Positive Health Network

Drop Ins

The Positive Health Groups were formed from a series of Drop Ins held between December 2008 and April 2009. The Drop Ins were open to anyone interested in looking at their social experiences and the situations in their life when they either experienced some form of depression, anxiety, isolation or mental illness. The focus of each Drop In touched on ways to recognise the factors that may contribute to incidents of poor mental health. Through discussion the initial Drop Ins looked at social factors that may contribute to poor mental health, activities that may assist with keeping well and people’s physical health and the effects that it may have on their mental health. People taking part in the initial Drop Ins were given the option of being involved in Positive Health Groups which would meet once a month.

Two groups have formed from the Drop Ins, namely Positive Health Young & Old and Tatty Teddies (see below for further details). They have developed their own organic identity choosing the path that they wish to travel. Lively discussion takes place in each group and recently they have discussed safety in the community, self esteem and discrimination towards specific groups of people.

Positive Health Young & Old

The Positive Health Young & Old group meet on the second Wednesday of the month from 12 noon until 2pm in Your Voice, 12 Clyde Square, Greenock. The group have been meeting for over a year and in this time they have been involved in a variety of activities. Generally they meet to share stories and offer peer support to each other. People meeting in the group enjoy the company and for many people it has opened up their social network. As well as being part of the Positive Health Network people have joined the Stakeholder Advisory Network. Being part of the network includes being on the Community Care Newsletter mailing list and being involved in events, consultations and / or activities within the Inverclyde community.

Tatty Teddies

The Tatty Teddies meet on the second Thursday of the month from 1pm until 3pm in Your VOICE, 12 Clyde Square, Greenock. This group have been meeting for over a year to offer each other peer support. They have been involved in discussions about the concept of love, invited guests from other agencies such as Green Space and the Carers Centre and they look forward to meeting new people in the coming year.

Future Developments

Links have been made and future developments to the Positive Health Networks include; Positive Health Arts & Crafts, Positive Health Men’s Group, Positive Health Women’s Group, Positive Health Writers Group.

We have links and carry out collaborative work with; Inverclyde Association for Mental Health (Caddlehill Allotment Project), Scottish Association for Mental Health Gateways To Project, Greenspace from Inverclyde Council, Stepwell Stress Management and Services, Phoenix Community Health Project, Volunteer Centre, Inverclyde Homeless Forum (volunteers), Inverclyde Mental Health Carers Group.

Towards a ‘Mentally Flourishing Inverclyde’

We have been working collaboratively on mental health improvement with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Inverclyde Council, Bipolar Scotland, National Schizophrenia Foundation, Depression Alliance Scotland and a number of voluntary organisations in Inverclyde. This collaborative work aims to promote prevention, recovery, inclusion, better treatment and care for people living with poor mental health/illness.

The overall aim is to improve the quality of life for people by ensuring that they receive the best possible service to suit their needs. The following initiatives that we are involved in contribute towards these aims.

Mental Health Development Group and Other Bodies

The work that we directly carry out involves communicating with people attending the Peer Support Groups in Inverclyde. We record information from people to highlight areas that have an impact on mental health and mental health service provision (both issues and good practice). We also source information and inform people about community events, consultations and policy changes that may be of interest to them. We have prepared reports with people’s views on gaps in services, issues and good practice. Such reports are presented to relevant bodies. We currently meet and work with the following groups;

  • Mental Health Development Group
  • Recovery Inclusion Group
  • Mental Health Awareness Group
  • ACUMEN

To date Mental Health Service users have informed the following service developments including;

  • Joint Community Care Plan 2009—2012
  • Inverclyde Alliance
  • Inverclyde Council’s Corporate Plan Concerning Equality
  • Ravenscraig Reprovision
  • Recovery Inclusion Group