Southampton Mental Health Network - Roundup

Haven't heard the news?

To stay in touch with the network, you now need to re-register and pay the £2 membership fee. The membership application form with payment details is attached. Please return the completed form to me atsmhn@communicareinsouthampton.org.uk

This is applicable to all members - if you are an organisation, each representative you wish to remain on our mailing list will need to fill out a separate application.
 
Feedback to SMHN 

If you haven't already done so, I would love to encourage you to fill out our short feedback form.

In particular, we'd love to hear about the connections you've made through the network, and the impact this has made to you or your organisation. 

Thanks!
 
Upcoming Meetings

Please note - meetings will be temporarily paused during May. 

We will still be running the Shuffle Club, our informal, in-person networking gathering. Details below!


Shuffle Club
Tuesday 9th May, drop-in 5:30-7pm
The Cowherds
An informal, in-person, social networking gathering for members of SMHN


 
Network Information
The second part of our Roundup includes content that can be circulated beyond members of SMHN. These will include the appropriate links to the relevant information and organisations - so please feel free to share. 
Please note: sharing is not endorsing
We may include posts that you (and we) may not necessarily agree with.  However, the request to include an item and its wording is usually from the source or organisation connected to SMHN.  We share the key information to make it as accessible as possible for community benefit.




Your invitation to the No Wrong Door stakeholder eventYou are invited to attend a networking event with local organisations and charities who have received funding through the No Wrong Door programme.
Following the success of the No Wrong Door (NWD) Advancing Mental Health Equalities Grant Scheme 23/24, we are hosting a networking event to showcase the organisations who received funding to support their work in mental health provision for vulnerable and marginalised groups.
Come along to talk directly to the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations and other support services in Hampshire and Isle of Wight to see how we can work together to support the most vulnerable people in our region.
The event will take place on Wednesday 14 June, from 2pm to 4pm. This will be an in-person event held at Hanger Farm Arts Centre, Aikman Lane, Totton, Southampton, SO40 8FT.
For more information and to register your interest in attending, please contact us by emailing: hiowicb-hsi.nowrongdoor@nhs.net.
To find out more about the No Wrong Door grant programme, click here.
NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression/Southampton Steps to Wellbeing


Southampton Steps to Wellbeing provides NICE recommended talking therapies for adults (including over 65s) experiencing a range of mild to moderate anxiety and depression disorders. The team includes specialist therapists as part of the 'Body and Mind' service who work with people with co-occurring long term health conditions such as diabetes, pain, respiratory conditions, heart conditions, stroke or gastro.   Steps to Wellbeing have produced a short video about their Body and Mind service here.  


Following assessment, the service offers a range of treatments including CBT, Counselling and Employment Advice, in groups or individual suited to your need. Access is via telephone, video calls or in person (in venues across the city).


Self-referral for an assessment is encouraged at:
Online: Steps 2 Wellbeing - How to Refer Yourself


GP & Healthcare Professionals referrals are welcome, when needed, to support patient engagement:
Online: Refer a patient
Most recent reporting indicates referral to assessment time is only 3 days. 
Telephone: 0800 612 7000
Website: Steps 2 Wellbeing -


Steps to Wellbeing is the Southampton based NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression.  NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression is the new name for IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies). Further info - https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/nhs-talking-therapies/

 We are putting together a proposal to University of Southampton, via the SUSU Manager, Wayne. He will pitch this in July for an event on Sat 14th October 2023.
We have 6 sections we would like to showcase on what is on offer across Southampton for people to engage with:

1. Hobbies
2. Activities
3. Volunteering opportunities
4. Student Society groups (as this event has to also be relevant to the UoS community
5. Wellbeing
6. Stall holders/sellers

We have space for around 12 stalls per section, so it will be a little limited.
We already are getting in Expression Of Interest (EOI) forms.
We would love for SMHN members to also be able to get in on the day if possible – so would very much encourage a quick return on the EoI form attached.

Please return to havcon@boardinthecity.co.uk 
as soon as possible. The final proposal will be submitted by the end of May. 

Plant sale raises nearly £400 for Soton charity tackling loneliness


PLANT lovers from Southampton who purchased a range of plants for their gardens and homes at a plant sale last Saturday have helped raise £390 for the charity Communicare (April 29, 2023).
Communicare hosted the event at CommuniBakes, at 21, St James Road, in Shirley with all the money raised going towards the work it does helping vulnerable and isolated people in Southampton.
Emily Arbery, Fundraising and Finance Coordinator at Communicare, said: “Thank you so much to everyone who came along to our plant sale. It was a fantastic day and we had lots of wonderful donations!
“The sale raised £390 and, if you missed the event, we still have some surplus plants available for you to buy this week, just get in touch! A huge thanks to all the volunteers who helped on the day and everyone who came along.
“It was lovely to see so many people come to pick up plants and have a chat, and several even enquired about volunteering – fab! All in the sunshine! Plus, the bakery had a queue out the door all day too, which was great news.”
Communicare, which is a friendly, neighbourhood charity, provides services that enrich the lives of isolated people in and around Southampton.
Its services are staffed by its devoted volunteers, known as Communiteers, who give their time freely.
The charity is currently supporting around 600 individuals/families through tasks including, befriending, transport for appointments and assistance with shopping.
The services Communicare provides are free to users, although beneficiaries are invited to make a donation if they are able to, and Communiteers are offered expenses.


To find out more about Communicare, please visit www.communicareinsouthampton.org.uk.

 Debt and Financial Anxiety Training
Debt and Mental Health Wellbeing Training (escalla.co.uk)


By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand how mental health and debt are connected
• Understand the local context of debt and mental health
• Confidently use healthy conversations principles to initiate conversations about mental health and debt
• Identify the signs of someone trapped in a cycle of poor mental health and debt
• Safely ask and listen to someone about their mental health and debt
• Safeguard the person who may be at risk of crisis
• Be aware of the local and national mental health and debt support available.
• Confidently work in partnership with other organizations to provide the best possible outcome for those in debt and Mental Health

 
Royal Get Together marks new Communicare & Solent University partnership


A NEW partnership has been launched in Southampton between the charity Communicare and Solent University and the inaugural event was ‘A Royal Get Together’ to commemorate the Coronation (May 2023).


Communicare, which is on a mission to combat isolation and loneliness in the city, took service users to the Spark Building recently to celebrate with Solent University Level 4 Adult Nursing Students.


Tricia Kenyon, Communicare’s Service Development Officer says: “Our service users had a wonderful time.


“The students had really worked hard to make their guests feel welcome and have fun. We started with some tea and Coronation themed cupcakes, while everyone spent some time getting to know about each other. Then the guests picked memory boxes, which had been decorated by the students and engaged in craft activities to fill them with.


“Next was a sumptuous lunch featuring Coronation chicken sandwiches made by the university caterers, Sodexo.”


www.communicareinsouthampton.org.uk

If you would like anything sharing in the weekly roundup, please forward it to smhn@communicareinsouthampton