1. Mental Wellbeing Project Summary of project evaluation findings for the BME Health Forum Network Meeting 25 th June 2014 Jane Suppiah

2. Introducing Mynors Suppiah Led by Jane Suppiah and Geraldine Mynors Founded in 2010, based in London and Glasgow Expertise in healthcare evaluation, patient and public involvement and patient experience For this project we worked with our Associate Frances Goodhart, Consultant Clinical Psychologist

3. Overview of the mental wellbeing project Gives support for people from London’s BME communities experiencing emotional distress but with out a formal mental health diagnosis One-to-one support sessions Volunteers trained to be active listeners and offer non-judgmental support Volunteers themselves are from BME communities Support given in languages other than English Developed in response to research with local organisations and directly with BME communities that identified mental health as a key concern

4. The mental wellbeing project set out to… Support clients effectively through a period of difficulty Ensure that clients needing mental health services are helped to access these in a timely way Improve the skills and experience of volunteers Expand partners knowledge of mental health issues and the mental wellbeing of their users

5. Those involved in the project IndividualsVolunteersProject partners People experiencing emotional upset or distress Individuals with the motivation, commitment and genuine interest and aptitude to support others through emotional challenges Abbey Centre Without a formal mental health diagnosis Ability to offer support in a language other than English Healthier Life 4 You Midaye Some of those furthest from accessing statutory services and other forms of support 42 volunteers trained from around 15 different countries of origin / self reported ethnic groups Migrant Resource Centre Over 300 clients from around 20 different countries of origin / self reported ethnic groups Foundations UK* Chinese National Healthy Living Centre *

6. Intensive training - wellbeing, skills need for counseling / talking therapies - role play / documenting practice / advocacy Up to 3 face-to-face support sessions Advocacy Befriendin g Delivery of the project Mental wellbeing volunteers Clients Volunteer recruitment Supervision and support -line managers -independent trainer Volunteer recruitment Client recruit ment

7. The evaluation Took place between November 13 – March 14 The evaluation focused on assessing: – Direct impact on clients, volunteers, project partners – Impact of the peer support model Conducted a review of the literature on wellbeing Developed an evaluation framework and a set of tools

8. Evaluation methodology Evaluation participantsMethods used BME Health Forum Formative interviews (manger and trainers) Review of internal reports, monitoring information Observed training Volunteers Discussion groups with volunteers x 4 (16 participants) Survey sent to 36 volunteers (23 responses) Clients One to one interviews with 12 clients (led by Clinical Psychologist) Analysis of WEMWBS data (40 respondents) Project partners Project visits – meeting managers and staff

9. NEF’s Dynamic Model of Wellbeing

10. Five Ways to Wellbeing Be active Connect Take note Keep learning Give

11. We asked volunteers to tell us about the types of support they had given to clients

12. Volunteers were asked about the challenges they had faced in their role

13. In some cases, the process of engagement often began with practical help before the ‘listening’ part of the project could take place I had to help one man with his debts, get him some electricity before he could talk more to me and progress

14. Volunteers were able to provide examples in the discussion groups the demonstrated their effectiveness as mental wellbeing volunteers It was very challenging for clients. They came to see us even though they had been through trauma. It was difficult to get away from giving information and advice and just listen. They kept saying, ‘what are you going to do?’ At the beginning they were not sure what to talk about, but after a while they started to know what to say… a lot of them have been here for 10 years, it’s a challenge… just having a chat.

15. Clients described a huge range of difficulties that had been addressed within the project Loneliness Isolation Fear Lack of spoken English Literacy problems Financial difficulties Challenges of negotiating the system Mental health Physical health

16. Many clients described having gone from social isolation, stress and fear to a confident and outward looking life Before I had stress, headaches, depressed, put on weight. I didn’t want to go out of my house. Now I am much, much better than before. My mind and my body feel better. I go out, I make friends, I dance, I learn English. Clients valued the opportunity to talk and be listened to What more can you ask than have someone to talk to? It is a relief to share. When I came here there was a lot on my shoulders. But now my life is so different, I can talk, I am not shy now.

17. Clients talked about the plans they were making and how they were acting on these I have lost weight, got a GP so I don’t go to hospital anymore. I walk everywhere and in the summer I will start to run I feel with my language there is more progress to make, more work to do but I know how to get there

18. Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) – pilot Research tool developed by Warwick and Edinburgh Universities Generates an overview of mental wellbeing for groups of people by combining their responses to 14 questions Piloted by Abbey Centre, HL4Y and Midaye with 40 clients in total Completed before and after their intervention Scores can range from 14 to 70 Health Survey for England mean scores 52.5 (men) & 52.2 (women)

19. There was a marked improvement in clients own views on their wellbeing

20. Involvement in the project has impacted on volunteers own wellbeing

21. It has contributed to a change in life circumstances for many volunteers

22. Success factors Peer support has formed a bridge between clients and volunteers Advocacy has been an enabler The training had a strong impact BME Health Forum as funder and facilitator Strength of main project partners

23. Challenges and recommendations Involving men as volunteers and clients Setting boundaries could be aided by clearer documentation of all activity with clients and more formal use of contracts between project partners and clients Recruiting and retaining volunteers would be aided by having common processes on recruitment, expenses and incentives Creating clear pathways into mental health services – more focus on this in training and work with services providers so that they can respond to this

24. Challenging and recommendations Independent supervision – by mental health professional or therapist Safe spaces for volunteers to meet clients Robust monitoring and evaluation data Valuing the effective leadership of project partners

25. Questions