Side by Side Cymru project – Mid Powys Mind

Launch of the Mid Powys Mind Side by Side project

A couple of weeks ago I attended the evening launch of Mid Powys Mind’s latest project – Side by Side Cymru. The project has received support from Mind Cymru and the Welsh Government. 

We learnt more about the initiative from various members of Mind staff who spoke on the night. They were joined by Kirsty Morgan, Assembly Minister for Brecon & Radnorshire in the Welsh Government. 

Mary Griffiths, Development Manager, Mid Powys Mind 

Mid Powys Mind is very excited and proud to be part of Side by Side Cymru. We are one of four hubs in Wales led by Mind Cymru. The MPM hub covers Mid and North Powys, and supports peer support. Peer support has always been an integral part of the services MPM offers. The connection to someone who is interested in similar things to you, or someone who has been through similar experiences, is a connection of equals and really invaluable. It is insightful and totally authentic. 

The support of peers can help people recover and to form friendships – so important for mental health and wellbeing in an increasingly isolating world. People who have used our services have told us time and again how they have benefited from the support of others who have really walked in their shoes. That is why MPM jumped at the chance to be involved in this project. Not just to support people who have their struggle with mental health in common, but all peers no matter what their shared interests or shared histories.

Powys is the most sparsely populated county in mainland UK and as a result of this we are often lacking in access to statutory services. This has been a huge driver in creating a large and active voluntary sector from sports clubs, to Young Farmers to Women’s Institutes, to village halls and U3A to name but a few. Powys has a lot of really good peer support going on already. MPM has seen the value of peer support and we believe if there is anything we can do to help it thrive even more we should be doing it.

Rachel Wyatt, Senior Project Officer, Mind Cymru

Peer support is about people using their own experiences to help other people and it’s great to hear there is so much diversity. It can happen in a group, on a 1:1 basis and also online as well but for this project we will be focusing on peer support that takes place face to face in a group situation. It’s about people taking a lead and taking control. So it’s a different model from more traditional health and wellbeing models because it is people in control and taking the lead very much on an equal basis. Through peer support we can feel valued, more connected to others, and more able to take control of our lives. 

Side by Side fits really well with Mind’s national strategy – Building on Change – the aim is for 100,000 people to access peer support opportunities across England and Wales by 2021. The project is very much based on previous work done in England that we are bringing into Wales. It was the biggest research project carried out on peer support in the UK as a whole. Over £3 million was invested, to understand some of the values that underpin peer support and to work out what people need. 

One of the important findings which is relevant to our work here in Wales is that peer support is often within groups and people who take responsibility and control in the groups and publicise the work they are doing – these doers really need a little bit of extra support themselves. So these are the people we will be targeting as part of this project.

Something else that also came out was the development of a toolkit for peer support which is freely available on the Mind website. It gives practical help, advice and some interactive activities in terms of things you can do practically in your groups to support each other.

Our aim with Side by Side Cymru is to improve the wellbeing of people experiencing mental health problems by improving the availability and quality of peer support available in the community. MPM is one of 4 local Minds working with Mind Cymru to deliver this project. Newport Mind, Merthyr & the Valleys Mind and Aberystwyth Mind are working across their areas of Wales.

We will be running a range of events and shared learning training workshops for people to cover different topics identified locally as being really important in relation to small community groups. Small grants are also available to start and develop groups.

The target audiences are people who are already delivering peer support within a group. We’d also like to hear from people not currently delivering peer support but are interested in doing so. There will be some specific targeted work involving people who are Welsh speakers, rural communities (farmers and the farming community), Black, Asian and minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and a male audience as well.

There is an independent evaluation as part of this project. We intuitively know there is something really helpful about peer support but trying to prove it is quite difficult. There has not been much research around peer support, so this is a really good opportunity to do some here in Wales.

One of the things that will be measured is people’s confidence – will it be improved by what is being delivered in Mid Wales, and if it has a knock-on effect for community groups in Powys. Does peer support improve people’s wellbeing, connections and hope for the future?

Lorna Jones, Side by Side Cymru Officer, Mid Powys Mind

I met with a lady the other day who said – we don’t do anything. We only meet and have coffee. So I said I would come along and take a look. So I went, and there were between 15 and 25 people having coffee in a village hall with two ladies thinking they were doing nothing amazing. To me they were doing everything amazing. They were giving up their time. Nobody was paying them any money. And the people having coffee were very isolated in a very rural village. What people do voluntarily is unrecognised. This project is a way of recognising this. 

What has really blown me away is that one of the first questions people ask is “what is the training I can have to help my group / club?” The stigma of mental health is much less than it used to be and people are willing to admit that if we meet that’s good for our mental health. This is as much about preventing poor mental health as us coming in later to support that mental health. We all have mental health.

It can be a rugby club… a dementia group… a carers' group… or a Parkinson’s group… all the Young Farmers' Clubs in Radnorshire have signed up. You can also set up new groups in your community -  there are grants to support the group to continue. We cannot go in to the workplace. However, if a social group is set up outside the workplace where people can meet that is fine.

My vision is to set up a community of support within support, so in each group there is always someone who can help someone. Some organisations are offering use of their venue free of charge. That’s huge. A big cost of running your group is the cost of a venue.

People are so willing to help. But we need to network that information. Over the next 15 months we will make those connections in the community so that we can all support and help each other.

If you have decided that your group would like to apply or have some support you can register your interest online and apply for a grant if you want one. There is a list of eligible items. Cash is not available or funding to pay members of staff. Items will be given out at quarterly network events. Attendance at these is not compulsory, but if you invest your thoughts and ideas at an event we can build on this.

I work in the Wellbeing Centre in Llandrindod. I can also come out to your group and talk to you. The training will incorporate the tool kit but also confidentiality, safeguarding, boundaries, self-care and basic mental health awareness. We will signpost people to further training as required.

Kirsty Morgan, Assembly Minister, Welsh Government

There is often a place for prescription drugs and medicine to support people but there are other options that should and could be made available to individuals to help them recover and maintain their mental health and wellbeing. This project is part of the attempt by Welsh Government to support alternative approaches to mental wellbeing by looking at different ways in which we can support people recover and maintain good mental wellbeing.

Kirsty Morgan AM speaks at the Side by Side project launch in Llandrindod Wells

I know that after a really stressful day at work I can rely on the fellow mums and dads and the kids at the Young Farmers’ Club to raise me up and help me forget about all that stress and strain. I know that there is nothing better for my mental health than forgetting about what has happened during the day and spend the evening painting sets, sewing costumes and making cups of tea and coffee for amazing young people that live in our community. That makes me feel like a human being. That makes me feel normal and well to be in that group.

I know how valuable these organisations, and being part of something, can help you significantly. If we can help more groups become even more adept and more sustainable and better at providing that network of support that can only be a good thing. There is a fantastic network of volunteers who are doing amazing things day in day out.

I am absolutely convinced that providing an evidence base to what’s happening here will be really important in informing public policy in this area moving forward.

For further information about the Side by Side Cymru project contact Lorna Jones at Mid Powys Mind by ringing 01597 824411 or emailing hub@midpowysmind.org.uk or check out the Side by Side Cymru Facebook page.