## Glastonbury Mental Health Network annual report Registered charity no. 119330 Address: Red Brick Building, Morland Enterprise Park, Morland Road, Northover, Glastonbury BA6 9FT ## **Trustees** Chloe Forfitt 28.01.21 - March 2022 Andrew Gowland 28.01.21 - present Ifiyenia Bagias 28.01.21 - present Jolene Feeley 02.07.21 - present Jonathan Cousins 22.04.22 - present Patricia Long 16.08.22 - present ## **Mission Statement** **Glastonbury Mental Health Network** (GMHN) works to improve mental health literacy in our diverse community. We aim to educate through training, outreach, events and online content. The GMHN will facilitate a network of new, and existing, safe spaces and stakeholders to help those in crisis find relief. Clear signposting to appropriate services and solutions will become easily available throughout the community. At the root of the charity’s work is the understanding that we all suffer and we all can thrive. **The charity’s objects** as set out in the Governing Document are: - To relieve the needs of people with mental ill health by working to increase the understanding of mental health and mental health conditions, providing information, delivering training, raising awareness and challenging stigma and discrimination; - To work together with the voluntary and community sector, statutory services, mental health allied practitioners and businesses to benefit the mental health and wellbeing of residents; - To advance education as to the causes, consequences, management and prevention of mental ill health; - To promote best practice in the field of mental health. The Trustees believe that all of our purposes satisfy the public benefit requirement. The direct benefits which flow from these purposes include improved wellbeing outcomes and reduced levels of stress and anxiety amongst people experiencing mental ill health in Glastonbury - who are the charity’s core beneficiaries. These benefits are evidenced through feedback from those attending our events and trainings. The services we have been providing have also intended to benefit the whole community, and have made an impact in a variety of ways. As such our additional beneficiaries have been: - Those who have felt that our events have insulated them against crisis. - Those that have found support for friends and family members, having their own difficulties acknowledged and listened to. - Those who have undertaken our training programme, learning how to be more resilient in the face of crises, to hold space rather than be drawn into the crisis and to allow them to respond without compromising their own mental health. - Those that have met others through our events and found solidarity and connection. - Those who have benefited from our programme of community events normalising conversation around mental health issues, receiving support and signposting. This includes local residents, community professionals and local businesses. - Those that have received volunteering opportunities. - Organisations who have made connections and widened their reach and understanding through our events. We believe from our experience, and from feedback, that our services have assisted: - Those in crisis - This can cover a wide range of individuals and overlapping situations including, but not limited to: - Homeless - Those unable to find suitable accommodation of any sort - Transient population - Those who have opted to live outside of the housing market due to economic constraints and other reasons - Those suffering with addiction - Those suffering domestic abuse from relatives or guardians - Those affected by depression, anxiety, PTSD, dementia etc. - Those affected by issues surrounding spiritual emergence - Those who, willingly or unwillingly, deal with those in crisis - Immediate family and friends - Frontline staff in public establishments (cafe’s, restaurants, shops, businesses) - ○ Business owners - A range of community professionals and mental health adjacent practitioners - Local government officials - Law enforcement officers and emergency services In fulfilling the public benefit requirement the charity Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s statutory public benefit guidance. The information below sets out the activities we have carried out to further our purposes and fulfil the public benefit requirement during the accounting period. ## Activities, objectives and achievements ## **● Hosting mental wellbeing focussed events** We successfully ran a number of events throughout our first financial year. “The Snug” is a monthly 4 hour event that the charity runs during the day-time at the Red Brick Building, funded by Open Mental Health, with supportive creative activities, nutritious food, relaxing music and listeners/signposters available to chat to. The Snug was launched in January 2022 and we had run three events by the end of March 2022, with 50+ attendances at each event. Our charity is able to assist individuals through signposting to a range of relevant organisations, social prescribing etc - as we recognise that many people’s mental health problems correlate with issues such as finance/debt, housing, relational difficulties and isolation. The launch of The Snug attracted media attention, including interest from BBC Radio Somerset, which interviewed two of the Trustees, and a photo-led story in the Central Somerset Gazette. ## _Testimonials from The Snug_ “A very relaxing, gentle space is created that is very welcoming and soothing. I appreciated connecting with different members of the community that I may not have met otherwise. I think such a regular event is really valuable, especially in these challenging times for everyone. Thank you to everyone who is involved in putting on the event. This was our first time here and we are planning to come regularly.” “This event is always the most nourishing and creative part of my month… don’t change a thing.” “My dad died a few days ago and it feels like a safe space to be with people with no expectation.” “It’s so nice to be somewhere where it’s ok not to be ok!” ## **● Community forums** We held several community forums where Glastonbury stakeholders were asked to communicate their experiences and where the greatest needs lie. This feeds into our ethos of grass-roots community-led solutions to issues we face as a community. We have used information gleaned at these forums to shape our development. ## **● Website** We developed an easy-to-use website with a directory, which details the projects, practitioners and resources available in Glastonbury; from NHS and Mind services to recovery gardening groups and food-related workshops. ## **● Social Media** We regularly created and shared content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These platforms provide an opportunity for us to share the offerings of others within the community, inspiring content from other creators, and to let people know about our own events and courses. ## **● SSE training and funding** In March 2022, our Project Manager was accepted onto a training course with Somerset Social Entrepreneurs which went on to help the charity to run fundraising activities, and which were then match-funded to £2500. During the accounting period, we gained funding for The Snug from Open Mental Health, and for the website from The Glastonbury Trust (this grant was paid from the funder directly to our website designer). ## **● Facilitating a mental health literate community, including a network of trained volunteer listeners and signposters** During the financial year we ran successful Listening Skills and Signposting courses; a number of the participants went on to become volunteers for the charity. We began to develop a community mental health training package to pitch to funders. We are now approaching local organisations and businesses to fund this project as they can truly see the benefit. Those working in public-facing establishments throughout the town (particularly in the hospitality industry and retail) have approached us for help in better understanding how to meet the needs of openly struggling customers who come to their businesses. The festival and the prevalence of destabilising substances and workshops in Glastonbury, plus the high level of spiritual seekers, means that we have a particular need that is difficult to put across to those who do not live and work here. We aim to help provide a network of safe spaces throughout the town where people will be listened to and can be signposted to further services/support as required. This is distinct from formal counselling/therapy and is to be viewed as a helping and listening service. With such long waiting lists for NHS provided therapies, which are crucially needed by so many, this service will assist those who are struggling to wait without help. We aim to mobilise the many individuals in the local area qualified (or training) to become counsellors/therapists, so there is a team of support people throughout Glastonbury. This benefits trainees, giving them an excellent head-start in their training. We established an excellent reputation in our first year of operations so we have attracted excellent trainers, some of whom are prepared to offer their time for free. ## Future plans for development ## Safe Spaces Network The “Safe Spaces Network” will be a network of existing public facing establishments; we will be training nominated individuals to better relate to those in crisis. The network is dependent on having an adequate training package and support available. ## Advisory Board We will seek to identify local practitioners and influencers that would be suitable to form an advisory board to guide the progress of the GMHN. Our aim is to ensure that the GMHN meets the needs of the community on an ongoing basis. ## Cafe/ Shop/ Venue With so many local experts in the field of mental health, we would like to pool resources to create a venue which could become a centre for best practice. Our vision is a venue with a cafe where the food is donated by local business/ providers so it can be offered to customers on a donation basis. The venue is drug and alcohol free and healthy boundaries are set from its inception so it can be as safe a space as possible. All staff will be mental health trained and there will be someone available to chat with and/ or a quiet place to be if that is needed. The venue will link with local food growing projects so volunteers can contribute to the thriving business whilst gaining valuable skills, recognition and self-esteem. We would expect this to be a functioning business that would create employment in a variety of creative ways. This could also be an excellent venue to run courses for service users and providers (CPD). ## St Dunstan’s House Glastonbury Town has been the beneficiary of Government money which will develop and renovate infrastructure within the town. We hope to have a central role within the development of St Dunstan’s House, a wellbeing hub in the centre of the town. Glast¥l#￿ry Mental H￿1th Nettyork FINANCIAL STATEMEN75 FOR THE YEAk ENDED 31 MARCM 21122 CONTENTS ITKome and Ex￿ndItUre 21 Balance Sheet Glastonbury Mental Health Network Income Expenditure Account for the ￿al ewKled 31 Marth 2022 2022 Irtcome Funding 5.010 Administrztice Expenses Advertising Artists fee 120 175 Printing and stationery 335 Net SurpluslDeficitl 4,675 Glastonbury Mental Health Network Balano Sheet as at 31 March 2022 2022 Current assets Total bank and cash hand £4.674.80 Net Current Assets liiabilitlesl £4.674.80 Total Assests less Current Liabilities £4.674 £4.674.80 Current year surplus £4.674.80 Total Capital and Reserves £4.674.80 Prepared by. PALong Treasurer Checked by: Fen Bagias Signed: Dated: Trish Long signed: Dated: Fen Bagias 2810112023 2810112023