Back in July we had a really helpful roundup from our mental health charities in Powys, to find out how they had been innovating to ensure continued service provision for their members since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We recently met with them again, and decided this would be perfect opportunity to do a further update to share more information about their services in this strange and challenging year.
Here is what they had to tell us about what’s been happening for them lately.
Please note that this update was made earlier in December, before the Welsh Government's latest announcements about new Covid-19 restrictions were announced for Wales.
Ystradgynlais Mind
Ystradgynlais Mind has migrated the majority of its service to online platforms and telephone support. We have increased our social media presence. The result of expanding our social media presence has been the ability to engage with and support many more people, particularly young people.
At Ponthafren Association we have been continuing to provide our services. Face-to-face this is appointment-based only to reduce our numbers in the buildings. Zoom has become the go-to for most things which has been really positive. Two Zoom groups, crochet and afternoon tea, have been very popular. Plus the videos on how to make Christmas decorations. Life skills courses have been popular and there has been strong demand for anger management courses. We continue to see an increase for all our services whilst working in partnership with others such as the Newtown Network.
Lockdown has created the opportunity for some people to reflect and explore their gender and we are currently supporting a number of people around this.
The Armoury, our new building in Welshpool, is preparing to open which is great. The construction company Paveways provided free labour and materials to refurbish the building through their charity’s arm, and they have been fantastic. You can watch a video of the work here.
It’s been truly magical how the community has supported Ponthafren to support others. Rory raised over £800 as Santa on a bike and Cathy Beech released a record to raise funds for us.
Ystradgynlais Mind
Ystradgynlais Mind has migrated the majority of its service to online platforms and telephone support. We have increased our social media presence. The result of expanding our social media presence has been the ability to engage with and support many more people, particularly young people.
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| Gareth James & Iwan Evans raised £2000 for Ystradgynlais Mind on a running challenge |
The impact of digital exclusion has become more apparent to us since the onset of Covid 19. We have attempted to overcome the impact of digital exclusion by the provision of some IT equipment via purchases made through ‘Computer Recyclers’ plus issuing repurposed mobile phones etc. We have also increased our one to one telephone support to those who are digitally excluded and provided pre-arranged ‘welfare checks’ for those who are not receiving the same level of support previously delivered via statutory services.
Perinatal support is now being delivered via webinar alongside one to one counselling support and peer support groups. We have also extended perinatal support to partners. Counselling provision has been increased by 75% to address the increasing demand for counselling. Referrals to blended online SilverCloud CBT have increased, the practitioner is currently holding a waiting list. Active Monitoring has been able to fill the gaps left by blended counselling through the provision of printed supporting materials and telephone support - this service is operating at capacity.
Yoga and Mindful meditation has all been migrated to remote delivery. These sessions are proving popular and participation has increased by 150%. Peer supporters are now facilitating twice weekly online/phone support sessions. This group is growing in size and service users involved are supporting one another to form their own social support networks, reducing social isolation and increasing their own personal resilience.
Some of the issues that have come up for Brecon & District Mind recently include employment, children with anxiety around school or Covid itself, and a lot of people are keen for the drop-in to restart, so we are doing that now ensuring people making appointments to attend. Also a lot of people are becoming agoraphobic because of the rules and regulations. And there is some worry about Christmas and issues around that.
We have returned to face to face meetings outside and walk & talk sessions, but had taken the decision not to open the centre before the firebreak lockdown. We are going back to 1:1 sessions (as well as the drop-in) by appointment only. We will continue our schools work with children and young people, ensuring that this is done safely. We are doing a lot of family work and safeguarding and are looking into extra/crisis support in the evenings. A recent survey has shown that people have appreciated the support they have received from us in the last year with comments like: “Don’t know what I would have done without (Brecon) Mind’s support”, “excellent service”, brilliant counselling."
Unfortunately as we speak the guidelines and regulations around Covid have changed yet again so we are now having to revert to remote services until the New Year when the Welsh Government will be reviewing the situation. There will be staff available over the Christmas period to offer support by phone should anyone need this. Our centre is now closed and staff mostly working from home.
The Green Minds project is continuing and Brecon Cathedral is funding this for 1 day a week. Our Mums Matter project is also continuing with a new Zoom course starting in January. Our blended work in partnership with the online SilverCloud CBT is quieter. However, we are doing more wellbeing calls by phone and having more referrals into that. A survey we did shows that people prefer 1:1/ face-to-face support and so we are busy with that.
Perinatal support is now being delivered via webinar alongside one to one counselling support and peer support groups. We have also extended perinatal support to partners. Counselling provision has been increased by 75% to address the increasing demand for counselling. Referrals to blended online SilverCloud CBT have increased, the practitioner is currently holding a waiting list. Active Monitoring has been able to fill the gaps left by blended counselling through the provision of printed supporting materials and telephone support - this service is operating at capacity.
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| After receiving Zoom training a member is able to access online counselling |
Brecon & District Mind
We have returned to face to face meetings outside and walk & talk sessions, but had taken the decision not to open the centre before the firebreak lockdown. We are going back to 1:1 sessions (as well as the drop-in) by appointment only. We will continue our schools work with children and young people, ensuring that this is done safely. We are doing a lot of family work and safeguarding and are looking into extra/crisis support in the evenings. A recent survey has shown that people have appreciated the support they have received from us in the last year with comments like: “Don’t know what I would have done without (Brecon) Mind’s support”, “excellent service”, brilliant counselling."
The Green Minds project is continuing and Brecon Cathedral is funding this for 1 day a week. Our Mums Matter project is also continuing with a new Zoom course starting in January. Our blended work in partnership with the online SilverCloud CBT is quieter. However, we are doing more wellbeing calls by phone and having more referrals into that. A survey we did shows that people prefer 1:1/ face-to-face support and so we are busy with that.
We have been fortunate in securing funding to employ our first Digital Technical Officer who is helping us develop our digital service offering and upskilling staff and service users where needed.
The team is providing a blended service of both online work, including blended online SilverCloud CBT, counselling and support work, as well as still providing face-to-face meetings as and when needed. This blended approach means we can still meet the high level of demand as phone sessions are usually shorter and do not require time for travel, whereas the face-to-face sessions are there for those clients who struggle with the remote support.
We had our first day back working in Builth and Llandrindod High Schools to offer support to students aged 16 and over - this support had been halted in January. We’re going in with a really open mind as obviously things have changed since the last time we were there. It’s a very different environment now and we are taking it slowly, working with the schools and students to co-produce the support for the greatest impact. We still have 2 weekly online youth group sessions that are well attended.
We were lucky to secure some space in the Armoury, thanks to Ponthafren Association, and have started to run our first face-to-face Mums Matter course in Welshpool. Seven mums attended, which is our highest number since lockdown started. Two more face-to-face Mums Matter courses will be running in January/February.
Our Outreach group in Knighton used to meet every week on a Friday, but has been operating via telephone support with help from dedicated volunteers since the first lockdown. Now with the help of Impelo (a local charity using dance to transform people's lives) we are hoping to run one face-to-face dance session a month in Knighton, giving group members a chance to meet in a safe and supportive environment.
In Llandrindod our Tai-Chi group is meeting again in Celf after not meeting for a time and briefly being held in the Rock Park. This group is going well and is supported by volunteers and a trained tutor.
Since March we have supported over 500 people through face to face or phone meetings. Live broadcasts have continued to be very popular. Our digital content on Facebook and Youtube has been well received and we have been producing videos on Mindfulness, Tai Chi, THRIVE tips and other wellbeing activities. On Facebook we have had over 68,000 minutes of our videos watched since March and have now reached over 30,000 people.
We continue to offer remote training via Zoom, this has been a huge success, with many people previously unable to attend due to travel now being able to access the support.
Mid and North Powys Mind
Here at Mid and North Powys Mind we are seeing very high levels of demand overall across all of our services, including more complex cases requiring more time for our support workers. We expect this trend to continue through to Spring 2021.
Here at Mid and North Powys Mind we are seeing very high levels of demand overall across all of our services, including more complex cases requiring more time for our support workers. We expect this trend to continue through to Spring 2021.
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| An episode of THRIVE on Facebook |
We had our first day back working in Builth and Llandrindod High Schools to offer support to students aged 16 and over - this support had been halted in January. We’re going in with a really open mind as obviously things have changed since the last time we were there. It’s a very different environment now and we are taking it slowly, working with the schools and students to co-produce the support for the greatest impact. We still have 2 weekly online youth group sessions that are well attended.
We were lucky to secure some space in the Armoury, thanks to Ponthafren Association, and have started to run our first face-to-face Mums Matter course in Welshpool. Seven mums attended, which is our highest number since lockdown started. Two more face-to-face Mums Matter courses will be running in January/February.
Our Outreach group in Knighton used to meet every week on a Friday, but has been operating via telephone support with help from dedicated volunteers since the first lockdown. Now with the help of Impelo (a local charity using dance to transform people's lives) we are hoping to run one face-to-face dance session a month in Knighton, giving group members a chance to meet in a safe and supportive environment.
In Llandrindod our Tai-Chi group is meeting again in Celf after not meeting for a time and briefly being held in the Rock Park. This group is going well and is supported by volunteers and a trained tutor.
We continue to offer remote training via Zoom, this has been a huge success, with many people previously unable to attend due to travel now being able to access the support.
Ponthafren Association
Lockdown has created the opportunity for some people to reflect and explore their gender and we are currently supporting a number of people around this.
The Armoury, our new building in Welshpool, is preparing to open which is great. The construction company Paveways provided free labour and materials to refurbish the building through their charity’s arm, and they have been fantastic. You can watch a video of the work here.
You can find out more about the services these organisations are offering on their websites (linked above) or Facebook pages where you will also see details of their Christmas and New Year opening times.
Wishing everyone a relaxing Christmas and a peaceful New Year,
and hoping for brighter times in 2021!
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