The Connecting Our City project aims to enable and support people with mental health illnesses to live well in the city, supported by a range of community-based initiatives. We speak to Kate to understand more:
Hi Kate, could you please introduce yourself and your role?
Hi, I am the community mental health project manager based at City of York Council. I work on behalf of the York Mental Health Partnership. My role involves developing a partnership approach to improving mental health and wellbeing in the City of York.
What is the ‘Connecting Our City’ project all about?
‘Connecting Our City’ is a partnership vision for improving mental health and wellbeing in York. It began three years ago when a group of representatives from across health, social care, the voluntary and community sector as well as people with lived experience of mental health services, families and carers came together. They set a vision for York as a city where:
- We all feel valued by our community, connected to it, and can help shape it.
- We are enabled to help ourselves and others, build on our strengths, and can access support with confidence.
- We are proud to have a Mental Health Service that is built around our lives, listens to us, is flexible and responds to all our needs.
This partnership meets regularly and has developed different projects and workstreams aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing support in the City. These include:
- A pathway to recovery project at Foss Park Hospital, that looks to better support people in the community when they are discharged from hospital
- Employing a co-production worker to work alongside the project and ensure that the voice of lived experience is central to all our planning discussions
- A working group around autism and mental health, and
- A community conversations project. This provides local shop staff and community champions with mental health awareness and suicide prevention training, so that they feel more confident talking to residents who may be struggling with their mental health, and so they will know where to direct them for more support.
Nationally, the NHS has invested funding in community mental health transformation over the next 3 years. This is an exciting opportunity to help make the ‘Connecting Our City’ vision become a reality.
Who’s involved?
Representatives from across health, social care, the voluntary and community sector as well as people with lived experience of mental health services, families and carers. This includes:
- City of York Council
- Vale of York CCG
- TEWV
- Humber, Coast and Vale ICS
- York CVS
- A variety of voluntary groups, universities and social enterprises with an interest in improving mental health services and support in York
- Our ambition is to get citizens from across the city engaged in the conversation because, as family members, friends, neighbours and work colleagues, we can all do our bit to help ourselves and to support others.
What is its vision, its aim and purpose?
We want hen it is needed the support for people with mental ill health to get the support they need and which will be:
- Easy to access
- Warm and welcoming
- Built on freedom and trust
- Tailored to individuals’ needs and wishes
- Flexible and responsive
- Consistent and well co-ordinated.
Over the next 3 years, significant funding is being invested within mental health support in the City. In the first year, we are focussing on piloting the development of a mental health hub, investing in the local voluntary and community sector so as to be able to better connect people to activities and support in their communities, and developing a plan for how we can improve support for people with an eating disorder.
What will the project bring to the city, how will it make a difference to York citizens?
Over the next few years the project will invest in the capacity of the voluntary sector to provide the support, activities and services that people want within their communities. Mental health hubs, a hub network and outreach support will ensure that when people need support they are able to access it at a time that is right for them, in a place which feels safe and welcoming and where someone will ‘stick with them’, understand what is important for them and connect them to the right support. Organisations will work together in partnership to ensure that support is more integrated and joined up. The approach to mental health support will be about ‘whole person, whole life’.
If people want to find out more, how can they get in contact?
If you would like to find out more or get involved you can email connectingourcity@york.gov.uk
What’s next?
Find out more about some of our projects including the Pathway to Recovery project at Foss Park hospital, meet our coproduction worker based at York CVS Jack Woodhams, and find out how to get more involved…
Further Information:
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Author: Kate
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