News Archive October 2017

Mind in Croydon’s project, the Hub, was shortlisted for a Mayor of Croydon Civic Award. Last Tuesday (17th October) staff and members attended the ceremony to celebrate the exceptional people who make Croydon a brilliant place for people to live, grow, work and visit. More than 200 nominations were made across ten categories and after careful consideration 25 nominees were shortlisted for the community awards. Although we were pipped at the post for the award, everyone had a brilliant time and it was a great accolade to have our work recognised in this way.

Councillor Toni Letts, Mayor of Croydon, said: “Croydon is full of unsung heroes, people who selflessly give their time and put others first to the benefit of their neighbours and the wider community. This is evidenced by the incredible number of nominations we received across the categories. I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists and thank everyone who submitted a nomination and for those who weren’t shortlisted on this occasion, thank you for what you do for our town and its residents.”

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 20th October 2017

Shaka is another success story from the Croydon Eagles, the football team that Mind in Croydon runs in partnership with the Palace for Life Foundation. Shukhan (Shaka) Scanlan, grew up in Norwood, and loved playing football when he was younger, with his mum taking him to Pelo FC in Dulwich. Here, he enjoyed the little tournaments and went on to play for one of their League teams. Shaka went to school in Gypsy Hill, which he really liked and then after school went to study at Bromley College. However things started to take a turn for the worse around this time and Shaka dropped out of college pretty quickly.

He began to experience “sadness and bad dreams” which has taken his focus away from his interests. Shaka began to spend more and more time at home and the bad thoughts continued to grow. His sister helped Shaka to get in touch with Mind In Croydon, whose Active Minds project supported Shaka to join the football programme that the Palace for Life Foundation supports for adults who have experienced mental health problems.

Thinking back to his first day with us just over a year ago Shaka says he “liked it straight away. I liked being active and the boys were all good to me.” Now a regular member of the group, Shaka thinks the best things about coming to the program are “the matches we play in training every Wednesday, the league games we play and the camaraderie amongst the players.” Shaka does see some of the other lads in Croydon outside of these sessions from time to time, but he is happiest just coming and playing rather than trying to make a new group of friends.

Shaka acknowledges that coming to our football sessions has made a positive change to his life. He now also plays for the mental health football team that has grown out of these weekly training sessions, the Croydon Eagles. He says: “Getting active, getting out and doing things is good for the mind. It brings back good memories of when I used to play. I feel fitter and stronger and am improving again, trying to get back into playing.” If he was not involved with the programme and the Croydon Eagles, Shaka states that he would “probably be at home, not doing anything” which he believes does not help him maintain good mental health.

Things are still not easy for Shaka but he knows that these sessions are helping him do things that he thought he couldn’t do anymore. “I really look forward to coming every week.” he says. When asked if he would recommend this to anyone else who is experiencing mental health problems Shaka suggests that anyone interested should “come along and see it for themselves.”

Palace for Life Foundation Disability Manager Michael Harrington, who runs the weekly football sessions at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, offers the following insight:“Shaka was very quiet when he first came to us, and he still can be today. It was clear from day 1 that he had a great touch but his fitness levels and strength were low, leaving him struggling at times to keep up with others in the group. However attending regularly, and working hard when he is with us, has brought these levels up remarkably and he now can train and play for two hours straight through without the need for additional breaks. It is not just the football side that we aim to focus on, the social side of programs like this are equally as vital. This was highlighted to us when Shaka continued to come to recent training sessions even when he was out injured with a fractured wrist so he could see what was going on and to feel part of the group. His wrist is now healed and he is back doing what he loves the most – playing football!”

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 19th October 2017

From 25th October 2017 the Minding Money Project will be run via The Hub in our East Croydon building.  This project will run for 6 weeks.

The address is: Fairfield House, 10 Altyre Road, East Croydon, Surrey, CR0 5LA.

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 19th October 2017

Our CEO, Richard Pacitti, appeared as part of an ITV News London feature on the importance of peer support for young people. The report was about two young women from Croydon who have experienced mental health problems who have set up a peer support group. You can watch the clip here: https://youtu.be/0cUB4OFL5cE

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 13th October 2017

Date: Monday 30th October
Time: 10-30am-12.30pm
Venue: Carers Support Centre, George Street, Croydon, CR0 1PB

Meet Carers’ Commissioner Stephen Bahjooshy.
Learn about the Carers’ Strategy
Read the draft and give feedback
Free lunch provided
Call 020 8649 6280 or email info@carersinfo.org.uk to sign up.

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 13th October 2017

Cook & Taste

Want to brush up on your cooking skills?
Join our cook and taste session where we learn to cook different dishes each week.
Location: Orchard House
Next Group: Monday 6th Nov
Duration: 8 weeks
Cost: FREE

Boxercise

Come and train with three times World Champion, Duke McKenzie, using non-contact boxing techniques.
Location: Crystal Palace
Next Group: Starts 3rd Nov
Duration: 6 weeks
Cost: FREE

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 6th October 2017

As part of the “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning” held on Friday 29th September in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, the staff and members of the Hub at Fairfield held a coffee morning. We had donations of delicious  homemade cakes from both staff and members and we transformed downstairs at Fairfield into a tea room for the afternoon  while also taking a tray of home baked goodies outside to offer to passers-by for a small donation. We also had a guess the height of the cake competition to win a beautiful rose covered cake donated by Luigi.

It was a relaxing and fun afternoon and we raised a grand total of £260 for Macmillan.

A big thank you to all who brought, bought and ate cake.

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 4th October 2017

St Mildred’s Church in Addiscombe are holding a concert to raise money for charity this Saturday.

Our Friends in Need service has been picked as one of the charities to benefit from this concert so do pop along and support them.

Author: Cat Ayres
Posted on: 3rd October 2017