Published by Redbridge Concern for Mental Health

Hardest Hit March, Rally and Lobby Parliament, 11 May 2011

Disabled and older people are being hit hard by cuts and changes to benefits and services. Alongside major changes to benefits like the Disability Living Allowance, many are also facing increases to care charges, as well as cutbacks to transport services like the Taxicard scheme.

The Rally is an opportunity to send a loud message to the government, both local and national, that disabled and older people will not be a soft target for cuts.

To find out more and how to participate please visit the Hardest Hit Website

RUN-UP Newsletter

Read and download the latest RUN-UP newsletter to find out more on how local mental health service users are challenging and influencing the design and delivery of local services.

The Nature of Flames

Azeem Khan - who lives and works in Redbridge - has written an experimental novella about Omar, who is experiencing a breakdown as he desperately tries to fly to Marrakech from Gatwick to join Aisha, his Moroccan wife, to whom the Home Office is not granting a visa.

In 2008 Azeem wrote and directed 'Open Secrets', a semi-autobiographical drama about the stigma and shame of mental illness in an Asian family, starring Saeed Jaffrey and Valmike Rampersad. The film won the Best Film prize at the 6th Buffalo-San Black & Asian Film Festival, held at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, London, in 2008.

Azeem Khan's novel The Nature of Flames can be purchased as an e-book here.

Consultation on proposals to Increase Charges for Adult Social Care

The Council approved, on 3 March 2011 a budget settlement which included increasing charges for people who are assessed as needing care, paid for by the Council, to enable them to continue to live in their own homes.

The proposal affects the following types of service: Council provided home care and day care; Council provided direct payments or personal budgets. For these services the care is given regardless of ability to pay.

It is also proposed to change a fixed rate charge for Community Meals which is not related to a person's ability to pay.

To find out more and to respond to the consultation please visit Redbride i

Redbridge Carers Support Service - Service for new arrivals in the UK

Redbridge Carers has recently launched a service for new arrivals which includes: advocacy; advice and information; home visits; confidential counselling; and free complementary therapies and pampering.

For further information call Rani Raju or Sylvia Williams on or visit: Redbridge Carers Online.

Are you interested in improving local public services? Become a Scrutiny Co-opted Member

Are you able to investigate issues in-depth; work in a non-party political way; focus on the needs of the whole of the borough and not just those of where you live or the group that you identify with, and give up your time to attend and actively participate in meetings? If the answer is yes, then co-option to a scrutiny committee could be for you.

The London Borough of Redbridge has two vacancies for voluntary co-opted members in the following Scrutiny Committees: Children's Services and Leisure and the Health Scrutiny Committee.

As a Scrutiny Committee co-optee, you will work with elected Councillors from all parties on the Scrutiny Committees. You will use your skills and knowledge of the issues and of the services within the borough to add to the discussion and debate.

The role of Scrutiny Committees is to review decisions made and actions taken in connection with the Council's policies, plans and budgets, and to make recommendations for changes and improvements.

You can download an application form and role description or alternatively vist Redbridge i for more information.

The closing date for applications is Friday 20 May 2011

User Led Organisation Advisory Group Meeting, 17 May 2pm to 4pm

The Redbridge User Led Organisation is a new third sector organisation run and governed by users of local services and their carers.

During 2009 and 2010 a series of Road Map and Service User conferences were held where participants clearly supported the need for a new User Led Organisation (ULO). The mission of the ULO is to empower local users and potential users of services to exercise independence, choice, flexibility and control as well as to work with local partners to promote equality and high quality services for the Redbridge Community.

This Advisory Group has been established by the Redbridge User Led Organisation with one purpose in mind. This is to develop services jointly with the Third Sector. These will be services that our members tell us they want. It is the ambition of the Board of Redbridge User Led Organisation to ensure that users receive the highest quality of service in Redbridge. It is for this reason that we invite you to help us achieve this.

If you are interested in attending and participating in the ULO Advisory Group, please contact Jon on  or email .

Public perceptions of disabled people

The Office for Disability Issues published Public perceptions of disabled people looking at attitudes towards disabled people as revealed in the 2009 British Social Attitudes Survey (BSAS). It measures how much prejudice there is in Great Britain towards disabled people and examines how attitudes have changed between 2005 and 2009. Unfortunately, it made for some disturbing reading.

The research showed that even though attitudes toward disabled people have improved on the whole, prejudice is still a worrying issue especially towards people with learning disabilities or mental health problems.

The report suggests that people are more comfortable interacting with people with physical or sensory impairments in social situations than they are interacting with individuals with learning disabilities or mental health conditions, many also struggle in situations where disabled people are in positions of authority. This may reflect a false belief that a disabled boss will be less effective than a non-disabled boss.

You can read and download the report here

Volunteering at Forest Farm Peace Garden

Forest Farm is community gardening project based in the London Borough of Redbridge. We work with a broad cross-section of our local community to promote health, wellbeing, intercultural awareness, and environmental sustainability.

For anyone interested in volunteering we are offering introductory sessions at the Peace Garden on Friday 20th May, 2pm - 4pm

For more information please call or (answer phone) or email or visit our website.

Web Site Editor

Jon Abrams
Redbridge Concern for Mental Health
98-100 Ilford Lane
Ilford, Essex, IG1 2LD
Web Site: rcmh.org.uk
Email:
Telephone:

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Registered Charity No. 1065770

A big thanks to our funders: the London Borough of Redbridge and NHS Redbridge

Disclaimer

All links in the Concern for Mental Health's enews bulletin have been selected using a standard links protocol. Links are provided for information and convenience only. Redbridge Concern for Mental Health cannot accept responsibility for the content of sites linked to, and any links do not represent an endorsement by Redbridge Concern for Mental Health. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have no control over the availability of linked pages.