Organisation Name: Compass Opportunities Contact name: Sue Barton Job title: Manager, Compass Opportunities Email: sue.m.barton@berkshire.nhs.uk Telephone contact: 0118 960 5102
Compass Opportunities is a transitional care service for adults with severe and enduring mental health problems and is based within Reading's Community Mental health Team. Compass Opportunities has been offering volunteer opportunities to service users since 2002/3.
Compass Opportunities volunteers:
a volunteer with a BA in Art and Psychology supports art activities within Prospect Park Hospitala team of volunteers set up and run a computer room at Prospect Park Hospital and support inpatients learning computer skills, keeping in touch with family and friends, accessing information about their illness and medication, look for jobs and housing
- run a Bi polar support group within the community - offer hearing voices support to staff and service users - offer support with benefits to inpatients and clients living in the community
In the community service user volunteers:
- run a badminton group - run a Healthy Walking Group - as trained Healthy Walking leaders - run a football group - a volunteer is training to be a football coach - run a Women only craft group - run a social group, the Network Group, which supports people who have been discharged from mental health services, giving then social contact, friendship and a safe place
Service user volunteers also support:
- service development activities - psycho educational groups - take part in service use consultation and take part in steering groups enabling them to shape the services of the future i.e. interviews for Consultants, the Acute Care Forum, Compass steering groups. Compass Volunteers receive out of pocket expenses, institute fees, and refreshments appropriate for their role for the work they do. Compass Opportunities is funded by Reading Borough Council and Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust.
Compass Volunteers receive supervision through a monthly supervision group which looks at service development including new ways of working, and one to one support through the person they whose team they are working alongside. Compass staff operate an open door policy enabling volunteers' access when there is a problem or concern about their work, their mental well being or the mental well being of the service users they work with. Compass Volunteers all under go a CRB clearance and are expected to complete Safe guarding Adults training. Volunteers have access to training provided by Reading Borough Council and Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust. Other organisations have also provided training including The Crescent Centre, New Directions and Resource Together who have provided a level 2 qualification in Peer Support.
Training has included;
- First Aid - Safe guarding children - Personal safety - Community Management - Football coaching - Healthy Walking Leader - Computer Skills - Health and Safety - Food Hygiene - 10 Shared Capabilities - Recovery Star - Wellbeing Recovery Action Planning - Hearing Voices - Benefit support with a variety of providers
The key stakeholders in this project are:
- the volunteers - Compass Opportunities and its funders Reading Borough Council and Berkshire
Healthcare Foundation Trust - The service users who access the volunteers services - The organisation that provide us with free training, New Directions and The Crescent Centre.
Compass Opportunities has a budget of £1,000 for volunteer services. Compass Opportunities aims to
- support the mental well being of their volunteers - provide work experience - provide a pathway back to work, volunteering or education - support the development of an up to date CV - provide training - build confidence, self esteem and a sense of purpose- develop a feeling of community and friendship - provide meaningful occupation for those who going back to work at present is unrealistic or who because of age, social back ground or circumstances don't want to go back into the workplace
Compass Volunteers provide a bridge between the real world and the world of mental health which is of value to staff working in mental health services and the people that access mental health services.
What have been the benefits for individual service users (and others) accessing your project?
The benefits of this project are that volunteers:
- have developed skills to move away from mental health service - have meaningful occupation - offer hope to other service users - offers hope to staff that service users can move forward- offers support in the communication between service users and mental health professionals - volunteers talking to service users often find out information relevant to the service users care that they wont disclose to staff - make service user involvement integral to the service Compass Opportunities provides- Gives mental health professionals understanding of the lived experiences of people accessing its services- Provides a bridge between the world outside mental health services and the world within
- Challenges mental health professionals view of who our service users are - not just patients but real people with humour, warmth and skills- Increases the capacity of mental health service
Are you considering any future developments in response to the ‘Personalisation' agenda?
We have set up a working party looking at social enterprise/charity, and work opportunities within the personalisation/Self Direct Support agenda. Within the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Service we have funding from the Innovation Fund to run for 1 year we will be working with Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and Reading Borough Council to provide work opportunities within these services for service users.
Key terms - peers, well-being, work, recovery, volunteers, training