Author: Rino R

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Coping with the Cost of Living Crisis

The cost of living crisis is affecting all of us. It is important we look after our mental health during this time of added stress and seek all the practical support we are entitled to. There are resources out there to help you manage your money and adapt to a new budget, and there could be benefits you are entitled to. Prioritising our mental health is paramount due to the strong links between debt and suicide risk.

59% of adults in the UK say the cost of living crisis has negatively impacted their mental health and 1 in 5 adults say they are ‘unable to cope’ with rising costs. If you are finding it difficult to cope please attend our workshop at the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space on the 31st March run by Croydon Talking Therapies for practical tips and mental wellbeing CBT based support. You’ll need to register to attend. You can also book an appointment to speak to one of our support workers if you’d like to see what other support is available to you including welfare benefits.

 

To register for the workshop please drop in to the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space or call us on 020 3154 9539.

Other ways in which we can support you with money worries:

  • We can set you up an appointment with a benefit advisor who can tell you what you are entitled to
  • You could attend one of our DWP drop in sessions for benefit queries
  • You could be eligible to apply for the household support fund from the government- applications have recently re-opened
  • We host a variety of groups such as coping skills groups to help you manage your worries
  • You could speak to one of our support team 1:1 about your mental health and financial situation, we will look at your situation holistically and aim to connect you to all the right services in Croydon.
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LGBTQ+ History Month at the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space

 February is LGBTQ+ History Month! Did you know that those in the LGBTQ+ community are more than twice as likely to develop a mental health problem? Recent studies have shown half of LGBTQ+ people have experienced depression, 3/5 have experienced anxiety and 1/8 have attempted to end their life. There are many things we need to recognise which the LGBTQ+ community often go through, which can affect their mental health such as discrimination, homophobia/transphobia, social isolation, rejection and difficult experiences of coming out. Society has come a long way over the years but there is still work to be done. There are many barriers for the LGBTQ+ community when accessing support; recent studies have shown around 1/8 LGBTQ+ people have experienced unequal treatment from healthcare staff and 1/7 have avoided seeking treatment for fear of discrimination. At the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space, we pride ourselves in being a safe space for all. Our aim is to make mental health care more accessible, particularly for those who are from marginalised communities. We urge anyone from the LGBTQ+ community who is struggling with their mental health to drop in and have a chat with one of our non-judgemental support staff who will help them navigate the support options available to them.

 

 

 

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The Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space Turns One!

CROYDON HEALTH AND WELLBEING SPACE TURNS ONE!

On 5 th January 2022 the Whitgift Centre welcomed a new resident. Committed to improving access to mental health support for the local population, the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space opened its doors with a goal: to be a starting point for those looking to engage with mental health services.

Whether accessing mental health services for the first time, stepping down from secondary mental health services, or simply not being aware of what was available in Croydon, the Space aimed to make receiving support around mental health and wellbeing easier for all.

In 2020 the South West London Commissioning Group developed a vision of a true partnership in the community and through the combined efforts of the Croydon BME Forum, Mind in Croydon and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust this vision was soon realised. A true partnership in every sense, the Space was populated by staff from all three of these organisations
with a range of skills, including:’’

  • CHWS Support Workers, who assist clients in accessing all the support services available to them through signposting and referrals. In addition to our general Support Workers, we also have a Carers Support Worker and a Trainee Domestic Abuse Support Worker.
  • Recovery Space Support Workers, who assist clients that might be experiencing a crisis identify their crisis triggers, identify their strengths and effective coping methods, and improve self-confidence, esteem and independence.
  • Clinical Psychology, who help clients to identify their psychological, emotional and behavioural needs and help them to work through these issues as well as helping them to learn coping skills and manage difficult emotions.

When asked about the early days of the Space back in January 2022, Tim, who joined the team in December 2021 as a Support Worker said “It was tough finding our feet initially. With a new team and a pilot project, we were going into new territory. We found the first months a steep but welcome learning curve operating the service. Despite this, from every challenge we found a new avenue for the service to thrive and better serve the community.”

Since then we have developed, adapted and grown our service to deliver the best support we can to the people of Croydon. Through making links with other local organisations such as the Department of Work and Pensions, Ground Works, Healthy Homes and Hear Us – just to name a few – we have been able to improve our knowledge of local services and refine our abilities to signpost as appropriately as we can.

Day-to-day, the Space has become a bustling centre for people looking to access support. We see a range of people who either drop-in to the Space, are referred to us by an outside agency or contact us for advice and guidance.

We view mental health and wellbeing as something that is best tackled holistically here at the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space. People’s wellbeing can be impacted by a range of things, from problems with their benefits or a lack of confidence when filling out forms; unstable housing situations or being socially isolated. These issues can cause worry, stress and other strains on a person’s mental health that can lead to them wanting to access support. Our staff listen to the problems that clients are facing and try to assist them in accessing the support and advice that is most appropriate to them. Whether it is through signposting to a Croydon-based organisation with specific expertise, or signing them up to some of the support we are able to offer in-house, such as our Clinical Psychology Team or our Carers groups, Support Workers will do to their utmost to ensure that client receives the best support they can.

Feedback from clients is essential to us improving the service that we provide and over the past year we have ensured to find effective ways to receive feedback and suggestions from clients. We always welcome clients to leave us any comments and suggestions for us to take onboard so that we can tailor our service to provide the people of Croydon with the best health and wellbeing support that we can.

The future looks bright for the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space as we continue our mission to make health and wellbeing support more accessible into 2023. As summarised by Dr Kevin Vento, Clinical Psychologist here at the Space: “This is a real revolution in mental health care. We have stripped away all the barriers to accessing support. No barriers, no waiting lists and an open door.”