Tag: common unity

Sean Russell Director of West Midlands Mental Health Commission

Posted on by Terry Rigby

Sean Russell Director of West Midlands Mental Health Commission. #MyRecovery

What does recovery mean to you?

Many people will experience poor mental health at some point in their life.

For some people this will last only a short time, others may live with poor mental health their whole life.

Regardless of its length or severity gaining ‘recovery’ from poor mental health is important to the person themselves and their family and friends.

Recovery will mean different things to different people.

Some people might experience recovery as a sense of feeling more positive and enjoying things that they had stopped getting pleasure from. For another person recovery might mean getting back to work while for someone else it might be about becoming more independent, getting out of the house more or giving something back to their local community.

Seeking support

The NHS, Birmingham City Council and many community and charitable organisations in Birmingham offer help and support to people who experience poor mental health.

Working together we want to make sure that people don’t just ‘survive’ mental illness but thrive, getting the most out of life. We want to make sure that all services put helping people recover at the heart of what they do.

Understanding what recovery means to people will help us change the way that we support people and families to do this.

More information

You can find out more about recovery and support services by visiting The Waiting Room

West Midlands Fire Service endorses TWR in keeping people Safe and Well 

Posted on by Terry Rigby

I know will-power plays a big part but the support we provided via The Waiting Room Resource Key has been priceless for him. Aston Fire Station recently shared TWR keys amongst their team leaders for further distribution across their patches.

One Team Leader told us

“I issued 27 keys in total to managers of the HMO’s owned by Midland Living” – their feedback was excellent.

The HMO’s are occupied by people who have serious support needs for various substance misuses and use of violence.

The managers have stated that the keys have been invaluable for signposting and they will continue to use them.

I have visited the HMO’s myself and chatted with some tenants about the Resource Keys – they tell me that a lot of the time it’s knowing where to get help, which the key has been invaluable for.

I have seen the effects of the key first-hand with a tenant who is now two months clean after using the key to access a range of support.

He is now doing voluntary work at the HMO to keep his mind occupied and maintain his well-being.

I know willpower plays a big part but the support we provided via The Waiting Room Resource Key has been priceless for him.

I truly believe that these keys have helped with the rehabilitation of some of our most vulnerable and will certainly continue using them.”

Click on the picture below to watch one of our TWR videos

For more information about The Waiting Room in Birmingham, or if you are interested in bringing it to your location then please get in touch with us as Common-Unity.

Connecting Community Networks

Posted on by Terry Rigby

What is CCN all about?

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Life can be hard…but for some, because of particular circumstances, and more often than not, through no fault of their own, life can be much harder still. Connecting Community Networks recognises this and looks to protect and enhance citizen well-being and promote life quality. It oversees the delivery of a number of much needed holistic services that has real, evidenced based wellbeing benefits for some of our most vulnerable members in the community. CCN takes a different approach from many other traditional services by starting from a premise of vulnerability and risk due to life challenges and looking to demonstrate a positive resolution for the individual based on improved wellbeing.

The Organisations Behind CCN

Common Unity is the central driving force behind all of the CCN programmes with external expertise being brought into the process to best deliver all elements of each and every programme. This partnership arrangement means that from conceptualisation right through to the point of evaluation, specialist support is realised to demonstrate the potential for such approaches to improving well-being.

 What Programmes Are in Place?

  • Urbrum – web based community centred platform, is all about discovering innovative ways of engaging communities with their own health and wellbeing and the health and well-being of those around them. Its approach to engagement, information and intelligence sees communities as both the recipients and providers of health and well-being intelligence with a view that through such an organic process, services and support will continue to best reflect what communities need and want.
  • Tailored Suicide Prevention Training – Delivery of the highly respected one day suicide prevention programme known as SCHEMA.  This training is delivered across Birmingham and Solihull to best identify and support those who are vulnerable in respect of suicidal ideation and behaviour.
  • ManMade Communities – Utilising the ManMade Peer Led support approach that enables men to survive in modern day society.
  • ManMade Cruse – Men often find it difficult to engage regarding their losses in life and thus can play a negative part in men coping with crisis through loss. This programme looks to achieve greater resilience and well-being through providing men with the opportunity to engage with the area of loss and bereavement as part of a Peer Led Support Programme led by specialists in the field of Bereavement.
  • The Waiting Room – Now developed as an App, this online directory of services and support opportunities for Birmingham and Solihull residents is recognised as the go to place to find the right service for you.

Want to know more?

For more information contact the developers of CCN at Common Unity

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