ask their CPN, Social Worker, other professional or carer to contact us.
We also provide mentoring, a weekly Job Club, plus employability (group based) courses, to help with motivation and confidence building, job applications and interview skills.
We have helped over 100 people into work: half are in paid jobs and the rest are volunteering or doing work placements.
We work in partnership with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and work locally with Jobcentre Plus.
Advance is a national support provider and registered Housing Association, providing services to more than 4000 people across many parts of England, including more than 2000 people with mental health problems.
We provide places to live for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems.
We also provide support for people so they can live their lives the way they want.
We give employment advice for people with disabilities who want to get into work.
We have been closely involved with SISO since 2009 when Advance staff and customers brought it into being, have provided funding and guidance ever since, and are delighted that this exciting project has come so far.
We continue to be linked with SISO as a Community Interest Company, with several staff representing Advance at Board level; and we promote its activities on our website and at local and national events.
SISO grows and co-ordinate’s the delivery of recovery focused information, projects and services relating to mental health.
The rethinkyourmind project was born out of the Community Interest Company SISO.
SISO originally formed to empower mental health service users to become valued and active members of their respective communities, ensuring that people feel safe within themselves and their wider community, helping make the recovery journey a reality.
SISO works to reduce stigma and inequalities associated with mental health, promote control, self management, hope and optimism incorporating a ‘whatever works for you philosophy’ in tandem with personalisation and self directed support.
SISO focuses on what people can do and not what they can’t do, taking a panoramic view of a person’s life and not just a life governed by a mental health diagnoses.
Advance have supported SISO in their journey to become a Community Interest Company, and continue to do so as they grow and build capacity as a service provider.
SISO have also received generous support from the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
Professor Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford OBE is SISO’s Patron.
Visit the SISO Website to find out more about its work and vision for the future:
The Leicester based Citizens Eye’s community news agency has a mental health news agency called How Are You Today?
The meetings take place the first Sunday of every month at the Phoenix Square Film 7 Digital Media Centre in Leicester.
The informal meetings begin at 2.00 pm and last for about an hour in the relaxing cafe surroundings.
For those who are interested in attending, the purpose of the group is really to discuss mental health and its plethora of issues, provide what personal support we can and try to address some of the discrimination and stigma that accompanies this whole area.
The meeting is open to anyone with an interest in mental health. There is no compulsion or pressure to talk and people can be as open or ‘closed’ as they wish. It is very informal.
You can find out more on our facebook page ‘How Are You Today?’ or on the Citizens Eye site
