CSV Media Clubhouse Ipswich

Project Overview

• Region: East of England • Sub-regions: Bedfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire • Key target group: Mental health service users • Innovation theme: Active Inclusion • Key sectors: Health, Community and voluntary • Lead partner: Community Service Volunteers (CSV) • Partner organisations: Workwise, Inside Out, SEETEC, Ipswich Community Radio, FIC Denmark, Reed in Partnership, Department for Work and Pensions • Project web site: www.thesamproject.org.uk

Project in detail

The SAM project provides volunteer mentor support to 248 mental health service users over three years. The project aims to assist their reintegration into the labour market and their communities by using a more holistic approach. Mental Health Service users are one of the most excluded groups in society, the SAM projects seeks to up-skill and integrate the beneficiaries into modern, information-based society, while at the same time providing supportive social networks and giving a voice to this group.

Up-skilling of two disadvantaged groups

The mental health beneficiaries of the project will access new competences in areas of retail, logistics and business development, as well as personal training in key skills, job search and readiness to work. Due to the location of the project, the volunteers will mainly come from disadvantaged backgrounds including young NEET participants, people who have recently been made redundant, older people and ethnic minorities. The volunteers will undergo training in mentoring and mental health as well as shadowing the mental health participants during their own training. This will in turn provide a platform for the volunteers to improve their own employment prospects.

Accredited Training

CSV will provide training in eCommerce, web design, digital photography, Photoshop, digital sound, radio, marketing and DVD production. We will also provide training in IT, literacy, numeracy and communication skills. The IT training and activity will be supported by SEETEC via their virtual training centre. The combination of training opportunities has been chosen to be as creative and flexible as possible, so as to give tailored options to the mental health participants taking part. All the above training elements can be used in retail and logistics sectors. The mental health and mentoring training, which the volunteers will undertake, will equip them with the basic knowledge of working in Health and Social Care, to see if this is a real option for them.

The practice and ethos of volunteering will be embedded in the project – volunteering being an excellent way for unemployed people to integrate and up-skill, and increasingly recognised as a pathway to employment. SAM will plug into new and emerging community media networks – the CSV Media Clubhouse is one of the most highly developed community media operations in the region – which we will combine with innovative approaches to social networking to develop a creative framework of support that could be used as a template for further work throughout the East of England region.

Key Project Message

“SAM has helped me get more confident in front of strangers; it has helped me learn new techniques to deal with my mental health through calm, friendly environments, caring mentors and a pleasant atmosphere. I have broadened my perception of the mental health world, as well as given me the chance to meet people in a similar position, where we can talk about our experiences and techniques to help make the most of our lives. It has made me much more confident with people a well as using media; it has also helped me with my ocd, by being in a nice environment and learning from the mentors. It’s also made me want to help others who are in the same situation as me. (u guys have helped me enormously but i cant put it in words)” Dec 2009

“Regaining confidence is an uphill struggle so when an opportunity arises to test myself I foolishly try it. Speaking to people is difficult so I try not to think about it beforehand; the focus was working on my website, not meeting strangers. Having support from my mentor helped, it curbed the urge to run away & kept me focussed. Afterwards I panicked & felt vulnerable at what I'd done, but I'm glad I persevered. You could say I succeeded at something!” Jan 2010

Project Impact

As of March 2010; • 80 individuals have been engaged • 20 mentors • 4 participants who have progressed into becoming a mentor • 20 beneficiaries completed accredited training at level 1 • Age range of 18-75yrs Key data • Objective: To up-skill and socially integrate people recovering from mental illness into digital media and social opportunities with a view to obtaining further training or employment opportunities. • Activities: Accredited digital media training. Social, sport, health and well-being activities. • Start date: May 2009 • End date: May 2012