Coronavirus Updates

We understand that the current situation may be a causing concern and anxiety for people, and we want to reassure you that we are changing how we deliver our services and we will continue to support our communities.

Following the latest advice from the government and also from National Mind, our position is that:

• our offices are closed, and all support groups and courses are cancelled
• we will continue to offer support to people wherever possible over the phone

As the current restrictions will be in place for 3 weeks, we will review our situation on Tuesday 14th April. Our website will continue to be updated, so please do check it.

This situation is unprecedented, and we are acting in the best interests of our clients, staff and the public. We hope you understand and support the action we have taken.

You can keep up-to-date with current government advice, published daily here: 

Read more

If you are struggling with your mental health and wellbeing during these times, you are able to self-refer on our website, please click on this link.

Self-referral

Below is further information from Mind that you may find useful:

Mind have useful information to help support your wellbeing during these difficult times:

Read more

Mind have guidance on mental health and work during the Coronavirus pandemic:

Read more

Mind have information for young people who are worried about Coronavirus:

read more

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 23rd March 2020

Women Only Wednesdays

Wednesdays are changing at Rochdale and District Mind…

From 1st April 2020 our Wednesdays will be known as Women Only Wednesdays.

Feeling safe is important. We are creating a safer and supportive space for anyone who identifies as female to access support with their mental health and wellbeing.

Women are more likely to have experienced abuse, in the forms of childhood sexual exploitation and domestic abuse.

• 20% of women have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16.
• 3.1% of women (510,000) aged 16 to 59 had experienced a sexual assault in the last year. 
• 31% of young women aged 18-24 report having experienced sexual abuse in childhood (NSPCC, 2011).
• 26% of women have experienced some form of domestic abuse since the age of 16.

All of our current women’s groups will be held on Wednesdays. We will continue to offer all of our current services for males, with any appointments and support groups being held on other days of the week.

Help us spread our message, if you know a female who would like support with their mental health and wellbeing you can download our leaflet here:

Source: rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/about-sexual-violence/statistics-sexual-violence/

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 6th March 2020

Open Young Minds Peer Mentors

What it’s like to have a Peer Mentor

Peer Mentors are trained and skilled young people/adults who offer ongoing informal support to young people aged between 12 and 21. They provide a non-judgemental listening ear that promotes self-worth and boosts self esteem, confidence and resilience. The Mentoring takes place in pre-arranged public places such as café’s, libraries, cinema etc. All our Peer Mentors are trained in safeguarding and are an invaluable asset to our Open Young Minds service.

On Children’s Mental Health Week 2020 we wanted to share a story of what it was like to have a peer mentor from one of our young people…

How does peer mentoring help?

Peer mentoring can be a great new experience and opportunity because this allows you to meet someone new, at first you can be nervous or anxious but it’s okay because they are nice and caring, they are around to help and never judge you on your background or what you have been though, this is a great way to start meeting in more public places while you talk your problems out and gain new ways to handle problems better. It was also good because you could have a lot in common with your peer mentor. This helps you because you can have friendly and funny chats which get’s you away from thinking about bad problems and distracts the mind.

How am I finding it?

Peer mentoring is good because it helps you have someone else to talk to about problems and issues, they can give support when you can’t see anyone else or ask for help because you don’t have appointments, they sometimes can be easier to talk to because you can get someone in your age range that can offer more support to you when needed. They are really good when you want help from someone when you don’t have an appointment for about 3 weeks you can see someone else in between when you have problems and issues and you have no one to talk to thought that week. It is really good to meet new people when you have anxiety issues and don’t want to go out to meet new people, this will encourage you to go out and talk to someone new.

How it helps me?

They will take you out and help support you more with your mental health and it requires going to social environments so that you can build up going out in public places better, this also helps you with anxiety and building up how to communicate better in public places if you are anxious about being out or around other. This is also good when you want to learn new techniques and gain help from another perspective. This is good to build up more relationships. This helped me because I could get new ideas from someone else and find new ways to manage my habit rather than keeping problems in.

How did she support me?

She supported me because she listened to my problems and gave me advice and help and said how well I was doing when I was doing things that would improve my life, this is good because it gives you more encouragement to do better because you have more people supporting you and have many different people telling you that you are  doing well so that gives you more encouragement to push more and do better things. This also helps with anxiety so that you can be more confident when going out.

What was my overall experience?

It was good because I learned many different things, I learned new ways to manage my mental health better and build a better relationship with someone else out side of my comfort zone, this was overall very helpful for me because I learned many new things and understood why my mental health was a challenge but also I wasn’t alone though it all, she helped me because we had a laugh and joke as well as sorting though my problems, I also got talk about past education rather than just focusing on all the negative things that were happening, this is most important in mental health because you don’t want to always be focusing on the bad things, it’s about the positive progress you have made.

If you feel you would like to have the support of a peer mentor or volunteer to become a peer mentor yourself please get in touch with Mel or Vikky on 01706 752357 or email [email protected] or [email protected] 

Open Young Minds

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 3rd February 2020

My Work Life as a Young Person’s Wellbeing Coordinator

Meet Mel, our Young Person’s Wellbeing Coordinator in our Open Young Minds Service.

Mel provides confidential support for young people aged 12-21 years old, who have mild to moderate emotional health issues in the Rochdale Borough. She is passionate about empowering young people to develop and grow their skills, knowledge and experiences to enable them to take control of their issues.

I’m Mel and I’ve been working in the Open Young Mind’s Team at Rochdale and District Mind for just over 2 years. The project supports young people aged 12 to 21 with low to moderate mental health needs.

From our first meeting

When a client comes to see me for the first time it is often the first time they have ever spoken about their issues to anyone which is a huge thing for them. Some young people I see, learn and take on board techniques to deal with their mental health issues quite quickly, resulting in them moving forward on their journey pretty fast. This is wonderful to witness. I guess one reason is because the unskillful habits we learn as adults haven’t had the time to become so deeply entrenched in younger people. That said, it’s not always the case and some of our young people are facing huge challenges in their lives which will naturally take longer for them to overcome.

Full of bravery

Young People are a really interesting bunch of people to work with and its great getting to know them along with the stories of their lives. These stories frequently and sadly contain some form of trauma/s. Their bravery in speaking to and trusting someone they’ve only met or barely know is astounding and I take my hat off to them. I doubt very much if I’d have been able to do the same at that age. Getting to know about other things in their lives and also having a laugh with them is good fun. We have the most interesting conversations about so many things. Working with them also helps me to develop professionally and personally and I learn so many things.

The theme of this years’ Children and Young People’s Mental Health Week is find your brave. To be honest I think the people past and present who come and see me already have. Let them be the inspiration for those other young people who are trying to find theirs.

If coming to our Open Young Minds, Peer Mentoring or Youth Group sounds like something you are interested in, you can find more information and the self-referral forms here.

Open Young Minds 

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 3rd February 2020

New Group Launches February 2020

Our new Positive Futures Support Group is launching in February 2020 with the aim of bringing together refugees and asylum seekers to share their experiences.

The asylum process is complex and often leaves those going through it feeling disempowered and isolated.

The group will be a supportive, confidential and safe environment for individuals. There will be ample opportunity for individuals to share their stories and to explore the challenges and difficulties they have faced. There will be a focus on positivity and empowerment and meeting new people.

Information about local services will be provided and all members will be supported to access relevant services.

Click on the poster for a downloadable pdf.

The Positive Futures Support Group will meet on the first Wednesday of each month at Rochdale and District Mind, The Mind Wellbeing Centre, 3-11 Drake Street, Rochdale OL16 1RE.
 
For further information please contact: 
Ruksana Ghoas 
Wellbeing Co-ordinator 
01706 752339 or 07896146109 
[email protected] 

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 24th January 2020

Our new CEO Rebecca Steele

We are pleased to announce that Rebecca Steele has been appointed as the new CEO of Rochdale and District Mind.

Following the retirement of our previous, long standing CEO Tricia Hornby, Rebecca brings a wealth of experience, passion and enthusiasm to develop Rochdale and District Mind’s services and community impact.

Rebecca will replace Tricia Hornby, who is retiring from Rochdale and District Mind after dedicating over 30 years to the organisation, bringing it from a small project to an organisation that now employs over thirty five members of staff and has over 120 volunteers. Rebecca started her new role as of November 2019 and is working closely with Tricia throughout the transition period up to Christmas 2019 where she will continue to build on these solid foundations and bring a new perspective on growth and collaboration.

Rebecca began her career in finance within the private sector which helped her develop key skills and an understanding of the importance of reporting, governance and quality processes. Over a decade ago, she experienced an internal pull towards working in the third sector where she could utilise her passion and drive to make a difference and influence change.

Starting out as a family and community worker for a women’s service she quickly progressed into management roles, managing various programmes of work and holding a strategic lead position. She has established a number of projects with the aim of supporting those facing multiple needs and disadvantage and is passionate about supporting and empowering individuals to have a belief in themselves and an improved quality of life.

Rebecca’s passion and leadership comes across when she talks of her vision of the future for Rochdale and District Mind:

“I am keen to work with key stakeholders to develop collaborative ways of working to better meet the needs of individuals within our communities. We will work together to form an alliance to achieve a united goal of ensuring that people do not face mental health issues alone and can lead their lives free from stigma and discrimination.”

Rebecca has the full support of our Board of Trustees. Barry Windle, Rochdale and District Mind’s Chair of the Board of Trustees commented:

“As we record our thanks to Tricia for her contribution and wish her a long and happy retirement we are delighted to welcome Rebecca Steele as our new Chief Executive. As a board we were very pleased to appoint Beccy and feel confident that she will both maintain the strong reputation that Mind has locally, and appropriately develop the organisation on the future.”

Author: Hayley Price
Posted on: 17th December 2019

Retirement of our CEO

Our CEO, Tricia Hornby retires after over 30 years at Rochdale and District Mind

Rochdale born and bred, Tricia Hornby has been involved with Rochdale and District Mind since it was established in 1988. Initially, Tricia was a volunteer Trustee and then became Chair of the Board. During her time volunteering Tricia also worked full time in various other mental health roles for other organisations across the borough.

A passionate campaigner

In 2002, the CEO role at Rochdale and District Mind was advertised. Tricia applied and became our Chief Executive. Using her own lived experience of mental distress, throughout the years she has passionately campaigned for equality, dignity and respect for all people experiencing mental health conditions. She has worked tirelessly to break down the barriers people face when accessing services and has actively tackled the stigma surrounding mental health by being a voice for service users at every mental health related meeting she could attend across the borough.

Tricia has taken Rochdale and District Mind from a small project to an organisation that now employs over thirty five members of staff and has over 120 volunteers. We are now one of the leading mental health service providers in the borough!

Thank you for your passion, commitment and dedication

Everyone that attended Tricia’s Retirement Do at Rochdale Town Hall enjoyed listening to wonderful music performed by The Salvation Army. The inspirational speeches celebrated everything Tricia Hornby has done for Rochdale and District Mind and the people of Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton for over 30 dedicated years.

The staff, volunteers and service users at Rochdale and District Mind would all like to thank Tricia for her passion, commitment and dedication to the organisation and to the people of Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton. We wish her a long and happy sun soaked retirement with her husband Graham and her grandchildren.

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 4th December 2019

Voices for Mind Event with The Chorus of Others

Event update…

We had a fabulous day at the Wheatsheaf raising awareness, money… and the roof!

Thank you to everyone who gave us a donation and to the wonderful choir The Chorus Of Others… they truly filled the Wheatsheaf with their fantastic voices and made our event very special!

Our tombola was very popular and lots of people went away with great prizes!

We were asking people to sign up to RED January by pledging to get active their own way, every day throughout January… With January less than a month away there’s still time to take part and become part of our RED community. For more information and to sign up please click here 

The Chorus of Others have done fantastic performances across our Mind In Greater Manchester Network and are passionate about supporting mental health. Their main focus is about having fun, and we had lots!

We were so happy and grateful for the amount we raised at this event, every penny makes a difference for Rochdale and District Mind. 

Come along to our FREE event at The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre
Saturday 30th November 2019 10am-3pm

Rochdale and District Mind and Chorus of Others have joined together to fill the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre with music and fun!  

Join us and enjoy:

• Singing by The Chorus of Others
• Fun Activities
• Fundraising
• Treats
• Red January Activities
• Information stalls

About The Chorus of Others…

The Chorus of Other are a diverse group of men, mainly from the Greater Manchester area, who get together to rehearse and perform in a range of venues and events, and to support each other and to raise awareness of men’s issues including mental and physical wellbeing. Their main focus is about having fun! Their members are from all age groups, cultures, sexualities and socio-economic backgrounds. Everyone is treated with respect. Everyone’s voice is heard. Everyone is equal. https://www.chorusofothers.org/

We look forward to seeing you at The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre, Baillie St, Rochdale OL16 1JZ

For more information call Paula at Rochdale and District Mind on 01706 752 338 or email [email protected]

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 18th November 2019

International Men’s Day 2019

Event Update…

We had an amazing day yesterday celebrating International Men’s Day 2019! We saw over 80 men gather together and create a wonderful, supportive atmosphere to openly talk about mental health. The Mayor of Rochdale, Cllr Billy Sheerin welcomed everyone and shared the importance of men’s health issues and encouraged men to access regular health checks and support. Darren Bee the NW Time to Change Lead for Communities and Equalities spoke about the Time to Change campaign. Time to Change is a growing social movement working to change the way we all think and act about mental health problems. For further information please visit www.time-to-change.org.uk or contact Darren directly on [email protected]

We’ve loved reading through all the lovely, positive and supportive comments from the day…

Some of our favourites!

Thank you

Thank you to everyone that attended from our community and shared their story and support for helping tackle these statistics.

Special thanks to the Mayor of Rochdale, Cllr Billy Sheerin and Mind (Time to Change) in London, Macmillan, Allied Health Diabetes, Community Connectors, Rochdale HealthWatch, Stroke Society and Thinking Ahead for your support.

We exist to ensure that people do not face mental health issues alone and can lead their lives free from stigma and discrimination. We promote and protect good mental health and wellbeing for everyone in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Bury and N.E. Lancashire.

If you would like support from us to improve your mental health and wellbeing please visit our self-referrals page here 

We will not give up until everyone experiencing a mental health issue gets both support and respect.

On Monday 18th November 2019 we will be celebrating          International Men’s Day and we would love to see  you there!

Come and join us at our FREE event and enjoy…

Health checks
Wellbeing Information Stalls
Refreshments
Indian head massage

…and lots more!

This event will be held at

Apna Ghar, KYP, Belfield Road, Rochdale OL16 2UP

The doors will be open between 12:30pm – 3:30pm, we look forward to seeing you there.

For more information please contact Shagufta on 01706 752 341 or 07837 805 205

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 28th October 2019

RED January registration now open!

Support your mental health this January by doing something active every single day

If it’s running 5k, or walking to work a new way, a morning swim or just taking the bike for a spin – join the thousands of people around the UK kick-starting their 2020 in the most positive way

RED January is a free community initiative, encouraging people to get active every day to support their mental health. You can walk, run, swim, cycle (whatever you fancy!) the aim is to get moving daily, whilst raising awareness and support for mental health. It gives people a focus during a characteristically tough month and supports ‘REDers’ through its online community.

Those taking part in RED January can choose to raise funds for Rochdale and District Mind and other local Mind centres. Rochdale and  District Mind have been providing mental health services for people living in the Borough of Rochdale for over 30 years and all sponsorship money will go to keep it going.

This is the second year Rochdale and District Mind has taken part in RED January so get involved!    If you are interested in supporting/fundraising for us or would like more information, please contact us via email [email protected]

Want to register and set the ball rolling, do it here!

Author: Paula Hall
Posted on: 7th October 2019