| January 2012:
'Sorted! Self-help book scheme’ |
Lifespace is pleased to announce it is supporting the new Warwickshire County Council 'Sorted! Self-help book scheme’. This is a new service for young people, parents, carers and anyone working with young people and wanting to help young people get through & enjoy their life.
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The portfolio of books available cover common problems and situations, such as parents separating, the loss of someone close, eating disorders, managing strong emotions such as anger and strengthening self-esteem. All vital issues that the Lifespace team are talking about face to face with young people, day in day out.
Lifespace mentors recently had a training day on difficult emotions, self-harm and eating disorders from psychologist Dr. Kate Middleton, author of ‘Self-harm: The path to recovery’, one of the books on the self-help scheme.
Sorted! self-help books cover: ADHD; Anger; Anxiety; Autism; Asperger’s Syndrome; Bereavement; Bullying; Depression; Divorce / separation; Eating disorders; OCD; Self-esteem; Self-harm; Stress; Wellbeing.
All of the books are available to borrow or request online for collection from every Warwickshire Library and in selected pilot schools and colleges. Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/sorted for more info. |
| October 2011:
Lifespace receives…DOUBLE FUNDING BOOST |
Many thanks to Stratford Town Trust for their grant of £12,000 towards our running costs and in support of the mentoring and education work we deliver with young people who live and study in Stratford-upon-Avon. This includes at Stratford High School, Stratford College and with families directly.
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The Town Trust have supported Lifespace since 2005, very early on in our journey and we appreciate their shared belief and enthusiasm about the work we do with young people and families facing disadvantage and difficulties.
We are delighted to hear also that Four Acre Trust have awarded Lifespace three year funding of £8,634 each year from 2011-2014. After a rigorous assessment in July, their Field Officer said:
“We know Lifespace, and we know you deliver what you say you will. We like what you do and decided that three year funding was a good way of supporting your ongoing work.” |
| October 2011 : Lifespace achieves…NATIONAL ACCREDITATION |
Every three years Lifespace is required to renew its national accreditation, awarded by The Mentoring & Befriending Foundation and backed by The Cabinet.
The Approved Provider Standard is a quality benchmark of safe and effective practice. Lifespace has successfully achieved it in 2005, 2008 and again in 2011. This requires about a year’s worth of work, submitting an extensive portfolio of evidence about our policies and systems, interviews with volunteers, schools and young people.
Dian May, External Assessor, University of Derby said: “Having assessed your evidence file and held a number of interviews with volunteers, external stakeholders and young people, I will say that the way you promote and celebrate your achievements, and the quality of your resources are among the best I have seen. Your commitment and enthusiasm is to be highly commended. Well done!” |
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October 2011 : Lifespace publishes…OUR STORY OF 2010-11 |
| Click on the image to see what our team have been up to (Aug 2010 – July 2011); to hear stories of young people and how mentoring has helped them change their lives for good; to understand the facts and scope of what we have delivered; and perhaps to get a sense of how you might be able to contribute.
Headlines * Facts * Stories * Outcomes * Mentors * Snapshots * Quotes * Funders * Awards * And more… |
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April 2011 : Lifespace has ... NEW FACES |
| We welcomed SEVEN new volunteer mentors to our team at Easter, taking the team to eighteen! This means we have tripled in size in the last 18 months. Lifespace have been assisting with the delivery of Oasis College’s “Mentoring Through Intentional Relationships” training course, now accredited by Staffordshire University which our new mentors have all completed.
Our new recruits have all supported year 11 students as they approach their GCSE’s, or have
Worked with young people on the NEET Register
(that’s “Not in Education, Employment or Training”
in normal speak!)
Over the past year we have specifically worked with 15 young people who are classed as ‘NEET’, helping them to re-engage in College, complete the Prince’s Trust course, or find employment, and with some excellent outcomes. This work, in partnership with Connexions, has been funded by Woodlands Trust and Stratford Town Trust.
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L-R: Welcome to our new mentors!
Val, Phil, Jan, Beth, Phil, David (and Anna not present in photo) |
April 2011 : Lifespace has…A NEW HOME and A NEW NAME
Lifespace moved offices to share accommodation with a local private business – about ¼ mile down the road from where we were! For us as a charity this will enable us to share administration and phones, reduce costs and strengthen our base for sustaining the good things we do. The charity is now officially known as Lifespace Trust, not Heartlands Church. With the change, as a charity we have passed
on the work of the Mustard Tree Project (support work for people with mental health needs) to a different Support Provider called ‘Together’. We still manage the housing.
“I don’t take drugs anymore and I have got my grades up. I look after myself better. Big thanks to my mentor” Boy, aged 16 |
| March 2011 : Lifespace enjoys…A NEW FUNDRAISING EVENT |
| Over 100 people gathered in the luxury setting of The MacDonald Alveston Manor Hotel & Spa Resort for a charity dinner. The hotel superbly hosted Lifespace and fellow local charity The Shakespeare Hospice, with delicious food, waiters who turned into singers, an auction of luxury prizes and wine sold on behalf of the charities. It was a brilliant evening which raised over £2,300 for us and thanks to Mike Gibbs who helped to co-ordinate it. |
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| Importantly, Lifespace
had four young people it is mentoring helping out on the night: three were working in the kitchen and doing table service; and one young lady, aged 17, who has Asperger’s
Syndrome and who finds social environments difficult was there selling and promoting her amazing art work. And I mean amazing art work! |
| February 2011 : Lifespace receives…NEW TRAINING ON EMOTIONAL LOGIC |
| Emotional Logic. Now, that sounds an interesting term doesn’t it? Our team of mentors enjoyed a day together with Dr. Trevor Griffiths, the pioneer of Emotional Logic – a structured process for dealing with issues of loss and transition, based on the Grief research of Elisabeth Kuhbler-Ross in the 1950’s. The training developed our understanding about the impact of emotions on a person’s neurology, immune system and physiology, especially in reaction to the loss of someone/something, and how
unpleasant emotions can get tangled
together to cause problems such as
self-harm, obsessive behaviour,
aggression, low moods, and panic attacks. Part of the training included mentoring tools and approaches to help young people unpick such problems, take positive risks to recover, and regain the energy they need to move forward. The day was immensely stimulating and thoroughly enjoyed, and we are thankful to both WCVYS who helped fund the day with a training grant of £580, and to NFU Mutual who kindly provided us with a fantastic training facility for the day.
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Above: Some of the Lifespace team get to grips with their Emotional Logic Activity Packs at the training day |
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Above: Lifespace mentors at the Emotional Logic training day: Kate, Debi, Rachel, Ros, Mike, Cathy, Roger, Nicole, Chris |
| February 2011 : Lifespace discovers ... A NEW JAPANESE PROVERB |
We have renewed our Group Mentoring course, now called “Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight” (that’s the proverb!) which focuses on dealing with change and loss and giving young people a chance to develop their resilience. Our ‘big questions’ in the group are about:
• how can young people know their safe places?
• what happens when they lose something important
to them?
• how do they manage difficulties and use their emotions positively?
• how can they take positive risks to bounce back and
do well?
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