Hello and welcome to this, our April newsletter.
Wellbeing Works! is the bi-monthly newsletter from West Sussex Works and Paritas. We aim to bring you all the latest news and stories from the world of mental health at work, and keep you up to date with some of the activities in which we are currently engaged.
As you will see we are currently proudly celebrating the first year of Paritas, which launched in April 2008. In this first anniversary issue we are particularly proud to be able to bring you a case study from a Paritas candidate who has been in his post for the whole of our first year. We will bring you more case studies in future editions, so watch this space for more inspirational stories.
It has been a roller-coaster ride setting up the Paritas service from scratch in just a year, with some fantastic success stories already, and we hope those of you who have been with us during our first phase will join us for the exciting times ahead.
Kirsty Mackenzie
Commitment to diversity rewarded
The Paritas team is celebrating after winning a runner-up award at the Jobcentre Plus South East Local Employer Partnership (LEP) awards.
The awards recognise employers and organisations that have worked to support people currently disadvantaged in the workplace.We were short listed in the ‘Commitment to Diversity’ award category. Sallie White, our Employment Diversity Consultant shares her feelings on hearing of the nomination,
‘‘To be part of a team helping those furthest from the job market to improve their lives and at the same time developing partnership working is very rewarding. To have this recognised and be nominated for an award is the icing on the cake.’’Paritas set out to increase the employment opportunities for people with mental health problems through active recruitment campaigns and detailed support for candidates and line managers.
Every time a Paritas candidate is employed at West Sussex County Council then the diversity of the organisation is improved. This brings many business and social benefits to them as an employer.
County Council Deputy Cabinet Member for Adults’ Services, Pete Bradbury, attended the award ceremony.
He said, “Congratulations to the team for being short-listed.”
"The agency must also be commended for getting people back into work during an economic downturn."The awards ceremony was held at the Copthorne Hotel in Effingham on 24th March. We were pleased to accept the runner up award from Tim Campbell, winner of 'The Apprentice' in 2005.
Michelle Town, our Vocational Assistant found the ceremony very enjoyable. Michelle shares her thoughts on the day,
"The host, Tim Campbell, was an inspirational speaker who told of his own difficulties in early life. It was a fascinating insight into how both the private and public sectors take the issues of unemployment within their localities seriously and with the LEP look to improve
the situation''
The Paritas team would like to thank King Cheung and his colleagues at Jobcentre Plus for their support of the Paritas project. Working with Jobcentre Plus and West Sussex County Council has improved the employment opportunities for people seeking employment through Paritas.
Kirsty Mackenzie, Paritas manager, summed up the feelings of the whole Paritas team. Kirsty said,
"It is fantastic to be recognised at a regional level for what Paritas has achieved in such a short space of time. The award is a real thumbs up to West Sussex County Council for supporting this innovative project which really is the embodiment of a Local Employment Partnership."
Of course, Paritas knows the real award winners are the people that we help into employment. It is their skills and talents that enable them to successfully enter employment and for Paritas to thrive.
Don't let fear hold you back.
The Mental Health Foundation is launching a national campaign to raise awareness about the impact fear and anxiety can have on our lives. This is part of their mental health action week 12th-18th April 2009.
If you're worried about the impact that fear or anxiety is having on you or someone you care about, then find out more about mental health action week and support at the mental health foundation.
A world without the fantastic five
Alastair Campbell and historian Nigel Jones have penned a special report in support of Paritas partner organisation Time to Change. 'A World Without...' looks at five historical giants who shaped the world, as we know it, and did so whilst dealing with mental illness.
This really interesting report shows how Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin & Marie Curie made world changing contributions to the world we live in. It also puts the question of whether their achievements would be possible in today's world of media intrusion and mental health discrimination, asking the ultimate question,
'Can you imagine a world without them?'
We know that some men haven't always been encouraged to talk about their feelings. How often do you hear it said, ‘ Be a man' or he is the ‘strong and silent type'?
But everyone can feel low sometimes, and anyone can have a mental health problem. That's why Mind is telling men to Get it off your chest for Mind week 2009. When the campaign launches on 9 May 2009, mind will be taking a closer look at men and mental health. Why not find out more about the campaign by visiting Mind.
We have a number of staff changes at Paritas to update you on.
Laura Bain of Manpower, who has been providing recruitment consultant services to Paritas, is on the move. Laura is taking up a new role as Senior Consultant on their Hampshire team. Laura has proved a great addition to the team and we will miss her greatly. All at Paritas would like to thank Laura and wish her well in all she does in the future.
Taking over the Paritas role at Manpower will be Liz Hudson. Liz has been working with Paritas candidates already and we welcome her to the team.
Paritas is also welcoming Christian Demaine-Stone to the central team. Christian is joining us on secondment from the Sussex Partnership Foundation NHS Trust. Christian's appointment is an exciting new development and he will bring his considerable mental health knowledge and experiences to the team.
One year on - many more to come!
Paritas is celebrating its first birthday. The team at Paritas is always looking ahead but before we blow out our birthday candles we would like to reflect on our first year.
Partners
Birthdays are not only about yourself but the people you celebrate with. We have learned many lessons and looked to improve and develop our services. Input from our candidates and partners have played a key role in helping us reach our first birthday, and in ensuring we will be around for the future. We have enjoyed building partnerships that have enabled people to find employment through Paritas.
Our work with Manpower has developed as the year progressed. Their input and knowledge has brought our understanding of recruitment services along in leaps and bounds, at the same time providing employment opportunities for our candidates.
There have been many challenges along the way for Paritas and Manpower, not least in getting to know each other and understanding each other's work and objectives. Both sides have always met these challenges and we would not have achieved so much without each other.
Employers
The biggest barrier for many people with mental health problems iin finding work is not their health but the attitudes of employers . This year has seen Paritas work on these barriers with our three main employer partners: West Sussex County Council, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the West Sussex Primary Care Trust. We have delivered training on mental health and employment support to managers across the three organisations.
This has included access to support, tools and the development of our very own Line Manager's Guide to mental health. Our goals remain to support people into employment, and to provide support to employers too. This enables the people we place not only to find work but also to be supported and to stay in work. You can find out more about our work with employers on our website.
People
Over our first year our candidates have been our most important people. Their skills and abilities have given us the chance to place them into employment. People have accessed our services from all over West Sussex, with all types of previous work histories and mental health experiences. They have shown a clear interest in and a real need for the work we do.
To date we have supported 119 people and found employment for 30 of them. Why not read the stories of just a few of our Paritas people on our website? They really are our most important assets and we have enjoyed working with and getting to know everybody.
As our services develop over the coming year we will be increasing our direct working relationships with our candidates and this will provide opportunities to work with more people and to improve our support and services to them.
A big thank you.
Our team has seen many changes and faced many challenges over our first year. We have successfully placed people into work and started the long process of changing attitudes towards mental health in the workplace.
We would like to say a big "thank you" to everyone who has played a part in our first year. We look forward to working with you all in new and exciting ways in the future and celebrating many more birthdays to come.
As you may have heard, West Sussex Works has been seeking funding to help us to sustain Paritas for another two years and develop our plans to become a social enterprise. The good news is that we have now received our funding! The Public Services Board, which oversees the delivery of various public sector projects in West Sussex, were satisfied that we provide a valuable service and have a sound business model to work towards.
What happens next, after celebrating the fact that the WSW team will be around delivering Paritas and Synchronise (amongst other things) for another two years, is a great deal of hard work. Going from being a publicly funded project to a private, social enterprise in two years is no mean feat. With the help of some great consultants - Emmica - we have developed a business plan showing us what we need to achieve to support ourselves financially.
The next two years will see us strengthening our service to candidates, reviewing all our key relationships, testing our business model, developing our user-involvement and improving our ‘product' for employers.
Our plan is to develop our original model of matching people who have experienced mental ill health to paid job vacancies. But rather than focusing on temporary opportunities, we will be able to provide permanent work as well. As we are an agency we will always be different from other supported employment providers due to the fact that we will have direct access to vacancies - definitely a ‘unique selling point' in an economic downturn
For those that would like to keep up on developments in more detail we will be developing a ‘project update' to support this newsletter. For those more interested in the world of work and mental health more broadly, Wellbeing Works! will continue as we enter the exciting times ahead.
Colin's story is just one of the many success in our first year.
With the help of Paritas, Colin was found a position within 2 weeks of being referred by Heather of Impact Workability. He has remained employed in that same role for the past year.
From Colin's perspective the process of finding employment through Impact Workability, Paritas and Manpower was painless, if a little scary.
Colin suffered from a lack of confidence in his own speech, and attending interviews made him nervous and uncomfortable.
He is happy to recognise the help he was given by Paritas who spent time understanding Colin's specific needs and trying to make him feel comfortable throughout the recruitment process.
It is wonderful to hear how Colin has flourished. He is extremely happy in his role and feels that the placement found for him suits him down to the ground. He has found the team with whom he works to be very friendly, and they think the world of Colin.
Colin himself explained that two years ago, he would have refused to speak on the phone due to his lack of confidence in his speech.
Having been in employment now for a year, Colin is a different person. His self-confidence has returned.
Angela is Colin's office manager and talks of Colin with huge warmth. Colin was employed as an admin worker and a number of reasonable adjustments were made to enable Colin to perform the role well.
Angela sees Colin as being a ‘wonderful person' that her team are fortunate to be working with. She is delighted with the ethos and experience of placing disabled candidates, and finds the whole process extremely fulfilling. This has been a highly successful placement, and all the signs are that the future for Colin is looking very positive.
Paritas partnersParitas works very closely with a number of local partners who provide employment opportunities for disadvantaged people. Steps to work partnership.
The steps to work partnership is committed to helping adults in West Sussex with a wide range of disabilities and challenges access learning, training and work opportunities.
Partners represent organisations from the voluntary, private and public sectors. They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge that is shared throughout the partnership.
Seven organisations currently form the Steps to work partnership led by West Sussex County Council:
Impact Workability West Sussex
Shoreham & District Mental Health Association
Worthing and Littlehampton Mind
West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT)
Aldingbourne Trust
Outreach 3 Way
Southdown Housing (Breakaway)
Their website www.stepstowork.org.uk will give more information about what they do and for some interesting articles and news have a look at their Spring 2009 newsletter in the Social Care & Health section of the West Sussex County Council website http://www.westsussex.gov.uk
By Rachel Lynne.
Christmas has come and gone, New Year resolutions may have fallen by the wayside but as financial chaos reigns outside, we all need to be able to focus. Complementary therapy offers many options.
Firstly, we will look at suggestions from Aromatherapy. Although most people think of a massage when you mention aromatherapy, what makes it unique is this use of essential oils. These are naturally occurring chemicals in plants that are harvested for their medicinal properties as well as their aroma. They can be used in many versatile ways and have different effects on our system.
For those of us who need a lift in the morning, try using citrus based shower gels/soap. If you need an afternoon boost, keep a citrus air freshener handy or make yourself a grapefruit tea. To calm anger and frustration, open a bottle of essential oil from a "woody" plant and sit it in a desk tidy (to stop it falling over). Focus on the aroma for a few moments.
When you need to focus on an emotionally-charged task in an orderly fashion, use the exotic fragrance of frankincense essential oils to assist you.
Other ways to use oils in the office is by adding a few drops to a tissue and keeping it with you or by adding a few drops to a container of water and place it below or on top of the radiator - the warm air will carry the oils all round the office.
Next Issue: Meditation in the workplace.
Chrysalis Complementary Therapy, based on the Arundel Castle Estate, provides a range of therapies, education courses and health products. For information, contact Rachel on 01903 884510 or visit the website http://www.chrysalis-therapy.co.uk
Brought to you by our very own Michelle.
Chocolate mousse with caramelised bananas and hot toffee sauce
Serves 1
Ingredients
For the chocolate mousse
55g/2oz dark chocolate, melted, cooled slightly
125ml/4floz double cream, whipped
For the caramelised bananas and hot toffee sauce
4 tbsp soft brown sugar
85g/3oz butter
1 vanilla pod, halved
1 banana, peeled, sliced into three pieces
squeeze fresh lemon juice
Method
1. For the chocolate mousse, mix the melted chocolate with the whipped cream in a bowl and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.
2. For the caramelised bananas, place the sugar, butter and vanilla pod into a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted and sugar has dissolved, then add the lemon juice and banana slices and stir gently in the sauce to coat completely.
3. To serve spoon chocolate mousse onto a serving plate. Add bananas and pour over any remaining hot toffee sauce.
Synchronise Employer engagement forum 22nd April Littlehampton
To find out more or to let people know about your own events, please contact the Paritas team.
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Wellbeing Works! is the newsletter of Paritas
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