RICHMOND FELLOWSHIP ENRICH AWARDS 2019 | PART TWO

After a productive break catching up on tweets for the Richmond Fellowship Tyneside account - that I was managing for the day – and meeting a few new faces; Rachel and I called everyone to order to introduce our next Award presenters. 


Helen Edwards, Chair of the Recovery Focus Board and Michael Clarke, a client with Aquarius, announced the shortlist for the Excellence in Innovation Award. The criteria for this Award was for a team or project to demonstrate the most innovative approach to improving the quality of a service or increasing Richmond Fellowship’s productivity or efficiency. The ‘top three’ nominees were Lowther Street Crisis House, Macclesfield Homeless and Complex Needs Service, and Trevayler Care Home. The winner was Lowther Street Crisis House, the only community crisis house in Cumbria who provide 24-hour support for up at six people at a time in Whitehaven.

RICHMOND FELLOWSHIP ENRICH AWARDS 2019 | PART ONE

You know when there just seems to be no words that are good enough to talk about something? That’s how I feel about the Richmond Fellowship Enrich Awards! And I guess this is the reason why I’ve decided to make this event into four posts... 


To be asked to join the judging panel was a huge achievement and then when I got the email asked if I would co-chair the event with Rachel (Chair of the Working Together Committee); I was speechless – except I wasn’t really because it was via email so… but you know what I mean! And then I was asked to present one of the awards and then when the Manager of the Richmond Fellowship Tyneside team offered me the reigns of their Twitter account… well! It was such an honour to be trusted with so much - and so many - responsibilities and to know that it obviously meant Richmond Fellowship believed in me and believed that I was capable of doing all these things. 

ENRICH AWARDS | PRE-EVENT PROMO | THREE LESSONS RICHMOND FELLOWSHIP HAVE TAUGHT ME

It's officially one sleep until the Richmond Fellowship ENRICH Awards!! 

To celebrate, I decided to write a quick post about the three lessons the organization have taught me...

After my two and a half years in Cygnet Bierley, I was transferred to a ‘rehab’ ward at my local psychiatric hospital so as to gently get used to the idea of not having staff around me 24/7. I think that all my concentration was so focused on adapting to the changes that I remember very little from my time there. Which means I can’t remember when I first met with Richmond Fellowship, but it was in 2014 so I’ve been with them for five years now!


I’d like to dedicate this post to my most recent support worker (who now has a new job!); Georgie, who has become one of my greatest friends. Oh! And a special thank you to the Richmond Fellowship Tyneside Team Manager; Alice, for always ensuring I get the greatest service available from the team.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MARTIN BAKER OF 'GUM ON MY SHOE'

Dear Marty,


After reading one of your recent blog posts, I know that you’ve been feeling sort of lost recently and have been questioning your place in the mental health world so I thought that perhaps this letter might motivate you through these doubts and struggles. 


Firstly, I wanted to say how glad I am to have met you at that Time To Change event – it’s always nice and fun to meet someone who you’ve connected with online, in person. But there was something special about you – something different. You were genuine. I think that, these days, it’s incredibly hard to find someone who is the same in person as they are online, not a lot of people are genuine and of course there those who hide behind a keyboard but I feel like you and I are both learning that there’s also a huge number of people on social media who can be of invaluable support online. And you have helped me to see this as I’ve gotten to know you – especially during a recent visit to A&E(!) – I’ve seen how many people you support through social media. Learning that number really did leave me speechless! It’s inspiring to think of the strength you have in order to be there for so many people.

ENRICH AWARDS | PRE-EVENT PROMO | 60 SECONDS WITH RICHMOND FELLOWSHIP'S HELEN EDWARDS

Today marks two days until the Richmond Fellowship Enrich awards 2019. I’m very proud to have been on the judging panel to shortlist all of the nominations and to now be co-chairing the entire ceremony as well as taking over the Richmond Fellowship Tyneside Twitter account!

To keep up with all of the goings on, follow #EnrichAwards on Twitter

Every day for the next week, there’ll be a new post of ‘60 seconds with…’ someone involved in the Awards. I hope you enjoy!

Name and Job Title:

Helen Edwards, Chair Richmond Fellowship and Recovery Focus 

How long have you been involved with Richmond Fellowship?

I’ve been Chair since April 2016.

What drew you to this role?

The work which Richmond Fellowship does and its good reputation.