Changes – North Staffordshire, Bristol, and Shropshire
| Description | Changes is a user-led organisation that provides a comprehensive recovery service for those with mental illness. It is a resource consisting of a website, support groups, and peer support |
|---|---|
| Setting | Community/day centres and the Changes office in and around North Staffordshire, Bristol, and Shropshire |
| Populationting | Changes has various group projects, ranging from Young Changes (13-25 year olds) to weekly help groups for the over 60s |
| Intervention summary | Weekly mutual help groups that follow a 12 step recovery programme |
| Outcome Summary | Rehabilitation of users—helping them to make sense of their mental illness, emphasise personal growth and acceptance, and enable people to get on with their lives |
| Startup Cost | £30 000 |
| Running Cost | £120 000 |
| Funding | The project is government funded and relies on volunteers and donations from sources including the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and the National Lottery |
| Started | Set up in 1988, but the official year of commencement was 1994 |
| Ended | Ongoing |
| Location | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Contact |
|
Background
Changes started in 1994 (although its founders have been involved in running mutual help groups since 1988). The founders recognised the gap in care provided for those with mental health needs by statutory and voluntary organisations, so Changes developed a recovery service that is easily accessible, provides long term help, and is user led.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
The aim of Changes is to provide an opportunity for those experiencing mental illness to move from isolation, withdrawal, and dependency to becoming active and contributing members of their immediate and wider community.
What local organisations are involved?
Changes is funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and supported by the Big Lottery Fund. There is unique signposting on the Changes website, leading to Mind, Young Minds, Young CAB, The Loch, NS Young Carers, Connexions, Early Intervention, Adisis, and Assist. The programme is designed to supplement any help the person is receiving from other statutory or voluntary services. Members are encouraged to seek out and cooperate with all relevant forms of help. It is endorsed by GPs, counsellors, and numerous other healthcare professionals (http://www.changes.org.uk/html/professional_endorsements.html).
How many people are running this project and who are they?
Twenty two paid members of staff (all but three are former service users); and volunteers, trained coordinators and their assistants, and general volunteers, totalling around 60 active volunteers.
What local population are you targeting?
Anyone with mental ill health who feels the need for emotional support. They may be experiencing various levels of mental illness, including worry, feeling low, confusion, anxiety, panic, depression, or mood swings.
How many people are you targeting?
Any person who requires support during traumatic life experiences. At present, Changes has about 50 groups. In each group there is a minimum of three people. The optimum number is eight or nine, but it can stretch to 15. Any above this and we simply create another group.
Interventions
What interventions are you using to address the problem?
Changes provide numerous group sessions depending on the individuals’ requirements: Adult, Young People, 60+, In 2 Work, Recovery, and Wellbeing groups. Although they take place in an informal setting, each meeting uses a group method—that is, a set protocol and agenda—that ensures structure, a positive approach, and individual progress. There is also an online forum for members to discuss any concerns, to support each other, and to socialise.
Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.
We use the Developing Recovery Enhancing Environments Measure structure (DREEM). 1 DREEM is an outcome measure and research tool to see how “recovery oriented” a service is. It is a self report instrument that gathers information about mental health recovery from people who receive mental health services. It asks people where they are in their process of mental health recovery and what markers of recovery they are currently experiencing.
Outcome
What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?
Number of people accessing and using the service and qualitative feedback.
Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?
An average of 500 people per year access our service.
An average of 6000 people have used our service.
Follow the link for success stories: http://www.changes.org.uk/html/user_comments.html
Changes also won the National Lottery “Local Legends” award, West Midlands, 2005, and the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone Award “Positive Impact in our Communities,” 2005.
Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?
The National Service Framework on mental health, also relevant to social inclusion, provision of person centred services, and the workless agenda.
Feedback
What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?
There have been countless obstacles in setting up. Improvements in funding have helped considerably, with 80% of funding now from the statutory sector and local authority.
What have you learned about the project so far?
It is a chance to offer people hope that things will get better and that, despite mental illness, people can still live a normal life. We deal with normal people and give no limitation on what they can and can not do.
What would you do differently?
Nothing. We did it for 10 years with little money, using transferable skills. What little money we did get was used to produce leaflets and to run the project like a business, but without the business principles. It is full of people who could not sustain jobs because of mental illness but had a passion to make Changes succeed.