Powys People First champion self-advocacy

 

We have written about advocacy, and mental health advocacy services, on the blog a few times now, including Connecting with the mental health advocates when we found out more about the three different advocacy roles in Powys.

Today we talk to Rosie Mellerick-Wheeler, who works for Powys People First, about self-advocacy. Powys People First helps to organise self-advocacy groups for people with a learning disability across Powys. We were interested to know how self-advocacy could work for people experiencing poor mental health.

What brought you to work in the field of self-advocacy?

My background is in drama, and I wanted to go down the road of dramatherapy. So, I first volunteered with Theatr Wildcats (a drama group based on self-advocacy and the sister project to Powys People First) in 2014 and at the time had no clue what self-advocacy was! 

From there I learnt about Powys People First and the amazing work they do. Fast forward to 2018 and I started to work as a self-advocacy facilitator for Powys People First and Theatr Wildcats.

What is self-advocacy?

I asked the members the following few questions as they are the experts on self advocacy and the benefits!

• Speaking up for yourself and having your voice heard. 
• Letting people know what and how we want things. 
• Asking for help if we need it. 
• Supporting each other as well as ourselves. 
• Being inclusive.
  
  

Why is it important for people to speak up?

• To make sure we get the right support and help if needed. 
• To feel in control of your own life. 
• To make sure we make the choices that effect our lives. 
• It is good for your mental health, to be happy and be in a place that makes you smile. 
• It helps with sad and angry emotions, there is less frustration when our voices are heard.

What could happen if people didn’t speak up?

• People would feel upset and not have their voices heard.
• Mental health would be bad as feel angry, sad and tearful.
• We could get the wrong help and support, instead of being independent we rely on others.
• We might end up in hospital, feeling poorly and not being able to explain to anyone.

What are the benefits of self-advocacy over having an independent advocate? Can you do both at the same time?

There are benefits for both and both are useful for different issues. You can do them at the same time, most independent advocates would love people to build up the confidence to self-advocate. However, never be afraid to ask for help and support!

What are the main skills for being a good self-advocate?

Communication and listening!

You work in the learning disability field. Can self-advocacy work just as well in the mental health world?

Yes self-advocacy can work in any world, most of us do it each day without realising. What we are going to eat, where we live for example. 

Unfortunately for some people who need extra support these choices can be taken away from them and decided by others. This is where self-advocacy groups who can support each other to be a self-advocate are so important.

Give us some examples of where people could self-advocate

Daily decisions on what you are doing for the day, wearing, eating. Bigger decisions such as having a relationship or where you live. 

During lockdown some people realised they wanted to move (due to spending more time with housemates and not getting on) so speaking up and explaining this to support was important. Otherwise, people would be unhappy in their own homes.

Can people learn to self-advocate and if so how?

Yes, come along to a self-advocacy group! Independent advocates are also there to support you in speaking up and building confidence.

You run self-advocacy groups for people living with a learning disability. Why are the groups important?

Unfortunately, people with a learning disability are not always listened to and the correct support is not always there. As a group we can come together with people from similar backgrounds and experiences to talk through what we want. Our voices are stronger together.

Tell us more about the role of a Volunteer Advocate

Being a volunteer is amazing! We have many wonderful volunteers within our organisation (BCA Independent Advocacy Services) from advocates, self-advocates, drama facilitators etc. Volunteers with Powys People First come along to our groups and help facitlate discussions, making sure everyone has had a chance to be heard. We also run make and talk sessions so coming up with craft ideas and supporting members. Mostly it is about being a good listener!

What are the main challenges of your role?

Time and funding! Unfortunately it is difficult to get core funding for self-advocacy so there is always the worry about the future.

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done so far in regard to self-advocacy

This is really difficult to answer as everyday is different and presents new challenges and lots of wins! I guess watching the Theatr Wildcats company on stage, being visible in the community (we go out and about exploring the local areas) and getting us onto Zoom during lockdown!

When you are not working for Powys People First, how do you enjoy spending your time?

I also run a youth theatre and theatre company, Ghost Light in Brecon which is great fun. When I’m not at the theatre I enjoy spending time with my beautiful 6 year old daughter, Edith and walking my dog Bear.

Many thanks to Rosie for telling us all more about self-advocacy. If you want to find out more you can contact Powys People First by emailing powyspeoplefirst@hotmail.co.uk or ringing 01874 622 240.

Grow Cook Share Powys - for good mental health & wellbeing

Local Powys charities, Cultivate and Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, are jointly facilitating a new food network in Powys called Grow Cook Share - Food for Life Get Togethers. The project is funded by the Soil Association - the nature friendly food and farming charity. (So if you have an interest in growing, cooking and sharing food in Powys then please sign up to the network! Details below).

We were really excited to meet for the first time face-to-face (outdoors) at the very end of January to share good practice, encourage debate, and inspire organisations to grow their own community food projects. These will be operating at the very heart of their own individual Powys communities.

The meeting took place at cooperative Cultivate’s thriving base in Newtown in North Powys and was attended by a number of the groups making up the network currently, including Incredible Edible Llandrindod, the Hanging Gardens Project in Llanidloes (part of The Wilderness Trust), Play Radnor and Presteigne & Norton Allotments’ Association.

In this blog post we look at the many benefits that Growing Cooking & Sharing food have for people and their communities, not just for people’s mental health but for wellbeing in general.

What is a Grow Cook Share Food for Life Get Together?

Basically, it’s all about bringing people together through food.

"Almost 50% of UK kids never get outdoors with their families but at the same time, more than nine million people often or always feel lonely. Young and older people lack opportunities to bond." 

James Cashmore, Director of Food for Life

Food for Life Get Togethers are regular community activities that connect people of different ages and backgrounds through growing, cooking and sharing good food.

Our new network in Powys is all about encouraging groups and communities to get involved in growing, cooking and sharing activities and hopefully setting up their own FFL Get Togethers. Bringing groups together helps groups share good practice and top tips for successful community work in this field.

At this our second network meeting (the first was online last November) Jodie, the Manager at Cultivate, showed us some of the amazing work this thriving cooperative is already doing in North Powys. We will look at this in more detail below. Other organisations then contributed information about their own projects and aims for the future.

According to the Food for Life Get Togethers’ website the benefits of coming together over good food can be particularly beneficial because:

• Younger people are becoming more disconnected with where their food comes from.
• There aren’t many opportunities for older and younger people to bond.
• Many people – of all ages – feel isolated within their communities and do not know their neighbours.
• We are feeling increasingly divided as a nation. The BBC’s Global Survey reported that 85% of people surveyed think the UK is very or fairly divided.

The three elements of the Food for Life Powys network each help address some of these issues whilst bringing their own individual benefits to mental health and general wellbeing. Brief examples of good practice in action feature Powys FFL network members.

Jodie Griffith of Cultivate at the Grow Cook Share Powys Food Network

Grow

Gardening, especially to grow food, has many proven benefits for people. It takes us outdoors and into Nature, which just in itself can have massive benefits on mental health. This is perhaps why garden volunteering, ecotherapy and Green Minds projects connected to voluntary sector mental health services have flourished in recent years.

Other positive outcomes can include learning new skills, meeting new people and making friends in the local community, physical exercise and the sheer utter delight of nurturing a garden and seeing it thrive through the seasons. And on top of all that we can add in - the ability to grow tasty fresh food - locally (fewer food miles) and more cheaply too! What’s not to like!?

Vicky Rowe - Newtown Food Surplus Coordinator at Cultivate in Newtown

Cultivate - cultivating people and plants

At Cultivate’s 2.5 acre site next to Theatr Hafren in Newtown there are micro allotments for amateur gardeners alongside larger plots used by community groups. Local people enjoy the communal spaces - the fire pit, round house, BBQ, open lawn areas and wildlife pond. They are inspired to take vegetable growing and food production home with them.

Cultivate are currently running weekly garden volunteering sessions to teach their volunteers to prepare simple, tasty and affordable vegetarian meals to share with their fellow volunteers, family and the wider community.

Cultivate staff and volunteers are passionate about making local food more accessible. They have horticultural demonstration and research growing areas, and one of their key aims is to: ‘Assist and empower others to establish fledgling enterprises of their own’.

Presteigne & Norton Allotments’ Association

Presteigne and Norton community allotments in Lower Went’s Meadow were opened in March 2010 and have provided a place to grow locally since then. To start the 2022 season they are hosting a seed swap and coffee morning, where they will also launch a potato in a bucket and sunflower competitions. This will be followed by a plant swap in May.

Studies on allotment growing, including Sheffield University’s “My little piece of the planet”, revealed the following benefits for allotment gardeners: “high levels of social and community activities including the sharing of surplus food produce, knowledge exchange, awareness and interaction with wildlife, emotional connection to their allotment, appreciation of time spent outside and aesthetic delight in the natural world around them.”

Cook

What we eat has a big impact on our mental health. Freshly cooked meals, using homegrown or locally sourced vegetables and fruit, can provide so many of the nutrients we need without being overloaded with sugar and fat. As cooks we have control over the ingredients. Plus the meals taste so much better!

Cooking is definitely a skill to be acquired though - but well worth the learning. We can feel a real sense of accomplishment at trying new recipes, and cooking together with friends and family is very rewarding. Just the very act of preparing food can be therapeutic. So all in all definitely a way to improve mental health and physical wellbeing - and to eat well of course.

Incredible Edible Llandrindod

Growing as much food locally in the town of Llandrindod is the main aim of this group. Last year was a great success with brand new raised beds on an old tennis court seeing dozens of successful crops available for locals to harvest. The group is now hoping to provide cookery sessions at the community led sustainability hub called The Hive in the centre of town. Llandrindod Seed Library is also based here.

Play Radnor

At the Play Hub run by children’s charity Play Radnor in Llandrindod Wells there are also plans to set up cookery sessions - these will be aimed specifically at families and children.

Share

Sharing, by its very nature, brings people together, especially sharing food. Eating together, as family, friends or community, is one of the best ways to address loneliness and isolation. It encourages intergenerational mixing, and gives an opportunity for people to have fun together, to share stories, laugh, build trust, and to open up and talk about any difficulties they may be experiencing in life if that is appropriate. Chatting over a meal can be so much less intimidating than just meeting to talk.

Community meal at The Hanging Gardens, Llanidloes

The Hanging Gardens Project

The Hanging Gardens project in Llanidloes is using a small grant from the Winter Pressures fund administered by PAVO to set up free cookery demonstrations and provide community meals for local residents whilst at the same time addressing the issue of food waste. You can also join cookery workshops to learn three recipes in an afternoon, and take these home along with some ingredients. It’s a chance “to meet new people and shake off the winter blues.”

The next meeting of the Powys Food for Life Network is actually being held at The Hanging Gardens in Llanidloes. The date is still to be confirmed, but it you would like to find out more and sign up to the network please contact Sue Newham by emailing sue.newham@pavo.org.uk