People M@tter” - the newsletter of CREST Waltham Forest
Mental Health and Harmony …
… North East London Mental Health Trust (NELMHT) and PSS Together (PSST) would like to invite you to a free Waltham Forest Mental Health Conference from 9.45am to 1.45pm on Monday 30th June 2008 at Harmony Hall, 10 Truro Road, Walthamstow, London E17 7BY. Lunch and light refreshments included. The conference will look at current mental health topics, including
- Recovery and Well-being in mental health
- How NELMHT will be incorporating Recovery and Well-being in all its services
- What Recovery and Well-being in mental health will mean for voluntary sector organisations in Waltham Forest
- An update on NELMHT’s application for Foundation Trust status and how you can be involved
Key speakers include:
- Dr Julie Repper (Reader), School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield and co-author of the best-selling book “Social Inclusion and Recovery: A Model for Mental Health Practice”
- Jacqui Van Rossum, Borough Manager, NELMHT
- Judy Wilson, Chief Executive, NELMHT
Contact Diane or Rob at PSST on 020 8509 0812 for further details.
Mental health affects everyone and good mental health
is as important as good physical health
“We’re Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo – How About You, You, You” …
… is the title of an exciting outing to be undertaken by 28 users of the Waltham Forest Mental Health Befriending Service to London Zoo on 1st July 2008. This is all thanks to Community TeamWorks, the community involvement programme of investment bank Goldman Sachs who are allowing their staff a day off work to volunteer for a project benefiting the community.
At the end of July, users of CREST’s Albany Project for Older People with a Disability will also have the same opportunity, courtesy again of Goldman Sachs, under the project title “We’re Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo – Part Two, Two, Two”.
As if all this were not enough, in May a team of twelve volunteers gave the CREST office a much-needed redecoration (under the project title “Paint the Day Away”).
Farewell, So Long …
… after six years of being CREST’s Mental Health Befriending Co-ordinator, Malcolm Couldridge is leaving. As well as being the architect of the Waltham Forest Mental Health Befriending Service over that period, recruiting innumerable volunteers who have provided literally hundreds of hours support to people experiencing mental health problems, Malcolm has tirelessly helped determine the direction of CREST. He will be much missed in the CREST office and remembered for his patience, kindness and overall commitment to the plight of those experiencing mental health problems in Waltham Forest.
So Where Does This Leave the Mental Health Befriending Service Now? …
… The funding from Capital Volunteering, the funding stream that has been supporting the Service since January 2006 has come to an end. At the present time we do not have the funding in place to replace Malcolm Couldridge with another worker. In the interim, whilst funding is being sought, the current Service will be maintained by Alan Horne, Co-ordinator of CREST, and Mike Pritchard, Chair of CREST. We will however not be able to train any new volunteers for the time being nor will we be able to accept new referrals of users to the Service until further notice.
As far as future funding is concerned, we have already got through the first stage of a lottery bid and are currently in the process of preparing the second stage alongside other funding bids.
Somewhat ironically, Malcolm has actually left the Waltham Forest Mental Health Befriending Service in a very strong position. We currently have:
- Seventeen volunteers actively providing one-to-one befriending support to eighteen service users on a regular basis
- Two additional volunteers making weekly calls to service users on the waiting list for a befriending service
- Nine more volunteers awaiting a matching with a service user
- Plus an additional twelve new volunteers who have just completed a training course, awaiting the receipt of references and CRB checks.
Forty volunteers in total!
If you have any spare daytime availability and would like to provide some daytime administrative support to the Service through this difficult time, please contact Alan Horne.
Find out more about the Waltham Forest Mental Health Befriending Service from the January newsletter.
Ex-CREST President Dies in Jamaica
… ex-CREST President and irreplaceable pioneer of the UK’s Black Church movement, The Reverend Io Smith, has died, aged seventy. Rev Dr Io Smith was a minister in the New Testament Assembly, one of the UK’s best known Black Majority Churches, in which she served as pastor and international representative. She was also known as the author of the book “An Ebony Cross: Being Black in Britain Today” (published in 1989) which has a foreword by Archbishop Robert Runcie. Dr Smith was a key figure in establishing Black Christianity in the UK.
Arriving in London in 1957, as a Baptist, she responded to the rejection and unfriendliness she experienced by joining a Black Pentecostal Church. This paved the way to leadership roles in the church and wider community. She pastored at New Testament Assembly in Leyton, was Development Officer at the Zebra Project in Tower Hamlets, assisting in the development of CREST’s Zebra Project in Waltham Forest. She also worked in partnership with CREST developing holiday Playscheme provision in Leyton. She was General Secretary of the New Testament Assembly for 25 years. Ten years ago she was awarded an MBE for her contribution to community work.
Dr Smith died on Sunday 11th May 2008 in her native island of Jamaica where she returned to live in 1999. She is survived by her husband, Leonard Smith, five children and grandchildren. The funeral took place in Jamaica on 29th May 2008.
CREST Speaker Wins Prestigious Award …
… Liz Miller, co-founder of the Doctors Support Network, which provides support for doctors experiencing mental health problems, has been awarded the prestigious MIND Champion of the Year Award. Liz was the keynote speaker at CREST’s Mental Health and Stigma Conference held at the Education Centre in Walthamstow in May 2006. Liz’s story was featured in the national Guardian on Wednesday 11th June.
At the Very Heart of Walthamstow…
… there lies a deep sense of harmony. Situated at the heart of Walthamstow, just off Walthamstow High Street with good access to transport links, Harmony Hall offers community groups accommodation at reduced affordable rates. Open from 9am to 11pm, seven days a week, we have two halls available for hire which can each accommodate 90 people seated and 120 unseated. Ideal for both one-off and regular events. White board and overhead projector are available on request. In addition, an IT suite is available with ten computers on high-speed broadband connection, ideal for IT training courses etc. This room is also available for hire for meetings for smaller groups of people (ten to fifteen). Click here for further details.
Return to Index for the Parish of Walthamstow Magazine, July/August 2008
