Powys Substance Use Harm Reduction Plan launch

Linda Hutchings, Brecon peer support worker

“Developing a partnership response to Harm Reduction across Powys 

to meet the needs of people with drug and alcohol concerns.”

The first thing I picked up at this Harm Reduction Plan launch recently was a flyer about nitazenes (synthetic opioids known for their potent nature) and the changing face of heroin. I hadn’t even pinned on my attendee badge. The bizarre names of drugs like naloxone (a potentially life-saving medication) and nitazene (an extremely harmful drug) were scattered throughout the day and I realised I had a lot to learn.

Fortunately this highly informative day at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod brought together a multitude of statutory and voluntary sector agencies with a wealth of knowledge and experience around substance misuse. But perhaps even more importantly it called upon those with the lived experience of the harm that can be caused by substance misuse - be that alcohol or drugs - and the often catastrophic effects resulting in damaged mental and physical health, relationships, living arrangements (homelessness and debt being extreme but not unusual outcomes) and an increased likelihood of coming into contact with the criminal justice system.

Jan Roberts (Suicide Prevention, Harm Reduction & Postvention Quality Improvement Lead), Joy Garfitt (Interim Executive Director of Operations, Mental Health Services) & Carol Daly (Harm Prevention & Reduction Lead - Substance Misuse)
Powys Teaching Health Board

Joy Garfitt, Interim Executive Director of Operations - Mental Health Services in Powys, and chair of the Area Planning Board, welcomed everyone. She explained that the APB brought together agencies across the county with the shared ambition of reducing harm from substance use. (There is a longer definition in the Welsh Government document Working together to reduce harm). The APB plans, commissions and delivers services and also brings networks together. As Joy explained, Powys is actually as long as the distance between the Severn Bridge and the Marble Arch, so this is quite challenging!

What is harm reduction and how can it benefit Powys - Rick Lines, Public Health Wales, Head of Programmes, Substance Use

Rick described how he was first introduced to harm reduction 30 years ago in his hometown of Toronto in Canada. He worked supporting prisoners who, he explained, were inevitably using drugs. His experience supporting people who had been traumatised by early life events, and went on to use drugs, led him to ask in court: “Have you heard this woman’s story? Why is the state looking at it through the context of drugs?” Rick highlighted that putting this particular woman in prison repeated the trauma she had experienced from authority figures when she was a child.

Rick saw the same scenario play out when he later worked in Eastern Europe. He said 90% of drug use is not problematic (how many people do we know who use alcohol on a regular basis socially…?) and asked what we can do to reduce deaths, to show that we care whether people live or die, and to help reduce the risk of using drugs in a risky fashion. We should be respecting the dignity of people who use drugs by providing services, and reducing feelings of vulnerability and stigma.

Recent concerns are around changes in the drug market whereby synthetic and highly dangerous drugs (like nitazenes) are increasingly coming onto the market. Rick championed the ongoing work in the 3rd sector and community pharmacies to provide harm reduction services - “it is the people on the ground who are making the difference”.

Welsh Government policy is committed to harm reduction, and is unique in the United Kingdom, and rare in the world. This policy influences how the police, prisons and partners regard substance use and filters down to the statutory and community organisations.

Current position in Powys and the focus of Harm Reduction - Carol Daly, Harm Prevention and Reduction Lead (Substance Misuse)

Carol’s aim is to set up a multi-agency Powys Harm Reduction sub-group (one of seven across Wales) to drive action across the county. This would draw on the knowledge of local organisations to deliver the key priorities, including:

Supporting the work of the Health Board in working to the World Health Organisation's global aim of eliminating Blood Borne Viruses by 2030. Powys is rolling out treatment and testing for people at risk of Blood Borne Viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C.

• Training up peer supporters and carers.
• Developing pharmacy services to increase the uptake of Needle and Syringe Provision and Blood Borne Virus Testing.
• Raising awareness of the real risks of synthetic drugs coming onto the market.
• Increasing availability of Naloxone across partner agencies.
• Addressing the stigma (it was again pointed out that most people use some sort of substance, for example, alcohol).
• Prevention - the APB has commissioned services to educate children and young people about drugs, and Carol is working with Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to increase knowledge of new synthetic opiates.

This important agenda would save lives - and has saved thousands of lives already with the information and tools to help people who take drugs do so in a safer manner.

During discussion Barry Eveleigh from Kaleidoscope (the local substance misuse service provider) highlighted the financial element - if you can keep someone out of A&E you can save £2000. A liver transplant is £150,000. It costs £1000 a week to keep someone in prison. In comparison to these figures the costs of providing safe drug alternatives are minor.

There were also questions about decriminalising drugs as has happened in other countries such as Portugal, where the person using drugs is regarded as a patient rather than a criminal. Michael Curties from the Welsh Government explained that the criminal justice system is not devolved to Wales so this is not an option open to the Welsh Government.

What’s already being done and what are our priorities? - Neville Brookes, Area Planning Board Manager

Neville asked: “how can co-production work with this agenda?” We need to learn from people with lived experience, and spend time with individuals in the treatment system. “Who better to talk to when waiting for a service than another peer?”

Peers design relapse prevention programmes - they know what works. If people become part of a peer mentor programme they often give back to services and there is an onward pathway to work within the field if they choose.

He also said:

• Harm reduction should be on all our agendas - not just thought of as a clinical intervention.
• Out of hours community support is needed (this was identified by focus groups).
• We need to simplify the service so that individuals have a single pathway.

The overall outcome would be to enhance and improve systems and processes for everyone involved.

How we use peers, with lived experience, to enhance service provision - Elwyn Thomas, Co-production Lead, Kaleidoscope

Elwyn has been in post for 18 months now. He started as a peer on a script in a prison cell. He worked on a Welsh Government peer to peer support project providing the heroin substitute naloxone - over an 8 week period 237 kits were delivered! Amazingly eighty people did not even know that it existed.

There are now seven teams across Wales delivering this important service. Everyone was trained in just a year, and other initiatives have also been put into place including creating pathways to treatment and needle exchange schemes. Elwyn spoke of how people’s esteem and self-worth was raised after having access to the training, with peer uniforms (branded “ask me about Naloxone”) and lanyards breaking barriers.

In 2 years the delivery of harm reduction has changed massively in Wales, from prescribed scripts from nurses to working alongside peers.

Linda Hutchings, a Brecon peer, has lived experience for many years using drugs but is now drug free. She agreed that people can be the best they can be with training and involvement. She is now accepted in her community, not as a drug addict, but as someone with lived experience. “I built up belief in myself as I didn’t have any.” Linda started work with peer mentoring service Cyfle Cymru on 8 February.

Round table discussions & feedback

In round table discussions we looked closely at Powys challenges and priorities. The top three challenges on our table were: rurality, silos and stigma. We were very keen to promote the idea of a support bus which could travel the whole length of the county, the distance from the Severn Bridge to Marble Arch - and back again!

Our priorities were - prevention, communication and collaboration. We agreed that it was important to reach out into the community (it’s that bus again!) rather than expect people to come to us.

Overall it felt that there was a great enthusiasm in the room for genuine collaboration and partnership working to make real change so that people using drugs and alcohol, for whatever reason, could live well in the county.

Closing remarks - Michael Curties, Substance Misuse Policy Team, Welsh Government

Michael raised many relevant and important topics in his summing up in relation to the APB, data sharing, working more closely with GPs and prevention, etc. To finish off I’ll highlight just a couple of his comments that particularly resonated with me:

The Harm Reduction challenge is the same as it is for all other services - we solve it by working together. “How do we get to the point where there is no wrong door? Where people walk in and get a service wherever they are?”

“Coproduction is about learning - what do we say that gets in your way? We need to hear if there are those barriers. Ask - can we do it differently?”

I look forward to finding out more about developing drug and alcohol services in Powys as Carol continues her vital work on the Harm Reduction plan.

You find out more about Alcohol and Substance Misuse resources

on this Powys Teaching Health Board website page.

Celebrating Side by Side Cymru - mental health peer support in Wales

Artwork by Debbie Roberts engagevisually.co.uk

In March 2019 we lived in a very different world and I attended, in person, the launch of Mid & North Powys Mind’s latest project – Side by Side Cymru. MNPM was one of four local Mind groups in Wales, led by Mind Cymru, to provide this peer support project funded by the Welsh Government.

Here at PAVO we have followed the local project closely and with much interest, as we truly believe peer support to be crucial in the promotion of improved emotional wellbeing for people in Powys. I was, therefore, delighted to be able to attend the virtual celebration of the Mind Cymru project recently to find out more about how this approach had been received across Wales.

What is peer support?

“Peer support is about people using their own experiences to help others. It can happen in a group, on a 1:1 basis and also online as well but for this project we will focus on peer support that takes place face to face in a group situation. It’s about people taking a lead and taking control very much on an equal basis. So it’s a different model from more traditional health and wellbeing models. Through peer support we can feel valued, more connected to others, and more able to take control of our lives.” Mind Cymru, March 2019

“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.” Mid & North Powys Mind, March 2019

Sara Moseley – Chief Executive Officer, Mind Cymru

Peer support is needed more than ever because of what has been happening to us during this pandemic. There’s a huge amount of evidence now about the mental health impact of Covid. Many, many people have been behind closed doors, really feeling low, anxious and lonely. Peer support is about the power of unlocking that through the power of our own experience, kindness and compassion. In its simplest form it’s about using our own expertise and knowledge to support each other emotionally, practically and realise that there are positive, hopeful ways through mental health difficulties.

Covid has also put some of our networks and communities under considerable strain. Younger people in particular are feeling very isolated – being cut off from usual networks has a real detrimental effect on your mental health. As well as the human stories from over the past 3 years of the project we are now in a place to come out of the pandemic stronger than we were before. We have some very practical things that we have to say to decision makers about how we build back stronger and in a way very rooted in communities, and empowering to us as individuals.

Liam Pywell – Senior Peer Support Officer, Mind

Peer support based in the community and led by people with lived experience of mental health issues can be life-changing, and that’s why we believe it should be available to people across Wales.

The project worked with 318 peer support leaders across Wales who in turn supported 3800 people in their communities. We provided over £50,000 in grants to over 221 organisations and groups. We delivered over 100 activities, including training, networking and shared learning.

The hubs facilitated physical and virtual spaces to bring people together to connect, share learning and access some much-needed resources. We wanted the peer leaders to feel more confident, knowledgeable and able to provide peer support to their community and to build on the resources such as our peer support toolkit.

Mind Cymru’s independent evaluator – MEL Research - concluded in their final report that the Side by Side Cymru hub model is an effective way to supportive community based organisations and peer leaders, and that there is a real need for these types of programmes.

The local hub offer centred around three things:

1. Training & shared learning.
2. Funding.
3. Networking opportunities.

Through the evaluation the value of Side by Side Cymru became clear: peer leaders increased their understanding of peer support and the value it provides, and their confidence to deliver improved peer support. The research tells us that peer support improves our sense of wellbeing, increases our sense of hope, and helps us to become more empowered to make decisions and take action.

We also found that peer support can reduce health care costs as people who use less mental health services are often involved in peer support. But peer support is not free – we do need financial resource to support those community groups. Finally, a range of peer support options should be available to support people from all different backgrounds and makes peer support available to all.

Lorna Jones – Peer Support Hub Worker, Mid & North Powys Mind

In a short video Lorna (bottom centre) was joined by one of her volunteers – Lynda (top right), and Bethanie (top left) a peer support leader. Bethanie attended a course with Mind after experiencing post-natal depression and went on to lead a peer support group for parents of children with additional needs. The Side by Side training helped her to be professional, and to learn about specific areas such as safeguarding. She found the toolkit really helpful to refer to for guidance at any time.

Bethanie also said that the training was particularly useful as she made connections with people who could also help her. “It was like peer support for a peer support leader.” We were working with young children but others were in peer support groups for older people who were lonely and vulnerable. We could mix together and create further networks too.

It has also been a lifeline for Bethanie’s own mental health. “It’s something to look forward to, even now with Covid we can still communicate online and it helps us feel less isolated.” The funding paid for the cost of venues.

Lynda helped Lorna massively with the training. She recalled how members of her own family had been dealt with on a very clinical basis in the past, so she felt privileged to be involved with the project which supported people at a community level. “It was great to see the range of people that attended the training – from young Mums, through the age ranges, and a lot of men including a male voice choir.” Lynda realised that they took what they had learnt to all spheres of their life, not just the areas they were representing.

Lorna said that when she read the evaluation report the one thing that really hit her was the huge area that the project had covered in Powys – right from Machynlleth in the north west to the Herefordshire border in the south-east of the county. They worked with 75 groups in total.

“People have said they would be lost without these groups to go to. Our inspiring peer support leaders gave up their time to hold these groups for no other reward other than helping others. They are the unsung heroes in our communities across Britain.”

Bethanie: “Side by Side grew me and my group. It was like the seed we needed.”

Panel discussion

Julian John, CEO of Cwm Taf Mind, chaired the panel discussion with Fateha Ahmed of EYST (Ethnic Minorities & Youth Support team Wales), Zoe King of Diverse Cymru and William Evans – the Young People’s Participation Lead at Mind Cymru. There is only space for very brief sound bites here but they give a flavour of the conversation.

Q1: What does an excellent peer support project look like (and how do you know)?

“It would include a diverse group of people with lived experience who are able to support each other and have empathy. You will see the improved progress in young people if the project is successful.” Fateha Ahmed

“Empathy has to be at the heart of a good peer support project, also coproduction. It’s all about lived experience and shared experience. To know how we did we can consider the distance travelled – how people are before joining the group and how they are since. Have they achieved life goals in certain areas?” Zoe King

“It might look different to different people from different communities / ages. The type of resources and training required will be dependent on someone’s age. It needs to be flexible and accessible, safe and rewarding for a younger person.” William Evans

Q2: What can traditional mental health services learn from community led peer support?

“Lived experience needs to be at the heart of the services they deliver.” Zoe King

“Peer support has a strong bond of friendship. A counselling service may last for 6 – 8 weeks only but friendship may last life long.” Fateha Ahmed

“Traditional mental health experiences are often too rigid and don’t treat people as individuals – young people want the emphasis to be on meaningful connections and a lot less on checklists and criteria.” William Evans

Q3: What roles do organisations like ours have in developing peer support services for the future?

“Many children and young people are fairly creative and innovative in their use of social media to create their own peer support networks. Organisations need to allow them support and resources to enable them to do that safely.” William Evans

“Organisations could connect grassroots’ groups to wider networks with similar aims and goals. Larger organisations could communicate opportunities as well and also provide training.” Zoe King

“EYST has been inviting our volunteers to share their lived experience – how they actually dealt with their anxiety and depression. The young people always say they learn better hearing other people’s stories.” Fateha Ahmed

Q4: How do we connect to the networks of community groups across Wales?

“Doing with and not for. Going into those communities and engaging with people in coproduction and finding out what solutions they have.” William Evans

“We have a community infrastructure (with village halls / groups etc) we also have a County Voluntary Council infrastructure that is supporting those groups across Wales. Is there something we need to do with our CVC partners in reaching community groups?” Julian John

“Yes, absolutely. We work with diverse groups to gain those lived experiences that we then feed back into consultations. CVCs are already well placed to do a lot of this networking.” Zoe King

“We need to find key individuals who are trusted in the community and work with them to provide the best possible service for our young people.” Fateha Ahmed

Angie Darlington, West Wales Action for Mental Health, added – “it is broader than CVCs, mental health development agencies are available across Wales to share out our peer support experiences and reach out into the communities.”

Sarah Moseley said at the end of the session: “It has been a really moving and inspirational afternoon. We want to use this as a spark to think how we sustain, build, grow and strengthen (the peer support approach). One of the most powerful things I have learnt is that there are moments in your life, or things that happen in your life, that make you uniquely ready to connect, share and give support.”

Side by Side resources

Side by Side toolkit and further information

For further information about the Side by Side Cymru Peer Support project email peersupport@mind.org.uk

You can also watch a video about the Side by Side Cymru Peer Support project.

Mums Matter in a Changing World

Ros Sandhu, Mums Matter facilitator

In our latest blog post Ros Sandhu, a Mums Matter Facilitator, explains how the support that Brecon and District Mind provides has been adapted to continue to safely help families who are living through the pandemic.

I am one of the two Mums Matter Facilitators. My background is in education and I was a secondary school teacher for 20 years before training to be a Health and Wellbeing Facilitator.

I have a special interest in using mindfulness techniques to enhance our health and wellbeing. I am mum to 2 daughters who are 12 and 18 and, like most women with children, I recognize that the journey that I have been on since becoming a mum has been by far the most powerful and important part of my life with many challenges, as well as opportunities for growth. 

I joined the team in April 2020 and it feels wonderful to be using my experiences and skills to be supporting women with the most important and difficult job that we face. I passionately believe that sharing experiences is by far the most helpful and healing part of any support service because we feel less alone, we connect with others and learn that it is not just us or our ‘fault’. We are reminded that this is all part of the messy business of simply being a human being. 

I would encourage any mums with babies to get in touch; you will almost certainly meet some like-minded women and feel supported through your experiences of motherhood. In these especially challenging times, the Mums Matter Team are here for you.

Practicing our Zoom skills: I’m at the top, Sarah is next & Clare Searle, our fantastic administrator, is next.

My colleague Sarah James has worked as a Mums Matter Facilitator since 2019. She is a proud mum to a 3 year-old little boy and her empathy, warmth and current life experiences make her wonderfully approachable – she is great at keeping things very real. Sarah has a background in community and youth work, and she is also a trained counsellor.

Sarah says, “I have experienced the same challenges as many other mums have, especially during lockdown - juggling childcare, working from home, and getting shopping slots. I also know that the techniques that we teach in Mums Matter really work as I use them every day." 

It feels especially important at the moment, to be able to share the Mums Matter toolkit with mums to help them get through each day. I would encourage mums to get in touch – these techniques are tried and tested, and take it from me, they really work!”

A bit of background …

The basic premise of the whole Family Support Service at Brecon and District Mind is that happy and supported parents equals happy and healthy children.

The original Mums Matter was co-produced by a group of Mums in Peterborough with national Mind, who then led and supported local Minds in the UK to deliver the programme alongside Mind Cymru for Powys.

It is an 8 week programme which offers groups of around 6 - 8 mums an informal weekly 2 hour workshop where they can share their experiences of early motherhood and also learn some very practical tools and coping techniques to help them manage things like negative self-talk and develop a greater understanding of the importance of self-care. 

At the heart of the approach is the idea that amazing things happen when women support each other and there are many ways to be a great mum. Crucially in the original Mums Matter course, we provide a creche facility during the weekly 2 hour meet ups and so mums have the time and headspace to really focus on themselves and even get to drink a hot cup of tea!

In Brecon, Mums Matter has been running for over 3 years, originally with Deborah Wilkie as the only facilitator. It has become a highly successful and popular programme and as such now employs 2 facilitators in the Mums Matter team funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. Deborah now oversees Brecon & District Mind’s growing Family Support Service which also provides a peer group for Dads, as well as family support for parents with older children, both one to one and in a group setting – this has also all been moved online.

“I would like to thank the amazing support from the Mums that have attended the programme. They have been hugely inspiring and great advocates by promoting and sharing their own experiences of the programme to other Mums in groups and the wider community." Debs x

We see our role as facilitating peer support for parents by providing spaces where mums and dads can talk openly about the challenges that they are experiencing and have the space to feel listened to. We also introduce them to some very practical tools and skills that they can use to take care of themselves and manage the inevitable stresses of family life.

Mums Matter in a Changing World

Mums Matter in a Changing World is our remote version of Mums Matter – it is delivered using Zoom (the online communication platform) and we meet together online for an hour a week, for 8 weeks. We chose the name ‘Mums Matter in a Changing World’ to reflect how different and difficult things currently are for people, because of the pandemic, and how quickly things have, and will continue to change. We offer one to one support on the phone and in texts in between the sessions as well.

“It was so comforting to learn that other mums have been having the same feelings and experiences as me. Actually seeing their faces and hearing their voices has made me feel less alone.”  Mum July 2020

In our first Mums Matter in a Changing World course we have found the mums have needed to share their understandable sense of loss. Most of our mums gave birth around the time that Covid 19 was already in the community. As a result of this they have not been able to spend their maternity leave as they imagined. For example, they haven’t been able to share the cuddles with their newborns with families and friends. Some mums were not able to have the shared birth experience that they had planned. 

Mums have been faced with many other challenges for example, due to lockdown, finding novel ways to weigh their babies at home and grappling with the challenges of breast feeding and establishing routines. They have truly tapped into their motherly instincts; over and again, we have been struck by the resilience and tenacity that they have shown.

“I am finding it really helpful to talk through the decisions that I am having to make with the facilitators and the other mums – there is the pull of wanting to keep my baby safe and the push of wanting to return to some kind of normality and see friends and family.”  Mum, July 2020

As lockdown is easing mums are facing a whole new set of challenges and dilemmas. How much risk to take in terms of meeting up with friends and families and perhaps a reminder of how much the world has changed. Mums are having to balance their needs as mums with the safety of their babies and families within an environment of constantly changing government guidelines and scientific understanding of the virus still unfolding. The project can provide a safe space to start to look at these and to share the experiences that they are having and some tools and techniques to manage the understandable anxiety that many are facing. 

The next Mums Matter in a Changing World course will start in September and we will also be back doing face to face courses as soon as it is safe to do so. 

To find out more about this specially adapted remote Mums Matter course by Zoom call Sarah on 07535 385 512 or Ros on 07399 583 415.

Celf-Able - peer support in a creative environment in North Powys

Andrew Logan (Celf-Able's patron) donated this artwork for the Secret Art Sales

Two and a half years ago we introduced our readers to a new group by and for disabled artists in Powys called Celf-Able. This week's guest author Amanda Wells - one of the founder members of the group - gives us an update on Celf-Able's recent and planned activities, and ongoing development.

Hello, I’m Amanda, voluntary co-ordinator for Celf-Able, a disabled-led inclusive art group in Montgomeryshire. We have been having a busy time at our meetings in Machynlleth, Caersws, Llanfair Caereinion, Welshpool and Newtown. We meet once a month in each venue and get together to do art in a social and peer-supportive atmosphere. We provide materials and people can have a go at different types of art, and when funding allows we invite artists to do workshops with us on different art materials and techniques. We have done pottery, mosaics, linoprinting, portrait painting, abstract painting and a host of other activities.

We believe in the role of art in wellbeing and social inclusion. Members benefit from exploring their creativity and doing art in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. We share skills and help each other achieve our artistic aims. We hold regular exhibitions at Newtown library and Centre Celf in Llandrindod Wells. We are disabled-led but we are open to all.

We have recently changed our logo to a dragon who’s a wheelchair user, this has sparked us into doing a series of dragon paintings. These will be on display and for sale at our fundraising event on July 20th at Oriel Davies, Newtown. There will also be a ‘secret art sale’ of decorated postcards in sealed envelopes. The postcards have been decorated by Celf-Able members and also artists Andrew Logan, Mary Lloyd-Jones, Linda Jane James, David Bannister and Steffan Jones-Hughes. We also have a ‘Lucky Squares’ raffle for original artworks and limited edition reproductions by Brian Jones, Linda Jane James, Steffan Jones-Hughes and others. We are very lucky that Andrew Logan recently agreed to be our first patron.

Artist Linda Jane James has made a temporary dragon mascot for us and s/he needs a name, so we have a ‘name the dragon’ raffle too. We hope to get funding to make a permanent mascot soon.

We have been hand-decorating mugs to sell to raise funds, members have decorated them with lots of different designs. This was my idea, I donated some plain white mugs to the group and we have been using Posca paint pens to decorate them. When baked in the oven the paint becomes permanent (although not dishwasher-proof). Members have enjoyed decorating the mugs with their designs.

Recently we had a stall at Llanfair Carnival, we sold donated items and brought the dragon mascot for its first outing, we also had original art for sale. With grants ever harder to get we have been increasing our activity to raise our own funds.

I was one of the founding members of Celf-Able back in 2014, we developed out of a group on Celf o Gwmpas’s Artist Training and Mentoring scheme. We wanted to carry on meeting when that project ended so we set up on our own. Celf-Able has grown a lot since then and we have had many activities as well as our regular meetings. We had a trip on Welshpool canal and also a horse-drawn canal boat trip in Llangollen. We hope to get funding to go on some day trips to galleries in Aberystywth, Machynlleth, Birmingham and Walsall, we will then produce artwork inspired by the trips.

I fell into the role of voluntary co-ordinator and have had to learn how to make grant applications and do various admin and co-ordinating tasks. This has been very demanding at times but I have gained a lot of project management skills. I would quite like to study a course on project management to get a qualification. I have also grown in confidence, personally and as an artist, so although it can be hard work and stressful at times I still get a lot out of Celf-Able, and have made lots of new valued friends. I enjoy the meetings as it’s a time I set aside to do art, mixing with like-minded people. I have been encouraged to study for the MA Fine Art at Wolverhampton, this is nearing completion now, I would never have had the confidence to do this without Celf-Able. I’m even looking into going on to do a PhD, on disability arts and society.

I really enjoy seeing other people grow in confidence too. Sometimes people are very apprehensive when they first come to the group but after a few sessions they start to relax and enjoy their creativity. It’s also good for Celf-Able to connect with other organisations. We attend a variety of networking events locally and further afield, such as Aberystwyth and Chester. We are going to be a case study group for ArtWorks Cymru’s Quality Principles, this work starts in July.

We are holding two ‘Beth Am Gael Tro/Have A Go’ workshops at Llanfair Caereinion Institute, Upcycling on July 27th and Creative Writing on August 17th, these will be led by members who have gained the confidence to run workshops through the group. So a busy time ahead, but we do it for the love of art!

Many thanks to Amanda for the latest news on this thriving disability-led arts group. 

Celf-Able now has a Powys Lotto page - you can support local causes and have a chance of winning prizes with the local lottery. You can find out more about the organisation by phoning 01938 810058 or emailing: admin@celf-able.org

Youth group - Mid Powys Mind

Lorna Jones runs the youth group at Mid Powys Mind, ably assisted by volunteer Abby Simms. The group is aimed at 16 – 25 year olds, and gives them a safe and supportive place to meet and talk about what’s bothering them. I recently met up with three of the young people who attend regularly to find out more about the group.

We’ve been going to the group since June last year which is when the very first meeting took place. We just do little bits of activities every week and it’s nice to get out. It’s in the Wellbeing Centre in Llandrindod and 5 to 7 of us are attending at the moment.

We’ve done pottery, art, games, we get to go on walks (that’s my favourite), and do Zentangle-mindfulness doodling. We do loads of different stuff, whatever we fancy, if we want to do something we just say. We plan quite far ahead and we’re all involved in structuring what we do. Some of us live further away so it’s not possible to get up every week, so we write down the dates that will be best for us.

Lorna Jones, Youth Worker Mid Powys Mind

It’s just nice to come somewhere and have a bit of a chat. It’s a safe place to go so if there is something on your mind, even if you don’t talk, Abby and Lorna talk it out of you. They pull it like a string! They pick up on your mood and always know when something is wrong. They’re very good, they’ve worked out who each of us are and what makes us tick and what doesn’t.

As it’s quite a friendly group we’ve all got to know each other really well so we’ve learned what to say and what not to say - what triggers other people. It’s good to be able to go somewhere and know that, hang on a minute, I’m not the only one who actually has to deal with something like this. I’ve gone and then learned that three people have actually had to do a very similar thing to what I’ve had to do. We’re all pretty close. We’re all treated the same way. Nobody is treated differently. Everyone has the same respect for each other.

Everyone’s problem is just as important as everyone else’s.

We didn’t know any of the others. It was new to all of us. It was a bit scary at the start but Lorna and Abby were really good at introducing everyone to each other. I think people have come out of their shells. When I came I didn’t really want to talk, I was very quiet, but now I don’t stop and others were very quiet too, wouldn’t say boo to a goose. We were all private and Lorna and Abby have brought our thoughts out of us. They make a relaxing, calming atmosphere.

Abby Simms, Mid Powys Mind volunteer, at a pot painting session

I’m quite a moody person and Lorna and Abby help us out with emotional and practical things. 

It’s good to get out of the house and away from everything else. To have a break. New people can just show up to the group. It’s a place we don’t have to go to have counselling, but we can go somewhere and just say “I feel crap today”. Even if you say “I don’t want to be here right now”. Okay, yes, alarm bells go off in their heads but they actually sit and listen to you. They make time to listen to you. Whereas in normal life we have busy parents who don’t have the time to do it, it’s good to have a place just for you which is your safe place.

In the past if we needed extra help Lorna signposted us to a different service, or if we were nervous Lorna contacted them for us. When I first came to the group, I was a bit of a mess and really struggled and Lorna put me in touch with Claire who works for Mid Powys Mind as a Recovery and Support Worker. I would not be here today if I hadn’t come to this group and met Lorna and Abby. I’ve learned to trust again, it’s taken a long time to get to where we are today, the good thing is you can have a joke with them. Some people have down days but the atmosphere isn’t down, there’s always something going on. 

Say there’s a new member and they don’t want to walk in with all of us in the room, if you speak to Lorna beforehand she will meet you outside first. It’s little things like that, and she prewarns us as well, some of us are quite nervous about meeting new people, they say you have to be nice! Those little things make a big difference.

Confidentiality is a huge thing and we all respect that. Though we have broken some rules…. Only phones! But we are teenagers!

There are activities planned for the next few weeks. We have Monopoly, another walk, we’ve walked around the Lake before, we get a newsletter with a list of options. It’s 2 hours every week. It’s open to anyone in the Mid and North Powys area aged 16-25 to come along.

Many thanks to the young people for telling me all about the Youth group at Mid Powys Mind. If you want to find out more about the group then contact Lorna by emailing youth@midpowysmind.org.uk or ringing 01597 824411. There is also a Youth group Facebook page.

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.

Emerging Proud in Powys

by guest author Caroline Andrews

On Tuesday 2 April I took the plunge and held a film screening at the Friends' Meeting House here in Llandod. The film? “Emerging Proud: coming out of the Spiritual Closet."

For my whole adult life, I’ve walked a balance of being “here and yet not here”. In the world and yet not of it. Having experienced a prolonged spiritual awakening after the second year in university, yet being treated like I was wrong and ill, I tried to dumb myself down and “fit in”, playing it safe.

A few years later, however, my soul had other ideas and another download of information, energy and spiritual awareness occurred. Once more, I was treated like I was ill and slightly “wrong”, forcibly injected with toxins and locked away, to awaken with my senses deadened and feeling this time like nothing that felt important to me was safe to explore.

A year later I had clawed some light back in to my life and re-gained my confidence though once more experienced a prolonged peak state that landed me one more time in hospital.

This time, I had the support of a loving partner, and a deep knowing inside that this was a spiritual awakening. “One flew over the cuckoo's nest” sprang to mind as I set to have as much fun with the other “inmates” as possible until I managed to set up a tribunal. Luckily I was released before it came to court.

10 years later, I’m showing a screening of a film that speaks volumes about my own journey and the profound times we are living in. People from all over the world speaking about their experiences and how the labels they were given vastly underestimated the value of their profound and revealing life changing experiences. Time after time, we hear from people that validation of their path was the most helpful part of their journey, in opposition to the treatment by the psychiatric system that would dumb down and medicate the person creating invalidation and inner turmoil.

The campaign whose name echoes the film title, Emerging Proud, was started by Katie Mottram, also author of “Mend the Gap”. In her book, Katie shares her own experiences in life, from being a carer in the mental health system to being herself an experiencer, and her realisation that the spiritual aspect of the journey was often overlooked though sometimes the most valuable part of the experience.

I trained with Katie through the organisation Emerging Proud to become an Emerging Kind peer group facilitator. In these peer groups we share from the heart, and listen without judgement. This is a safe space, where there are no labels, just love and acceptance for each other. Last year I ran a group here in Llandrindod Wells for 10 months. There were tears and a lot of laughter and for me a profound sense of home. Having felt so alone for my whole adult life, I had finally found a place to share my experiences without fear of being re-sectioned or ridicule.

Now in its second year, I have created a new peer group, based on the attendees of the film screening and at present, we are full to capacity. If you’d like to join the group, I can keep you on the waiting list. The film itself is worth watching for a life changing feeling of seeing people all around the world experiencing exactly what I did. Check it out for yourself here:

And find out more about Emerging Proud here.

“Times, they are a-changing,” and so should the solutions to our challenges. Emerging Proud supports the growing notion that mental health crisis is in fact an invaluable and life changing experience and with the right support and encouragement we may all come out the other side transformed like the butterfly, spreading our wings to take on a new horizon.

To find out more about Emerging Proud in Powys, contact Caroline by emailing carolinemaryandrews@hotmail.com or ringing 07749 232 366.