Mental Health User Led Groups in Croydon

A	Healing Waters
B	Hear Us
C	Imagine - Drop-ins
D	MDF Croydon Branch
E	The Oasis Group

Healing Waters

Healing Waters was established in April 2006 in response to the lack of culturally and socially appropriate service provision to BME Mental Health/Learning Disabilities service users within Croydon.

The Vision

Mental Health/Learning Disabilities service users, their Carers and Elders have no voice in Croydon. We aim to enable these individuals to articulate their needs effectively and to help them make that transition from apathy to empowerment through the establishment of BME User Led service provisions.

The Mission

To restore the hidden potential of BME Mental Health/Learning Disabilities service users, Carers and Older people living in Croydon by improving their self confidence and awareness through empowerment training and related activities.

Contact
For more details contact: Healing Waters, 127 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon. CR0 6BE.
Telephone Marjories on 0203 326 0049

Hear Us

To promote, educate, communicate and empower, For the benefit of all mental health service users’ Interest.

Hear Us is the Mental Health Service User Group which acts as a coordinating body to facilitate, and ensure service users involvement in, the planning, delivery and monitoring of mental health services in Croydon. Helping to improve the quality of the services commissioned and delivered in Croydon

Represents the views of people that use the local mental health services in Croydon to service providers and commissioners.
Contributes to the local mental health promotion agenda, and promotes positive mental health within the local community.
Promotes mutual respect and equality of rights and opportunities, regardless of disability, with particular reference to local mental health service users and service survivors

We attend regular committee meetings with South London and Maudsley Trust (SLAM) and Croydon Primary Care Trust (PCT), and other planning and monitoring meetings to represent the voice of service users by ensuring service user representation at these meetings. We are looking to recruit service users as volunteers to participate at these foresaid meetings, please call us on 020 8681 6888 if you would like to get involved.

We also promote empowerment by influencing decision making by organising and facilitating ‘Service User Representative Groups’ in adult mental health service outlets; statutory, voluntary and community services. We are currently setting up Link Workers to help form and hold these Meetings/Groups at:

The Wards at Bethlem
Croydon’s CMHT resource centres
Status Employment
Social Development Team
Fairfield Club
And other groups will follow at venues around the Borough.

At these meetings you will be able to:

raise your concerns about the service you receive
feed back and give constructive criticism that could influence decision making
identify areas where your Centre/Service can improve
identify areas where you feel unsupported
and get those ‘grumbles of disapproval’ heard

If you think a your centre/group needs a ‘Service User Representative Group’ forming which would voice your collective opinions and influence current and future policies made by the providers; then please contact us on 020 8681 6888

We also produce a quarterly service user newsletter, and maintain a web site, which includes information about our organisation, the Croydon User Council, local and national service and includes details of Self Management programmes.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To actively campaign with users on issues raised by users themselves.
To reach out to all service users to encourage and support participation in the Croydon User Council.
To actively oppose discrimination against service users in Croydon.
To support a user council in which to discuss and debate current concerns.
To offer service users a communication platform for the constructive exchange of ideas on issues affecting them.
To campaign for improvements in mental health services.
To provide a wide range of information about local/national services and issues that concern users of mental health services in Croydon, through our Newsletter and Web site

Contact: Tim Oldham
Coorrdinator
Orchard House
15a Purley Road
South Croydon
CR2 6EZ
Tel: 020 8681 6888
Email: tim@hear-us.org

Name

Imagine - Drop-ins

Imagine Drop-in Services: More info User-Led Groups contact Kato Walmsley Imagine Group Facilitator 020 8253 7078
Service User Groups	Address	Days	Times
Kingfishers	Kingfishers Association 80 North Down’s Crescent New Addington CR0 0LH	Mon – Fri	9:30am-4:pm
Purley	Purley United Reform Church 906 Brighton Road Pulrley CR8 2LN	Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday	1pm-4pm 10am-4pm 2pm-5pm 10am-4pm
North Croydon	Parchmore Methodist Church 53-55 Parchmore Road Thornton Heath CR7 8LY	Monday	10am-4pm
	CVA Resource Centre 82 London Road Croydon CR0 2TB	Wednesday	10am-4pm
	Healthy Living Centre High Street Thornton Heath CR7 8LF	Friday	10am-4pm
East Croydon	Addiscombe Baptist Church 201 Morland Road CR0 6HQ	Monday (Women only) Wednesday (All) Thursday (All)	12pm-3pm 3pm-6pm 11am-5pm
East Croydon	Shirley Methodist Church Eldon Avenue (corner of ShirleyRd/WickhamRd) CR0 8SD	Tuesday	11am-3pm

	MDF Croydon Branch
	For “sufferers”, relatives and friends. Meet once a month in Central Croydon. Speakers attend on a bimonthly basis. Meetings a friendly informal affair. Primary Room United Reformed Church Addiscombe Grove East Croydon Surrey CR0 5LP Please contact Graham Pryce on 020 8676 9192 (between 6-7 evenings) for further information, or if you wish to attend.

The Oasis Group

The Oasis group is meant for people to be a watering place, as it were, where group members can talk about whatever bothers or interests them. They are meant to be what it says, namely, an Oasis and a Haven in this busy world where you can relax and be yourself.

The Oasis Group meets weekly, (apart from Bank Holidays) on a Monday mornings at the Town Hall in Katherine Street, from 10 a.m - 12 noon.

All are welcome!

For further information please contact Caroline Vaughan at caroline.vaughan7@btinternet.com or telephone 0208 653 6021.