Mental Health User Led Groups in Croydon

A	King Fishers Association
B	The Purley users Group
C	Thornton Heath and North Croydon Drop In
E	The Oasis Group
F	The Haven Group
D	Healing Waters
G	MDF Croydon Branch
H	Hear Us User Group

Name

King Fishers Association

The King Fisher's Association is an organisation made up of users of local mental health services in the South East of the borough. Running a popular and successful service to CMHT service users lead and run by CMHT service users in New Addington

We are located in the Fisher's Farm depot on North Downs Crescent and are seeking to expand into the vacant flat formerly occupied by the depot's caretaker, which is in the same building. the Flat has now been vacant for nearly two years, and our understanding is it is to remain so. The four rooms in the flat, including a full sized kitchen will enable us to extend our services. This would allow us to increase the range and quality of activities we provide to our members and their carers.

80 North Downs Crescent
New Addington
Croydon
CR0 0LH

Tel 01689 845119

Name	The Purley Users Group
	The Garden Room Purley Resource Centre Pampisford Rd Purley Open Tuesday and Thursday 11.00 - 3.00 For information about the Purley Group contact Dennis Murray on 0208 680 1373

Name

Thornton Heath and North Croydon Drop In

The Pop In
Parchmore Methodist Church and Community Centre
Parchmore Rd
Thornton Heath
Just starting up and meeting on Monday’s 3.30 – 5.00

For information on the Thornton Heath and North Croydon Group
contact Steve on 0208 680 1373

Name

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.

Name

The Haven Group

The Haven 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 Haven Group also meets weekly but on a Friday morning, again from 10 a.m - 12 noon and again at the Town Hall in Katherine Street.

All are welcome!

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

Name

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.

Core Activities

Empowerment Training and Awareness(Restoring your Potential Workshops)
Informal Counselling, Psychotherapy, Art and Phototherapy
Advocacy/Peer Support
Befriending
Self-Help/Support Groups
Volunteering in partnership with Capital Volunteering
One to One Support/Mentoring
Consultation
Community Research
Mapping

Aims and Objectives

To promote well-being and social inclusion to disadvantaged communities, by encouraging active community engagement.

To improve the quality of life amongst people with mental health needs and learning disabilities through better information, awareness and access to other services

To increase opportunities through volunteering, training and where possible self/employment by offering one to one support, mentoring and group support

To empower Black and Ethnic Minority individuals to make their own choices and decisions about the services they receive through consultation and service user-led activities

To improve motivation by networking and socialisation by providing appropriate training in confidence building and self development

To provide on going support to families, carers and older people through counselling, one to one support and group activities.

CARING 4 CARERS HOLIDAY CLUB
TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Caring4Carers Holiday Club is being developed in partnership with the Mental Health Older Adults Services (SLAM).

WHO IS IT FOR?

The Holiday Club is for BME Carers and Ex-Carers, over the age of 18 years living within Croydon and who are current carers of people with mental health problems or who have been carers of people with mental health problems (but not exclusively)

AIM

To provide support and friendship to isolated Carers and Ex-Carers of BME origin, by encouraging socialisation and reintegration through a range of meetings, activities, events, excursions and holidays.

WHAT WE DO?

The project will aim to put on 4 events per year which could be a day trip, weekend break one or two week holidays, outings to the theatre with meal etc, and provide a Quarterly Newsletter.

The Carers will meet on a monthly basis, to share ideas, have discussions, plan events, network, socialise, empower, fundraise and receive one to one and group support.

NETWORKING

We will network with other Carers and BME/Community Organisations and work in partnership with other individuals and groups locally and nationally.

ADVOCACY

Carers can receive advocacy support for themselves or their loved ones

MEMBERSHIP

There is a small annual fee to assist with fundraising activities.

We meet monthly at the Town Hall, Katherine Street CRO 1NX
From 12.30pm-2.30pm . Refreshments are available.

All welcome !!!!!

For more information contact Marjorie Francis on 07970 602561 or marjorie.francis@croydon.gov.uk/rfrancis45@aol.com

Name	MDF Croydon Branch

Details	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.

Name

Hear Us User Group

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