HUBBlog

Myrder Mystery Success!

2011-10-19T11:37:00.000+01:00

Our first foray into fundraising events was a great success!

We had hired the Brentwood Community Theatre and a group of actors to perform on Thursday 13 October.

Advance ticket sales went very well and we had over 60 people - at £20 per seat!

Raffle tickets sold well - thanks to everyone who donated prizes and everyone who bought tickets

The performance was very interactive - fortunately we had two budding thespians in our audience who were only too willing to upstage the professional actors! There was a lot of noise and much laughter as we cheered and booed in equal measure.

The really good news is that we raised £908.

Murder Mystery Night

2011-09-19T11:05:00.000+01:00

To mark

World Mental Health Day

HUBB Mental Health User Group

Presents a

At the

Brentwood Theatre

15 Shenfield Road, Brentwood CM15 8AG

01277 200 305

http://www.brentwood-theatre.org/

Thursday 13 October at 8pm

£20 ticket includes supper, during which a terrible deed takes place.

Were you watching your fellow theatre goers – did you spot the clues?

Can you solve the mystery?

Tickets from HUBB 0208 590 2666 or the box office

HUBB Annual General Meeting

2011-08-23T10:37:00.000+01:00

Our AGM will be held at the Baptist Church in Romford on Thursday 1st September 5pm to 7pm.
Our guest speaker will be Bernie Graham who has written a book about his own personal experiences, 'Creature Comforts Animal That Heal' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creature-Comfort-Animals-That-Heal/dp/0684851636

20th Anniversary - book launch

2011-08-23T10:32:00.000+01:00

On 4 August we filled the hall at the Baptist Church to celebrate 20 years since our very first meeting. It was a fitting occassion to launch our book 'Recovery is......'

Dinah was able to remind us of our early days of advocacy, when we were seen on the wards at Warley Hospital as 'the complaints ladies'. This is how the consultants used to greet us!

It was wonderful to welocme so many of the contributors of the book, which is availble from the HUBB office for £15 (plus £2 p&p).

Goodbye to Rob

2011-08-12T14:22:00.000+01:00

Well readers, your previous blogger has left us and we are (just about) managing to sustain the website and blog which he created. Rob was delighted with his farewell gift, which was a lightweight shiny thing which (apparently) enhances the flash on his camera. Here he shows how NOT to use it....

HUBB & Right Here Newham - YMHFA

2011-05-20T10:16:00.002+01:00

HUBB is working with 'Right Here - Newham' to deliver a series of Youth Mental Health First Aid programmes before March 2012. Coordinating this project for Right Here - Newham is Karen Douglas, Young People's Community Development Officer, Newham Right Here Project

'Right Here is a £6m programme to radically change how we look after the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 16 to 25 across the UK. By intervening early before mental health problems become entrenched we want to reduce the risk of young people's lives being damaged in the long term.

We are working with young people, frontline youth charities and mental health services in four local areas to develop new ways of providing support to those aged 16 to 25.We will find what works and seek to replicate this nationally to bring about change on a huge scale.' (From the Right Here website)

Rob Thomas, Training Coordinator for HUBB and National Training Team Member for MHFA England's YMHFA Programme, met Susan Blishen, Right Here Project Manager, at the Comunity Care Live 2011 Exhibition on 18th May.

It was particulalrly gratifying to understand more about Right Here and recognise they put young people at the heart of their decision making process - much like HUBB's ethos with mental health Service Users. HUBB is really excited to be involved with Right Here in Newham.

HUBB will be delivering 2 YMHFA programmes to an open selection of young people between the ages of 16 and 25 and 1 YMHFA programme as part of working with a school or college in Newham to attain MHFA England's 'YMHFA Quality Mark of Excellence'. HUBB will also be sponsoring one person to complete the 7 day YMHFA Instructor Training Programme with MHFA England.

In total this will provide Newham with 36 Youth Mental Health First Aiders and one YMHFA Instuctor. This will give a superb foundation for mental health provision at grass roots in the borough. Not only will it enable young people to gain awareness of mental health issues and help reduce stigma and discrimination, it will provide pragmatic applications for early intervention thus reducing a long term impact of mental ill health. The training of a YMHFA Instructor will mean they have a local person able to deliver the programme even more people making the programme deliverable and sustainable in the long term.

A further benefit will be that these young people will influence their peers and, of course, will become adults taking this awareness into their work and social lives in years to come.

Recovery Star Training for Staffordshire Mind

2011-05-19T15:30:00.000+01:00

A very succseful Recovery Star training programme was delivered to the staff and volunteers of Mid Staffordshire Mind on the 12th May 2011.

The group were really engaging and apprecited the style and content oif the course. The key learning appeared to be developing their confidence in working with clients and their Star, whilst understanding the pressures on themselves and their organisation to collect data required by theiur commissioners and funding agencies. Keeping the Star with the client is vital and this was a key point to the group undertadning and working with the Star.

As with all organisations working with and promoting the Recovery Star they are caught in the middle. How do we keep the Star client centred but also enable the date created to help us and our funders?
The key is education and confidence. If a client moves back down their 'Ladder of Change' this could appear a negative to the organisation or their funders. It could be the opposite! The client has recognised the reality of their situation and is now able to make strong proactive changes to move forwards effectively and generate long term changes.

Many thanks to Staffordshire Mind for making me so welcome, and being so appreciative of the training.

Recovering Jane - Accredited

2011-04-12T09:34:00.000+01:00

HUBB’s ‘Recovering Jane’ training programme has been registered as an Accredited Programme by Advantage Accreditation. It has been designed specifically to help those who care for people with mental ill health what Recovery is and where the responsibility lies.

Lynn Burling with the Certificate of Accreditation from Advantage Accreditation

‘Recovering Jane’ has been designed and developed by Lynn Burling, who is an acknowledged expert on the Recovery Approach.

‘Carer’ can cover many aspects where someone is looking after someone else. This can be by relation, a professional carer or someone who has the care for another for short to medium periods of time to cover for others.

If you would like to know more about the programme contact our training department.

Youth Mental Health First Aid - Havering Success!

2011-04-08T15:53:00.001+01:00

Back: Christine Jackson, , Susan Kite,, Laura Conquest, Donna Dorrell, David Parry, James Balcombe, Samantha King

Front: Lynn Burling, Poppy Jaman, Nancy Gilfillan, Jacqueline Eades, Margo Lindsay, Susan Francis, Lee Clegg

7^th April saw 12 delegates complete the Youth Mental Health First Aid programme. A true collaboration between Jenny Gray and Rob Thomas of HUBB, Sam King and David Parry of The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School, Lee Clegg of 14-19 Commissioning for Havering Local Authority and Mental Health First Aid England.

Poppy Jaman, CEO MHFA England presnting YMHFA Certificates to

Sam King and David Parry of Coopers Coborn School and Lee Clegg of 14-19 Commissioning for Havering.

Jenny Gray, Director of HUBB and Jacey Graham Director of Brook Graham Diversity & Inclusion Consultants and Coopers Coborn School Governor

HUBB YMHFA Instructors, Lynn Burling & Rob Thomas provided the training. This was delivered in 8 sessions over 6 weeks to fit in with the school half term. Coopers Coborn provided the venue and six members of staff to take part. They are also part of a pilot programme to achieve Mental Health First Aid England’s Quality Mark, demonstrating they are working towards the continuous improvement of the wellbeing of young people, not just in the school but also in the wider community. The six members of staff chosen to take part were selected partly on their interest and enthusiasm but also because of their strategic contact with as many pupils at the school as possible to ensure the breadth of coverage.

The other six delegates came from Havering College of Further and Higher Education, In School Counselling at Bower Park School, Havering Connexions, ARC (Pupil Referral Unit), 14-19 Commissioning (Havering) and the Havering Business Education Partnership.

To celebrate the participant’s success and their achievement a cheese and wine event was held after the final session. Jenny Gray, Director of HUBB, Jacey Graham, Governor at Coopers Coborn and Poppy Jaman, CEO of MHFA England also attended and presented the certificates.

As well as having 12 new Youth Mental Health First Aid instructors in Havering another major benefit of this programme is the drive and enthusiasm of all involved, delegates, facilitators and all the organisations involved is expanding the network and good practise in all areas of young people’s mental wellbeing and development.

We are already in the process of developing the skills within this group to look at how we expand YMHFA throughout the borough.

Christine Jackson ARC (Pupil Referral Unit)

Donna Dorrell - Coopers Coborn School

James Balcombe - Coopers Coborn School

Jacqueline Eades - Coopers Coborn School

Laura Conquest - In School Counsellor, Bower Park School

Margo Lindsay - Havering College of Further & Higher Education

Nancy Gilfillan - Havering Connexions

Susan Francis - Havering Business Education Partnership

Sue Kite - Coopers Coborn

HUBB - Changes to Advocacy Provision

2011-03-25T08:52:00.000Z

At the March meeting Jenny explained the changes to our advocacy service from April 1 2011.

Everyone is aware that the NHS and local authorities are having to review their budgets and inevitably this means some services being reduced.

NHS Havering (formerly known as PCT), along with NHS Barking & Dagenham have, for the past 20 years, paid for anyone who accesses metal health services to self refer to HUBB for advocacy support.

Unfortunately NHS Havering are no longer able to fund the same level of advocacy and have asked us to review our criteria.

Our IMHA’s (Independent Mental Health Advocacy), Kay, Ian and Suzana will see every patient in Sunflowers Court (Goodmayes Hospital) who is detained under the mental health act (Sectioned). This is a statutory requirement which means patients have a legal right to IMHA.

Clients living in the community under CTO (Community Treatment Orders) will also take priority, as they too have a legal right to IMHA advocacy

IMHAs will then advocate for voluntary inpatients and those under the Home Treatment Team.

If a client lives in Havering and does not meet any of the above criteria, they will be ‘signposted’ to other organisations who may be able to help, such as CAB (Citizens Advice Bureaux) and Family Mosaic.

Family Mosaic is based in Romford and residents of Havering can self-refer for support with debt, housing, and benefits. They have a team of support workers, including three with mental health expertise, who can offer short term intervention. Family Mosaic will be our guest speakers at the HUBB meeting on April 7^th.

In Barking and Dagenham our commissioners have not made any changes to advocacy provision, but they have elected not to pay for development work in Barking and Dagenham. Some of you may recall this being the Self-Advocacy Development Worker.

The Recovery Group at Porters Avenue in Barking will cease, but all clients are welcome to attend the Petersfield Centre group in Harold Hill. 10am -12pm first Friday of every month.

Along with changes to IMCA (Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy) so we find ourselves saying ‘Au revoir’ to Lynn and Alistair.

Lynn has been with HUBB 13 years and at the meeting she said “I have grown so much during my time with HUBB. As a person I am more confident and

capable than ever. I have developed skills and experience that I will take with me as my career moves forward. I have always embraced the idea of recovery and would like you to see my move as endorsing the fact that it can happen. I will miss you all, clients and colleagues, but the time is right for me to go”

Alistair will also be moving on, and he too said that he is leaving HUBB with regret, but excited for the new challenges ahead.

Both Lynn and Alistair are staying with mental health and will continue to raise the standards of care through other routes, such as training of mental health nurses and CPN’s at South bank University.

HUBB - More Training!

2011-02-21T10:26:00.000Z

February has proved a busy and succesful month for HUBB's training.

Rob Thomas & Lynn Burling spent a day in Coventry training members of the 'Social Care - Communitiy and Children's Services' in the Recovery Star. The group was made up of a great range of people - from CDW's to Admin Support to Managers. The programme was received well and it was fantastic to have such a variety of levels represented. This demonstrated that the organisation was looking carefully at how the Recovery Star could be used and engaged with from all persectives - the Client, the workers and the organisation.

Lynn Burling of HUBB (far left) with members of Coventry's

Social Care Communities and Children's Services

From HUBB's perspective it was great to receive such a warm response. IT was also very pleasing to see such creativity present within the group and evedence from the accross the organisation. The artwork and environment was exceptional! The background artwork in the photograph above is their version of a 'Recovery Star'.

_____________________________________________

Youth Mental HEalth First Aid is gaining in popularity. Coopers Coborn School, Upminster, is to be one of the first schools in the country to working towards MHFA England's 'Kite Mark'. This pilot programme will be delivering the YMHFA programme in 8 sessions over 6 weeks. This programme is the result of a partneship collaboration between HUBB, Coopers Coborn and MHFA England and the local Employment Eligibility Forum.

Coopers Coborn are providing the venue for a YMHFA programme which will include 6 members of their staff, carefuly selected as people who are likely to have the most contact with most pupils, together with 6 members of other organisations within the borough. Other delegates include representatives from the Pupil Referral Unit, Bower Park School, the Employment Eligibility Forum, Connexions, Havering College of Further & Higher Education and the Havering Business & Education Partnership.

_______________________________________

Rob Thomas spent 11 days in late January and early February delivering a 7 Day Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor programme and a 4 Day Extention YMHFA (for those who are already MHFA instructors) for MHFA England.

2011 - A great start!

2011-01-20T14:53:00.004Z

2011 looks to be a challenging year for everyone. The social and economic changes that are in progress will affect us all. What Britain will look like in a years time is difficult to predict...let alone trying to imagine five years ahead.

HUBB, although facing challenges like many individuals and organisations, has experienced a positive start to the year. Jenny Gray, our Director, has been recognised by Mental Health First Aid England as a 'Champion' for her support of Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid. An article was published in the Romford Recorder and other Archant Group newspapers.

Jenny Gray in the Romford Recorder 14th Jan 2011

We are in negotiation with a prominant local secondary school to be a 'Kite Mark' pilot for Youth Mental Health First Aid. HUBB is supporting the programme by providing free YMHFA Instruction. MHFA England are providing the course materials and certificates. The school will provide the venue. Whilst not fianlised at this moment in time, the prospects are looking very good for this programme to run over eight sessions in the half term before Easter. This will be one of the first schools in the country to be involved in YMHFA under the MHFA England Kite Mark Scheme - promoting health and wellbeing in schools and the wider community.

The pilot that HUBB is involved with is particularly exciting as it is hoped that 6 places will be taken by the school and six places provided to other schools and youth organisations in the local area. This will mean that 12 YMH First Aiders will be operational in a wide number of organisations to help identify young people cthat may be showing signs and symptoms of mental ill health and guiding them to the appropriate support. This early intervention will make a big difference in the lives of many young people..

Our mission to help MHFA England reach it's target of a 'Mental Health First Aider in every workplace' is moving forwards. We are meeting business leaders at every opportunity. It is our firm belief that the wellbeing of the nation can be improved by having MH First Aiders in similar proportion to physical Frist Aiders. Our Corporate Social Responsibility approach connects wellbeing to individual and business performance. More information can be found on our specific CSR website pages.

Our colleagues at Stredia are able to produce important diagnostic analysis of where companies may experience potential issues with stress and anxiety. The information is generated via an anonymous online data collection system and presented in clean and effective reports. Combining this information with training key employees in Mental Health First Aid and developing specific training programmes in the areas recognised as generating higher levels of risk of stress and anxiety will not only create an improved working environment but can make big differences to the business balance sheet. Prevention of stress and anxiety is far more cost effective than dealing with the impact!

© Stredia 2011

HUBB is keen to link with any organisations that is interested in making a difference to their employee wellbeing.

2010 - That was the year, that was...

2010-12-30T13:46:00.001Z

HUBB has had a very successful year in respect the services we provide. On top of that our staff have worked hard on their own development and received personal recognition for their hard work in a number of ways.

All our advocates (IMCA & IMHA) have successfully completed the specialist module stage of the National Advocacy Qualification Certificate. They are currently preparing their core modules and completion of the certificate is confidently expected in February 2011. A number of advocates are also keen to carry their development by working toward the Diploma. Well done to Ian, Alistair, Dinah, Eve, Suzana, Kay for their success so far, and we wish them well on their journey to further success!

Lynn Burling, from our Training & Development Department, successfully completed a Foundation Degree (Patient Educator in Health & Social Care) London South Bank University. Well done, Lynn!

Pam Macklin, HUBB’s Advocacy Manager, was also successful in completing the Certificate in Managing for Excellence in Advocacy Services from the Institute of Leadership and Management. Well done, Pam!

Jenny received the accolade of Mental Health First Aid Champion from Mental Health First Aid England for her promotion and support of the Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid programmes.

It has been a very busy year for the organisation.

January marked a great start for 2010 as Investors in People reviewed our organisation. The assessor reported ‘This is a very inclusive workplace, where staff are empowered to make decisions as appropriate, and to feel involved in what HUBB is aiming to do in the future. Staff also confirmed that their ideas and feedback was sought and that HUBB worked very much as a team.’

March saw HUBB awarded the ‘Quality Performance Mark in Advocacy’. The assessor wrote ‘I came away with the impression that HUBB are so well known in the area that they can tackle any issue with confidence and I would imagine they are a force to be reckoned with….HUBB is a high quality service with one of the longest records of service delivery in the country.’ Martin Coyle, Head of Quality and Development for ‘Action 4 Advocacy’ added ‘Service Users speak in glowing terms of the way they lead their own advocacy process, the skills and commitment of the advocates and the trust they have that the service they provide is independent and on their side.’

HUBB was awarded the status of an Approved Centre by Advantage Accreditation. We were also successfully receiving accreditation for our programme ‘Mental Health Act and the role of the IMCA’. Just before Christmas our ‘Recovering Jane’ programme was submitted for accreditation approval and we should hear news on its success early in 2011.

Our Independent Mental Capacity Advocates, Independent Mental Health Advocates and Generic Advocates all continue to provide sterling service to the London Boroughs of Havering and Barking & Dagenham. This quote from a decision maker typifies the response to our service. ‘The IMCA service was very easy and very helpful. I was quite nervous as this was my first referral to HUBB, but the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable and after speaking with them I had gained with them I had gained a better understanding in this case.’ A Senior Practitioner in a Learning Disabilities Team stated ‘HUBB IMCA provided an independent voice and useful (indeed vital!) professional judgement in what was a sensitive and complex case.’ More importantly one service user commented ‘I would like to thank HUBB from the bottom of my heart. If it wasn’t for them on the end of the phone I wouldn’t be here now.’ It is comments like these, and especially the service user perspective that make us proud of what we do.

Our Training & Development Department goes from strength to strength. We have delivered training to nearly four hundred people in the last twelve months. Of particular interest is how we are being asked to provide training programmes further afield. We continue to provide training in Havering, Barking in Dagenham, but 2010 saw us spread our wings on a regular basis. Sevenoaks and Sittingbourne in Kent, Islington, Croydon, Harmondsworth (near Heathrow) and even as far as Burton-upon-Trent!

We are gaining a strong reputation for our ‘Recovery Star’ programmes. This has been delivered to a wide range of organisations in public, private and voluntary sectors. We have been commissioned to provide Recovery Star training to the health services in Coventry in 2011, as well as many more programmes in Barking and Dagenham across multiple services following a successful pilot in December.

HUBB continues to promote and deliver Mental Health First Aid programmes. We were particularly proud to deliver an MHFA to the Gypsy & Traveller Community in Kent. Rob also co-delivered an MHFA course to the staff of the Immigration Centre in Harmondsworth.

Rob was selected as a member of the National Training Team for Youth MHFA and MHFA England in May. Youth Mental Health continues to gather interest and momentum. It was officially launched in November by an august team that included Esther Rantzen. A number of potential pilots in Havering and Barking & Dagenham are in the pipeline. Like many areas of life at the moment this will be dependent on funding, but the signs are looking good.

Poppy Jaman, Director MHFA England, with Esther Rantzen

Well, that is a quick review of HUBB in 2010. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients, supporters, friends and colleagues, in fact anyone that has had contact with us in any form over the last 12 months!

2011 is set to be an interesting year. Financially it will prove challenging for many individuals and organisations. Many will see the negative. However, out of such times there will be the seeds of creativity and positivity. HUBB not only promotes the recovery ethos to individuals working with mental ill health issues but also promotes this approach to any one and any organisation. The bedrock of recovery is hope. From this hope appears optimism. Through these two prisms new light is cast giving a new perspective on possibilities.

We wish everyone a happy and successful 2011.

Emotional & Psychological Wellbeing & Reslience Strategy (EmPWR)

2010-11-15T11:55:00.000Z

HUBB atteended the EmPWER Commissioning Workshop on the 12th November at the Barking Learning Centre.

Introduced by Meena Kishinani, Head of Children's Policy and Trust Commissioning for London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, and facilitated by LisaWilliams of the Department of Health National Support Team, this event looked to reflect upon the strategic priorities for the emotional wellbeing for children and young people and develop effective actions to move LBBD forward to new and effective implementation.

Over 40 people representing varios interested parties across the borough attended. This included Senior Practioners, Head and Deputy Head teachers, a GP, Multi Action Location Team (MALT) members, Youth & Social Workers. There were also a number of representatives from the voluntary sector.

As well as providing a comprehensive update on the strategy implementation, Lisa facilitated the action planning. The ideas and suggestions are too numerous to list here but are being collated ready for the next stage of the strategy implementation by Paul Cosens, author of the EmPWR Strategy (Children & Young People) Project Brief.

As well as a positive and constructive session it is HUBB's belief that the Youth Mental Health Frist Aid programme will fit exceptionally well in to future implementation of mental health, wellbeing and resiliance in Barking & Dagenham.

Launch of Youth Mental Health First Aid

2010-10-18T15:00:00.000+01:00

The official launch of the Youth Mental HEalth First Aid programme will take place in London on the 10th November. Further details are available from the MHFA England website.

HUBB is subsidising a number of YMHFA programmes to those who live and/or work in Havering and Barking & Dagenham. See our website for more information. Rob Thomas is one of MHFA England's YMHFA National Training Team members as well as delivering the 14 hour programme as an instructor.

"MHFA England CIC is excited to announce the launch of Youth Mental Health First Aid (Youth MHFA). Following the huge national success of Mental Health First Aid, Youth MHFA is an internationally recognised course designed specifically for those people that live, work or care for young people aged 11 - 18. MHFA England have adapted the course to be specific for people living with, caring for and working with young people in England. The course provides information and training to promote a young person's mental and emotional wellbeing and to enable participants to support a young person who might be experiencing mental and emotional distress.

The Youth MHFA course will teach people how to:

Spot the early signs of a mental health problem in young people
Feel confident helping a young person experiencing a problem
Provide help on a first aid basis
Help prevent a young person from hurting themselves or others
Help prevent a mental health illness from getting worse
Help a young person recover faster
Guide a young person towards the right support
Reduce the stigma of mental health problems

Why is it important?

1 in 10 young people experience emotional and mental health problems
By the time young people become adults the incidence of mental health problems rises
to somewhere between 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 people.
For those aged 15-24 suicide is the most common cause of death
There is evidence to suggest early intervention is hugely beneficial"

Together Report - Peer Support - Lived Experience Leading the Way

2010-10-04T15:31:00.001+01:00

An important new report - 'Peer Support - Lived Experience Leading The Way' - was launched by 'Together' on September 30th. The full report along with associated material can be downloaded from the highlighted links to the relevant pages on the Together Website.

HUBB Annual Report and other news...

2010-09-17T15:51:00.000+01:00

The HUBB Annual Report 2010 is now available as a pdf download from the HUBB website. Scroll to the foot of the Homepage where a 'quick link' to the report is located.

HUB was involved in two Mental Health First Aid programmes. The first took place at the Ardleigh Training & Education Suite at St. Georges Hospital, Hornchurch with 13 delegates. This was for Havering PCT for people working and living in the borough and delivered by Pam Macklin and Rob Thomas. The second took place at the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, near Heathrow Airport. Rob was invited to co-train with Jessica McKoen as part of her training provision for staff at the centre.

Lynn Burling is to deliver a one hour interactive lecture at Robert Clack Scholl on communication for those involved in social care this week.

HUBB AGM 2nd September

2010-09-03T14:55:00.002+01:00

Over 50 members and guests attended HUBB's Annual General Meeting at Romford Baptist Church on the 2nd Septemeber 2010. Guest speaker was Poppy Jaman, Director of Mental HEalth First Aid England. She gave a great presentation on mental health awareness and support in England and how the Mental Health First Aid programme is progressing. There are now over 500 MHFA Instructors, of which HUBB has four, and they have trained over 23,000 people to become Mental Health First Aiders.

Poppy gave an overview of MHFA England and how it is establishing MHFA as good practise in business, simialr to how First Aid is an accepted part of our society, She also expalined about the Youth Mental Health First Aid programme.

The meeting was chaired by Neil Wood, who was also re-elected as chairperson for HUBB for 2010-2011.

Unfortunately Jenny Gray, HUBB's Director, was unable to attend due to illness, but was very ablely duputised by HUBB's Advocacy Manager, Pam Macklin and Office MAnager, Dawn Byrne. Pam presented the Annual Report 2009 and Dawn chaired the announcement of the new Committe for 2010 - 2011. These are:

Officers:

Neil Wood – Chair

Steve Marsh Treasurer

Liz Cadzow Committee secretary

Members:

John Potter

Mary Larkin

HUBb would like to thank all those attended and a special thanks to our guests, Fiona Weir, Robert Keys, Claire Stritton, Simon Cannell and Sue Gibbs.

MHFA New Website Launched

2010-08-12T12:06:00.000+01:00

The Mental Health First Aid England website has undergone a complete refurbishment. It covers comprehensive information on the Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid Programmes along with supporting material around them.

HUBB has four instructors listed on their 'Instructor Database' - Jenny Gray, Pam Macklin, Lynn Burling and Rob Thomas. We will be listing our MHFA and YMHFA programmes on the MHFA England website as well as updating progress on our own HUBB site.

HUBB & Advantage - accreditation for Training Programmes

2010-08-12T09:53:00.000+01:00

HUBB is now approved as an Accreditied Training Centre through Advantage - an independent accreditation organisation. This will lead to HUBB being able to offer a recognised certification process for our own unique training programmes, including 'Mental Capacity (2005)', 'Deprivation of Libery Safeguards' and 'Recovering Jane'.

Dawn McClements awarding Jenny Gray and HUBB 'Advantage Training Centre Approval'

As well as HUBB being awarded Accreditied Centre status, Jenny, Pam Lynn and Rob were also recognised as Approved Trainiers.

HUBB are looking for new committee members

2010-07-23T14:59:00.002+01:00

As a Committee Member you would be expected to regularly attend Committee Meetings. These are held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 109 Rose Lane, Marks Gate. The meetings begin at 2.00pm and usually end by 4.30pm.

At these meetings you would be involved in discussions about HUBB and its work including policies, procedures and finances. We also discuss issues that affect the future services across NELFT (North East London Foundation Trust)

You may also be invited to attend meetings with other local organisations to act as a representative of HUBB, to put forward the view of service users. There will be opportunities to take advantage of free training for Management Committee Members. Your expenses will be paid by HUBB.

Committee Members are also encouraged to attend the HUBB Monthly Meetings from 5.00pm – 7.00pm at the Baptist Church in Romford on the first Thursday of each month.

If you are elected at the AGM, you would need to undertake a Criminal Records Bureau Check. Any conviction involving theft, financial dishonesty, violence or fraud would prohibit you from being a HUBB Committee Member.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Committee Member before you make this decision, please do not hesitate to contact Jenny or Dawn at the HUBB office.
Tel: 020 8590 2666

Mental Health First Aid

2010-07-09T14:43:00.000+01:00

Mental Health First Aid England is undergoing some important changes.

A facelift for materials including the logos and it's ALGEE process.

The Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor dates are being circulated.

The MHFA England website is about to go live. This is a vast improvement on the old site and will host a lot of valuable information on the MHFA and YMHFA.

______________________________________________________

Our collaborative project with people who have experienced some form of mental distress is about to be launched. If you are interested in contributing material - photographs, poems, short stories, paintings, drawings, etc - to be included in a book demonstrating what recovery means and looks like to you, get in touch with Rob - T: 020 8590 2498 - Email here. We have set up a separate 'Recovery Is...' Blog to keep you updated, as well as showcase work we receive. We hope that this will provide inspiration to others to get involved. Here are some examples to help stimulate your creativity:

We hope that the creation of the book will challenge stigma and descrimination around mental ill health issues. We are also very aware that some may want to provide material but want to remain anonymous. This is absolutely fine. Contact us to find out more Or visit the HUBB website which has a dedicated page to the project.

If you are interested in the potential of this form of collaborative and participative project you can view pages from a book 'Through Our Eyes' that Rob created with four young people from the communities in Mumbai HERE,

HUBB at 'Community Care - Live 2010'

2010-05-20T20:01:00.001+01:00

HUBB had a very successful two days exhibiting our training services at the 'CC Live 2010' at the Business Design Centre, Islington on the 18th & 19th May.

Pam Macklin, Jenny Gray and Lynn Burling on the HUBB stand

Demonstrating humour helps wellbeing!

We managed to increase the profile of HUBB, it's advocacy provision and especially our training initiatives. The team of Jenny, Pam, Lynn and Rob provided different areas of expertise which enabled us to create a very positive and professional impression. Primarily our aim was to promote our training, especially the Mental Health First Aid, Recovery Star and 'Recovering Jane' programmes.

There was great interest from many people who spent time at our stand. Rob's involvement as a member of the National Training Team for the new MHFA England programme, 'Youth Mental Health First Aid' also allowed us to test the water to see how this initiative would be received. There is huge interest! We collected details of numerous individuals from a wide range of organisations across the South East in particular, but also further afield who want to be kept informed as YMHFA roll out in the Autumn. If you would like more information on any of our training initiatives we can be contacted through the HUBB website.

HUBB was very pleased to discover how well it's advocacy provision stands up against other service providers across the region. We had questions from all manner of representatives from Social Workers to Directors of different organisations. All were quite startled by our ability to speak to individuals within 24 hours of being contacted. That is great recognition of all HUBB advocates!

HUBB also made contact with some very interesting and useful organisations. Rob managed to see an excellent presentation by Steve Scown (Dimensions) and Helen Sanderson (Helen Sanderson Associates) on Personalisation. They were rightly proud of their achievements in this field but were also humble in recognising the unique difficulties presented by Mental Health in working with personalised budgets and the work that needs to be done.

Rob was particularly pleased to see that Dimensions and Helen Sanderson Associates recognise that 'change management' and 'organisational transition' will be required across the board. There are people who access services who will be able to champion personalisation from their own experiences and senior managers and directors who will positive and creative enough to lead with vision and clarity. But it will not be easy! A mindset will need to be challenged in all areas of personalisation provision. 'Institutionalisation' doesn't just refer to those who have experienced severe mental ill health difficulties. It also refers to any individual who blocks change.

Steve Scown - Executive Director, Dimensions

HUBB is in an excellent position to provide information and signpost various parties into strong and creative partnerships, with people managing Mental ill Health issues at the core of the decision making process. Why? HUBB is a Service User led organisation. Our committee comprises of Service Users. Service Users established HUBB as a self advocating organisation 20 years ago. Recovery and Wellbeing is at the core of its role and responsibility. HUBB has been working in a 'Personalised' way for 20 years.

Race Equality Project Launch - Barking & Dagenham

2010-04-06T09:33:00.000+01:00

Jenny and Rob attended the launch of the 'Race Equality Project' at Harmony House, Dagenham on the 1st April. This looks to connect all agencies and groups in order to promote a quick and positive response to any 'hate incidents' in the Barking & Dagenham. Group0s reperented at the launch included Hat Incident Panel (HIP), Comunity Safety Team, Domestic Violence Team, Stop Hate, Victim Support, Young Offenders Team, Anti Social Behaviour Team, Safer Neighbourhood Team, Caress, Young Offenders Team, Metropolitan Police and Comunity Support Officers.

The lauch provided a framework that Harmony House aims to operate:

Educating people on how to correctly gather evidence and monitor incidents
Being an advocate, a voice, for the victim
Coordinating joint inter-agency plans - acting as an intermediary ensuring clients are progressing as planned and keeping them informed of progress and what is expected of them
Encouraging victims to report race hate crime to the police
Use targeted publicity campaigns to promote equality and comunity cohesion within B & D and to raise awareness of the damaging effects of racial discrimination
To provide 'resilience building training' for victims of race hate crime, helping them to cope better

Jenny and Rob met a number of people and highlighted the issues with Mental Health difficulties in such situations. It was recognised that HUBB may connect with people who would find the Race Equality Project of value, and some who approach the REP who may find HUBB's services of value.

Izuka Soligbo, Harmony House Dagenham Centre Manager with the new poster for the Race Equality Project.

Quality Performance Mark for Advocacy

2010-03-23T15:47:00.005Z

HUBB has recieved it's plaque for the Quality Performance Mark of the Advocacy Quality Services.

A very big 'Well Done' to all our advocates!

Quality Performance Mark for Advocacy Provision

Direct Quotes from the Executive Summary of HUBB’s Report

'It is clear from all the evidence that HUBB is an established, service user led advocacy service which values the knowledge, skills and opinions of the people with whom it works. The organisation is committed to ensuring that service users retain control of activities and seeks to find many ways to involve service users in organisational activity and culture. This is reflected in the schedule of evidence below, where the service receives two (rarely given) commendations in the area of Empowerment and Putting People First.'

'The service strikes a fine balance between being accessible and welcoming whilst guarding against creating culture of dependency. Service users speak in glowing terms of the way they lead their own advocacy process, the skill and commitment of the advocates and the trust they have that the service is independent and 'on their side'. All interviewed from the service were proud of the trust that they had created with service users and were clear on what was required of them to ensure that they live up to the obligations that this trust places upon them.”

'HUBB is a clearly focused organisation which has developed a professional advocacy service without compromising its user led roots. Service users, advocates, management and board members are clear in their expectations of independent advocacy and the service strives to live up to these standards. Evidence from both stages of the assessment show that HUBB is consistently reaching high quality advocacy provision, with skilled and committed advocates working in an empowering way which is highly valued by service users.'

'I am satisfied that HUBB meets the requirements of the QPM and am delighted to award the Quality Performance Mark for a period of three years. The challenge for the organisation now will be to live up to the high standards which it has set.'

Head of Quality and Development 8/3/10

Direct Quotes from Assessor's Report

'I came away with the impression that they are so well known in the area that they can tackle any issue with confidence and I would imagine they are a force to be reckoned with. They are very focussed on the safety of their clients not only during the advocacy process, with clear boundaries and checks in place, but within the wider community. They have a rigorous approach that I coincidentally witnessed during my visit when one of the service users disclosed a concern about a potential threat posed to service users ….'

'HUBB manages the complex balance between appearing relaxed, friendly and available to service users and implementing robust policies, systems and procedures. Both are seen as equally important. The 2 service users interviewed spoke highly of their consistency and reliability. They were both clear that advocacy is about people learning to do as much for themselves as possible. In addition to working towards the QPM with A4A, they already have achieved ratification with Investors in People, Mindful Employer, PQASSO and are registered with Community Legal Services.'

We also received two COMMENDATIONS in the report, which are rarely given:

'There is a process for obtaining service-users’ satisfaction level with the service.'
'Service-users are meaningfully involved in the advocacy scheme’s management and culture.'

Mental Health First Aid and Recovery Star - more successful training delivery!

2010-02-26T14:21:00.000Z

It's been a busy week in HUBB's Training Department. We delivered a well recieved training programme on the Recovery Star to 16 people from Islington Mind. Our approach is to concentrate on engaging people to want to use the Star and then how facilitate the Star effectively. Although 'Person Centred', that is towards the benefit of the Service User, there is pressure on pushing the Recovery Star to them rather than looking at how Services Users can find out about its benefits and asking to use it. The new posters and postcards on the Ladder of Change and the Recovery Star work really well in helping understand this approach.

It was also recognised how using the language in the Recovery Star - 'Stuck', 'Accepting Help', 'Believing', Learning' and 'Self-Reliance' - in an organisation can be very useful in developing a 'Recovery Oriented' approach. This in turn develops confidence in using the language of the Recovery Star in a 'natural' way with Service Users rather than the false, jargonistic, 'buzz word' manner that can appear when the key worker themselves lacks belief and understanding.

This week saw Lynn and Rob also deliver another Mental Health First Aid programme. The participants were all from, or working in, Havering.

Comments included "this programme should be as widespread as 'First Aid!'", and "I wish to become an ambassador for promoting MHFA in the Asian community!"

Breathing Exercises to help reduce anxiety as part of the MHFA

Awareness of how valuable it would be to have Mental Health First Aiders in the community and at work, similar to the number of 'First Aiders', is gradually improving.

Finally, on a different note, HUBB has also been asked to promote awareness of the 'Fearfighter' event at HASWA. Please contact Ravinder Binning (NOT the HUBB Office!) on 01708 550 322 or 0778 738 9358

Ways 2 Work - Colchester

2010-02-16T11:33:00.000Z

Jenny, Lynn and Rob attended the 'Ways 2 Work' Conference at Charter Hall, Colchester on 12th February.

A 5.00 am start saw us driving the oposite way to heavy traffic on the A12. Always a nice sight to see! We set up our stand and were soon ready for breakfast.

HUBB is signed up to the 'Mindful Employer' and this event saw it being launched accross Essex. We wanted to promote our training services, particularly the Mental Health First Aid and Recovery Star programmes and highlight being a signatory of the Mindful Employer.

After the launch of Mindful Employer the emphasis of the conference was on linking organisations to help those with disabilities into work.

Rob's interest in photography drew him to the stand of George Fossey. He has produced some beautiful photographic work and the two of them spent quite a while discussing all aspects of the subject. As Rob was leaving George said 'Have a picture!'. Rob was particularly humbled by this - no payment, just a coment from George that it is often better to give a gift to someone who appreciates it. A lovely philosphy!

Heres that photograph - a photograph, I believe, of graffiti in Paris. The texture realy helps the vibrant colours jump from the frame. We are now in the process of getting it framed and hung in our office. George's website is currently undergoing a revamp. As soon as we have the new link we will post it. There are some stunning images!

February Monthly Meeting

2010-02-05T14:34:00.000Z

A quiet start to the evening as people drifted in. By 5.30 pm the venue was full! But no food! Fortunately our first speaker was able to step in.

Sarah Yiannoullou, Manager of NSUN (National Survivor User Network), gave a presentation on networking for Service User groups, and the role NSUN is playing in contecting and fostering links to a packed February Monthly Meeting.

A number of HUBB members asked questions on funding access and support for lobbying on key issues. It was explained that NSUN is non-political and does not speak for people or groups, but can provide valuable support to help support those to obtain a 'louder voice' by facilitating connections. With direct links already to the National Mental Health Development Unit (NMHDU) and looking to connect directly with goernment departments, this could be of value to some of our members who are already very active in particular mental health issues.

Food arrived just as Sarah finished. It gave the impression of excellent timing!

Our second guest was Andy McGeeney. He is mentioned in the last post. Andy was dogged with technical problems but comfortably faced the crowd and explained about his ecotherapy work. Again, one or two of our members found this particularly interesting and useful. Some of their connections may be of value to Andy as he promotes various projects, as the projects will be of value to some of the HUBB members.

The Ecotherapy work is in early development but information will be posted onto the HUBB website as we get it.

The next Monthly Meeting will take place at Romford Baptist Church between 5.00 pm and 7.00 pm on March 4th. The link will take you to their website and map.

Ecotherapy With Andy McGeeney

2010-01-19T09:10:00.000Z

Andy McGeeney is the Psychologist Specialising in Ecotherapy. He visited HUBB to explain his work and to look at promoting the Ecotherapy Projects throughout the NELFT region. Andy will be talking at the HUBB Monthly Meeting on February 4th at ROMFORD BAPTIST CHURCH (Main Road, Romford (Next to ASDA)).

He has a background in psychology, counselling, wildlife conservation, training and development.

His role in the Trust is to:

- Run ecotherapy programmes for service users;
- Conduct research and evaluation of the ecotherapy work;
- Support others who want to use ecotherapy in their work, through mentoring, training and development.
- Tell others about the work we are doing and encourage the wider use of ecotherapy.

An informative leafelt on Andy's work can be downloaded from the HUBB website.
NELFT has been very innovative in introducing Ecotherapy for its users; it fits very well with star wards activities and is empowering for users wishing to improve their quality of life.

The work is being externally evaluated by the University of Essex.

Ecotherapy Activities

The type of activities, by its innovative nature, will shift and change according to circumstances. If you have your own ideas come and talk to Andy. At the moment there are plans to offer:

• Well Being in Nature sessions and workshops

• Walking in Nature sessions 6 week programmes

• Fit n’ Green conservation sessions

• Allotment gardening sessions

• Staff workshops and training programmes

Further information can be obtained by contacting Andy at:

Andy McGeeney
T: 0844 600 1201 x5256
E: andy.mcgeeney@nelft.nhs.uk

North East London Foundation Trust
Therapy Block, Mascalls Park
Mascalls Lane, Warley
Brentwood CM14 5LJ

Katie Francis Paintings

2010-01-13T08:26:00.000Z

Our office is now displaying these paintings by Katie Francis. Jenny and Lynn bought them at a gallery showing by Together last year.

They are all the right way up!

IMCA Success for HUBB

2010-01-04T13:42:00.000Z

The Second Annual Report of the Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service was published on 23rd December 2009. HUBB logged a total of 71 referrals in Barking and Dagenham (28 out of 152 regions) and 60 in Havering (=33 out of 152). Combined this would move us to 6th in the table!

Thoughout England there was a 27% increase in the number of people recieving representation from an IMCA compared to the first year.

The Report states ‘The Department of Health is pleased that there has been an increase in referrals, to reflect the greater awareness of the IMCA service. At the same time, a greater rate of increase had been expected, and it is not thought that the IMCA service is reaching all the people it needs to as yet.’

The full report can be downloaded from the Department of Health website.

HUBB & Mental Health First Aid

2009-12-31T10:52:00.000Z

An article on HUBB delivering the Mental Health First Aid programme appeared in the London South Bank University magazine 'Communiversity'.

Christmas Office Hours

2009-12-22T12:16:00.000Z

HUBB OFFICE HOURS

Christmas and New Year 2009/2010

Thursday 24th Dec (Christmas Eve) - 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

Friday 25th Dec (Christmas Day) - CLOSED

Monday 28th Dec - CLOSED

Tuesday 29th Dec - 9.00 am - 4.00 pm

Wednesday 30th Dec - 9.00 am - 4.00 pm

Thursday 31st Dec (New Years Eve) - 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

Friday 1st Jan 2010 (New Years Day) - CLOSED

We return to our usual hours on Monday 4th January 2010!

Understanding the Mental Capacity Act

2009-12-15T13:30:00.000Z

The Social Care Institute for Excellence is continuing to update its series of excellent videos on the website 'Social Care TV'. The series includes a couple of useful programmes on Mental Capacity, Safeguarding, and Personalisation. Of particular use to those looking to understand and interpret the MCA are the Key Points provided below each video clip.

There is also an excellent Mental Capacity Act Resource linked to the site. This provides a very clear synopsis of the Act itself.

Also in the news is 'New Horizons - A shared vision for Mental Health'. This brings together ideas for Mental Health provision for the future. Recovery, Wellbeing and Personalisation are featured heavily.

Early Intervention in Depression

2009-12-09T09:20:00.001Z

The Governement officially launches it's Mental Health strategy through a number of publications. Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has more information and the 'New Horizons' document can be downloaded in full.

HUBB has spent the past 12 months promoting the Mental Health First Aid and is pleased to see that Job Centres will be allocating specialised people to work with individuals dealing with mental ill health. The BBC has an interesting article on this subject.

Hopefully this news will galvanise an awareness of how important maintaining positive mental health is. Having a Mental Health First Aider in every workplace, as we have a physical First Aider, will go a long way to helping prevent mental ill health, especially depression and anxiety created by stress. Having a person, or persons, with some knowledge to help point people having difficulties in the direction of both self-help and professional help can make a big difference to preventing long term difficulties. This is not only of great value to the individuals concerned but also makes very sound business sense. Enabling people to maintain working will also reduce the pressure and stress of those having to do extra work when an individual is off.

Perhaps a good question to ask in any organisation is 'Do I want my son/daughter to come and work here?' If the answer is 'No!' then the next questions to be asked should be around working out why, and putting strategies in place to turn the answer to a resounding 'YES!'

Contact HUBB for more information on Mental Health First Aid.

December Monthly Meeting

2009-12-04T12:02:00.000Z

The HUBB Monthly Meeting took place at Romford Baptist Church on 3rd December. As this is the last before Christmas this was our Christmas Party!

As befits these occasions there was plenty of food mixed in with quizes, raffles and silly hats!

The HUBB Chair entered into the spirit looking particularly dashing in his head gear.

Once again 'Jess' was centre of attention...although her attention was on the food!

The next Monthly Meeting will be on January 7th 2010 at the usual venue - ROMFORD BAPTIST CHURCH - Main Road, Romford (Next to ASDA). We look forward to meeting you there.

We wish you well for the Festive Season.

Disability Day

2009-12-03T12:02:00.000Z

HUBB took part in the Disability Day at St George's Hospital, Hornchurch on 2nd December.

The event was hosted by Frances Pennell-Buck, Interim Chair of Havering PCT. Guest speaker was Para-Olympian archer John Cavanagh. John described, in a very humble manner, how he became restricted to a wheelchair after a skiing accident in Switzerland and how life took him into the new arena of archery. Accepting circumstances at one level but pushing and driving at another to great achievements.
He took up archery once his condition had stablised and progressed through the ranks to represent Great Britain at Athens (2004) where he won Gold and Beijing (2008) where he won Silver. John is looking to emulate these achievments in London 2012.What was obvious was how a positive mental attitude and setting goals helped with managing a disability. What was not so obvious was just how heavy those gold and silver medals are!

HUBB Website Update

2009-11-16T13:09:00.000Z

The HUBB Website is being updated.

We now have a page that provides access to useful Capacity Assessment downloads for Havering and Barking and Dagenham. On the same page are Safeguard Alert forms for these two London Boroughs.

The website gives an overview of HUBB Advocacy Services, including Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCA) and Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA). The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) page outlines this element of the Mental Capacity Act and provides information on the training HUBB provides.

'Personalisation' is starting to make its presence felt in and around services for Mental Health. Advocacy will form an important part of this process. Although in its embryonic stage we are developing a Personalisation section to the website.

HUBB's Training & Development department is in demand. In the last month we have been running Mental Health First Aid courses, DOLS training, Recovery Star programmes, amongst others.

2010 looks like being a busy year!

HUBB Goes Blogging!

2009-11-13T15:20:00.000Z

To keep you up to date with HUBB developments as well as any news that may be of use to people involved in any area of Mental Health - the 'HUBBlog' is now alive!

We will be running it in conjunction with our website www.hubbmentalhealth.co.uk

News and upcoming events will appear on this blog but the main resource will be the website.