KMCAS-182 Mental Health Community Options Services

A variety of group work options, co-produced in response to the expressed needs of people accessing, or wishing to access the Service will be made available. These will be driven by participants and the Service Provider sharing ideas and will include short and long- term options providing direct support and enabling skills for individuals to manage their own mental health and wellbeing themselves. Typical group work will cover areas of:

• Stress and Anxiety Management
• Assertiveness
• Anger Management
• Social and conversational skills
• Neurodiversity
• Problem solving
• Coping with Bereavement
• Gender and cultural specific issues

Recovery

A variety of options, co-produced in response to the expressed needs and agreed outcomes of people accessing, or wishing to access the Service. These will include:

• Workshops
• Small groups
• Drop-in sessions
• 1:1 sessions
• Social and recreational opportunities
• Physical activity
• Employment Support (for those unable to attend the Mental Health Employment Service)
• Personalised programmes of support co-produced with the individual to facilitate and enhance their recovery

The Service will also provide a lead role in supporting men's mental health and neurodiversity and will recruit and employ into a specific role dedicated to the development of provision for men experiencing poor mental health and wellbeing issues in Kirklees and will promote engagement with that provision.

A service which will encourage people to identify their assets and to develop artistically and socially, benefiting both the individual and the wider community. This will be achieved by encouraging the creativity and artistic quality of the individual whilst supporting and enabling individual's to work towards improving their own mental and physical wellbeing and recovery. The scope of the Service will also complement work by professionals within other mental health services, provide professional artistic development and direction whilst offering opportunities outside of mainstream mental health services, including pathways into learning and employment.

The scope of the Service will be to develop and support outdoor focused volunteer opportunities with other organisations and Kirklees Council, and to provide an offer that provides opportunity for individuals to improve their overall health and wellbeing.

A women's mental health service for women who need a safe and secure women only environment and which will provide safe, non-threatening and supportive women-only spaces.

• The Service will promote recovery, social inclusion and self-determination, decrease social isolation and assist where appropriate in the journey into employment, voluntary work, work experience and further education. The service will be ageless and Dementia friendly.
• The Service will be provided for women by women and will actively involve local women in decision making about the Service, in co-producing the outcomes and design of the day-to-day provision of the Service and in its overall management.

The principal aims of the Service will be to:

• Promote, protect and improve the mental health, physical and emotional well-being of women so that women can be empowered to live their lives to the full
• Focus on peer support and self-advocacy
• Ensure that its service response has an appropriate focus on older women who have mental health issues and women with Dementia
• Work alongside women and carers in accessing appropriate support, both to reduce distress but also to maximise personal development and fulfilment
• Optimise opportunities for joint working, where co-existing needs/additional vulnerabilities are more likely (e.g. Alcohol intervention, domestic violence, offender management)
• Provide services which are available and accessible to women experiencing mental ill-health throughout the Kirklees district, including those who may be part of Syrian resettlement schemes for refugees.

A Service which will improve the support across the Kirklees area to Carers of individuals experiencing or who are in recovery from mental ill-health. It will also include those with dementia or neurodiverse conditions living in community settings and who have or are awaiting a formal diagnosis, those providing support to a person experiencing problematic substance misuse, including alcohol problems, or where an individual has a dual diagnosis involving co-existing mental health and substance misuse issues.

The Service will provide opportunities for Carers to experience a break from their caring role, through the provision of services for Carers and / or for those they care for and which will ensure the safety and dignity of the cared-for person.

The role of the Service will be to:

Provide a wide variety of support services to Carers, Carer Groups and Carer group leaders, and these will include:

• Listening and therapeutic interventions
• Short-term support options
• Learning opportunities, formal and informal training to carers and professionals
• The development and delivery of Carer Support Groups and Forums across the Kirklees area. The Carers groups and forums will be run at various times of the week, including evenings and weekends, according to the identified needs of Carers across the Kirklees area
• Collaborative working with other Carers Development Workers of mental health services and/or substance misuse issues in the development, planning and running of Carers activities and identification of the needs and gaps in services available, bringing these to the attention of the Commissioning Partners
• Specialist and local information for those seeking information on mental health, dementia, drug, alcohol and dual diagnosis