News Archive September 2019

Suffolk Mind is hosting an event for people looking for support and guidance to get themselves back into the workplace.

The free Return to Work event is being held at Quay Place, Ipswich on Wednesday 25 September, 10am – 3pm. There will be confidence workshops, CV and interview advice from recruitment experts polkadotfrog, plus workshops from Suffolk Mind explaining how people can keep themselves mentally well by meeting their emotional needs.

Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind, Jon Neal said: “We all have mental health, and we all have the same emotional needs that must be met in order to stay well and not stressed. Work, or volunteering, can provide opportunities to meet all sorts of needs like Meaning and Purpose, Achievement, Community and Status, for example.

“Sometimes it can be a very stressful experience to even apply for a new job, let alone attend an interview, perhaps for the first time in many years, or start a new role. This is because we’re not fully in control of what will happen, and we can get anxious about an unknown or unfamiliar environment.

“We want to offer as much guidance and assistance as possible to people in Suffolk who are looking to get back to work.”

We will be offering people the chance to pick up a piece of clothing from our pre-loved rail for their interviews and working life with a stylist on hand to help you chose the right outfit.

It’s also an opportunity to meet the Suffolk Mind volunteering team.

Volunteer Manager, Corrina Hanley said: “If you’re not quite ready to jump straight back into the workplace, volunteering is an excellent way of developing your confidence and gaining experience to help you in the future. Many of our volunteers who have come to join the team at Suffolk Mind have moved on to gain employment.

“We have many volunteering opportunities at Suffolk Mind from administration roles to support staff and Christmas Elves. There are more details on our website.”

Anyone can come along to the Return to Work event at Quay Place. Our workshops are free to attend but booking is recommended. To book your place and for more details click here.

Author: Kristina Brinkley
Posted on: 23rd September 2019

Suffolk Mind is opening its doors at its base in Bury St Edmunds (Oriental House, 5 St Andrews Street North) on Saturday 21st September between 10am and 1pm to raise awareness and money for its vital GreenCare project.

GreenCare is a service which runs four allotment projects across Suffolk, including in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Haverhill and Hadleigh. They are places where people can come together as a group to improve their physical and mental health by gently increasing their activity levels, working alongside others.

Greencare Manager, Sarah Manton-Roseblade said: “For many of our participants this may be the only day of the week where they meet with others. Coming to our allotments gives people a sense of meaning and purpose, achievement and enables them to feel part of a community. They can grow produce, learn more about gardening and just enjoy a cup of tea.

“Anyone can self-refer for the GreenCare service, just visit our website.

In feedback received from a Suffolk Mind evaluation, a participant said: “GreenCare has allowed me to practice socialising and building skills in anticipation of returning to work at some point. It is a safe space within which I am rebuilding my confidence to help me improve working skills in the future. I do not know of any other service that could provide me with such a safe space.”

Our GreenCare project is one of the hardest to source funding for; every year we need to raise £12,000 in order to provide a professional and safe environment that participants can benefit from. That’s why we are hosting a ‘Doors Open Day’ at our office in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 21st September between 10am and 1pm. It’s also a chance to showcase the wider work of Suffolk Mind.

Join us for:

• A plant sale with produce from our allotments
• Children’s fun activities
• An art display by our art group
• A community art project
• A raffle with excellent prizes
• Free tea, coffee and cake
• And learn more about what we do and why we do it!

There’s no need to book to attend the ‘Doors Open Day’. It is being held at Oriental House, 5 St Andrews Street North, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1TZ.

Author: Kristina Brinkley
Posted on: 18th September 2019

Suffolk Mind has expanded its innovative service for people with a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), to help a hundred more people a year across Suffolk. 

Waves, funded directly by the NHS in Suffolk, provides a safe and supportive environment for people, giving them a chance to learn new skills to help them maintain their own mental wellbeing. It also helps people with a diagnosis or traits of Borderline Personality Disorder, build their confidence and self-esteem and enables clients to make positive connections and achieve personal goals.

Waves had previously been running weekly sessions in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich but will now be operating two further days in Ipswich as well as opening new groups in Felixstowe and Haverhill. 160 people a year will now be helped, compared to the 60 being seen previously.

Helen Shenton, Waves Manager, said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve received this funding from the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to more than double the Waves service.

“It’s an innovative service that is much needed by the community of Suffolk. Extra funding means the service becomes more accessible to people in different areas of Suffolk, as well as reducing our current waiting list by half.

“This is a great opportunity to increase understanding and awareness of Borderline Personality Disorder and to continue to support the mental wellbeing of Suffolk residents.”

Personality disorders are mental health conditions which affect people in some of the following ways:

• Being easily overwhelmed by strong emotions such as distress, anxiety, anger or feelings of low self-esteem
• Avoiding other people and feeling a lack of emotional connection with others
• Seeking control over strong emotions through self-harm (for example, abusing drugs and alcohol, or taking overdoses) or, in rare cases, threatening other people
• Becoming very attached to someone in a short space of time, before ‘pushing’ them away before they can be let down

Suffolk County Council estimates* around 84,000 people in Suffolk “have enough traits of personality disorder to justify further investigation.”

Jon Neal, chief executive of Suffolk Mind, said: “It’s great that the NHS has funded the expansion of this effective and popular service as part of the review of mental health services undertaken over the last 18 months. We hope to be able to expand further in future years to meet the need that’s been identified across the county.”

If you have a diagnosis of or traits of a Borderline Personality Disorder you can self-refer for the Waves service here.

Author: Kristina Brinkley
Posted on: 16th September 2019

Suffolk Mind is hosting a free event on World Suicide Prevention Day for people and their families, friends and co-workers to get help – from the first sign of mental ill health through to crisis point.

The drop-in event  on Tuesday 10th September is at Quay Place in Ipswich. A number of key agencies will be in attendance including The Samaritans, 4YP (Suffolk Youth Project), Julian Support and Public Health Suffolk. There will also be a number of workshops people can attend including ‘An Introduction to Emotional Needs and Resources’, ‘Talking about bereavement’ and ‘Link between domestic abuse and suicide’.

The World Health Organisation estimates that over 800,000 people take their own life each year – that’s one person every 40 seconds. In Suffolk, approximately one person takes their own life every week.

The Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind, Jon Neal said: “This is the second year we are hosting an event on World Suicide Prevention Day, as we want to continue to give invaluable support to those who need it.

“Among other things, we are offering people the chance to learn more about their emotional needs and how to meet them to stay mentally well. The loss of emotional connection is often a big risk factor for suicide; perhaps losing a relationship in a break-up or bereavement. If a person seems withdrawn socially, it may be an early indicator that they are experiencing depression, a symptom of which can be suicidal thoughts.”

The event is free to attend and runs between 10.30am and 3.30pm on Tuesday 10th September. Anyone can drop-in for support, however, prior booking on workshops is recommended here.

Author: Kristina Brinkley
Posted on: 6th September 2019