Leeds Mind was founded in 1972 and now has 4 sites across the city – HQ in Horsforth, Kirkstall, Beeston and Chapel Allerton. They have around 50 staff but rely on 150 volunteers to provide their services.
They are a registered as a charity in their own right, but are affiliated to the national Mind charity and assessed every 3 years to maintain this.
1 in 4 will experience mental health issues
It is estimated to cost the economy 105 billion a year
The charity shops are run by the national Mind charity which is a campaigning organisation. A percentage of the profits from the shop go towards grants for the local Mind charities.
A 5 Year Forward Plan for Mental Health has been produced – this contains many of the figures and some of the general information shared by Helen – follow this link for more information.
Leeds Mind offer counselling, group therapy, social support, peer support, self-directed support, social prescribing, housing support, employment support, suicide bereavement support, and mental health training – many of these are run by people who have gone through the sessions themselves.
They are recovery focussed and work with people to achieve their goals to live the life they want.
They have a 30% success rate in getting people with mental health difficulties into paid employment against 9% from the DWP. They encourage self-help and self-management and are looking to set up some courses in Mindfulness next year.
(A lady in the room recommended https://www.bemindfulonline.com)
Leeds Mind is a lead for Mindful Employers - https://mindfulemployerleeds.com - this is a charter for Employers who are Positive About Mental Health.
The Chapel Allerton site is a community arts centre – Inkwell
http://www.inkwellarts.org.uk
Here they run courses as part of the Social Prescribing agenda and also fundraise through the running of a café. There are plans in place to build a training kitchen and have more exhibition and studio space.
There are now Mental Health First Aid courses - http://mhfaengland.org
For more general information or if you or anyone you know needs help/advice go to
The Mindwell site which was launched on World Mental Health Day (10th October) – it is the go-to site for information and assistance on mental health issues.
For young people there is Mindmates https://www.mindmate.org.uk
The meeting closed shortly after 9:00 and Helen was thanked for a very engaging and informative talk.
