The Service Centres are registered with the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) and have achieved consistently high scores (5 and 6) when inspected. All our Care Inspectorate Reports can be accessed via the Care Inspectorate website. Here is our most recent Inspection report from 2016 . The staff team have considerable expertise in responding to the needs and experiences of people with mental Health problems and 90% of staff working in the Service Centres have a qualification which can be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council. The centres are located in the North and South of the city and offer an integrated and locally networked social care service to people experiencing, or recovering from, mental health problems we also support mental health carers. Support is offered in a flexible way and is reviewed and adjusted in partnership with the person receiving the service according to individual and changing needs. Key support available includes:
- One to one support within and out with your own home to help build confidence and positive links within your community.
- Housing support service which offers support to sustain tenancies and help you build a sense of home
- An extensive group work programme
- Volunteer led activities including one to one befriending
- Peer led groups and activities to support your recovery
- Activities focussed on learning and accessing training, education and employment.
- Carers individual support and groups are delivered by GAMH Carers Support Team –click here to find out more and how to refer to our Carers Team
Service Centre Functions
Each Service Centre has 3 specific Service Functions
- 1:1 Individual Support
- Groupwork
- Employability / Volunteering / Peer Support
Support is person centred and designed to enable you to be actively involved and in control of your own health and wellbeing. Our services are preventative in nature and increase the factors known to protect good mental health. Support activities are designed to increase self-esteem and autonomy and encourage the building of positive social networks with others. We provide signposting and actively promote access to mainstream local community resources and services.
1:1 Support
The one to one support is focused on
- Supporting you to better manage your mental health
- Helping you to build on existing skills and strengths
- Developing and pursuing new interests
Leading a life without formal support
Examples of agencies that GAMH work in partnership with to help you achieve your support goals including: Community and Primary Mental Health Teams, Health Improvement services, Healthy Living services, Stress Centres, Glasgow Life, Housing Agencies and Money and Debt Services, Local educational colleges and universities, Volunteer Centres and many more. Support will be limited to a 6 month period although should a person be discharged and then require further support they can be referred back into GAMH by their referrer
GROUPWORK
The group opportunities strand of the Service Centres provides a varied programme of activities across the city. Our Life and Wellbeing Group Programme highlights three areas which are significant to mental health recovery:
- Mental Health/Physical Health Promotion
- Education and Learning – Participating
- Building Social Networks
Our groups run approximately to a 6-12 week programme depending on the nature of the work and are designed to offer participants positive experiences our activities aim to encourage good mental health through a variety of wellbeing, physical and learning activities. Taking part helps you to build links into mainstream and accessible resources available in the community e.g. educational and training hubs, leisure and sports clubs, arts and music resources. We offer short courses within our programmes often in partnership with local agencies which supports confidence building and skills development and encourages continued participation and learning after moving on from GAMH. All activities are developed collaboratively with people who use the service and we always strive to ensure that our groups are acceptable and accessible to people from BME communities and other marginalised groups. Examples of recent work Students from Glasgow University Enactus team created a series of workshops – WeCreate – which explore art, creativity and social enterprise We participated in Human Rights Awareness sessions with NHS Equalities in Health team, in response to the Scottish National Human Rights Action Plan which calls for a more visible approach to human rights in health and social care services. Our Positive Moves programme makes good use of the free facilities which are available throughout the city, including walking, cycling, bowling and tennis. Our growing project, ‘Roots to Recovery’, provides access to allotments and gardens where you can meet people enjoy the outdoors and work together with others to learn about gardening.
Volunteer Led Activities, Peer Activities / Employability Initiatives
This includes:
Volunteer Befriending
We match you with a trained volunteer befriender. The volunteer befriender will support you to engage in a variety of social activities of your choice .Volunteer usually meet with you weekly, for roughly 2-3 hours a time, for up to a maximum period of 6 months. These meetings will not take place in your home as the purpose of the support is to build your confidence to get out and about in the community, build new interests and generally have a more active life. Befrienders will unfortunately not be able to help you with any personal care or household tasks because their role is to provide a particular type of social support. If you need other forms of support, you can inform the Volunteer Co-ordinator who will try to put you in touch with other services that might be able to help. There is no cost to uptake the service however you as the befriendee would have to pay for your own travel, light refreshments or entrance to social activities (e.g. cinema ticket). The volunteer will pay for themselves and be reimbursed for their expenses by GAMH.
Peer Led Opportunities
Within our group programme we have developed peer-led opportunities for participants who are about to move away from the service, to share their skills, knowledge and experiences in positive and creative ways. Successful applicants receive informative and interactive training, through the Motivational Exchange Programme, to fully explore the peer role and what it entails. Some peers have gone on to become co-facilitators who have delivered a series of workshops across the groups on an activity that they are passionate about. These taster workshops have covered local history, drama, gardening, arts and crafts and much, much more. An alternative to delivering workshops is for peers to take on the role of welcoming and orientating new members to the group and introducing them to their fellow participants and the activities available.
Employability Initiatives
Our approach to peer support and employability parallels that used for individual services in that we provide a continuum of support designed to meet needs at each stage of the recovery / employability pathway. We provide a range of delivery models for peer support and aim to promote and develop the capacity, potential and leadership of all individuals giving and receiving peer support. We will do this through offering opportunities for training, support and skills development. We monitor, evaluate and communicate our peer support activity, in order to build the evidence base for the effectiveness of peer support and knowledge about good practice. There are 3 main options following referral and assessment all of which adopt the peer support approach IMAGE Peer participants have the opportunity to focus on learning and we explore options on the following themes of peer support and recovery, sharing experiences and identifying personal and employability development goals. These employability initiatives build upon and strengthen referral pathways in to other mainstream employability support systems and create better collaboration with relevant key stakeholders Outcomes You Can Expect from GAMH Support
- Reduction in social isolation through being more connected to family, friends and communities.
- Having new experiences, learning new things, involvement in meaningful activities and/or work
- Improvement in physical health and wellbeing
- Improvement in mental health and wellbeing
- Increased confidence and resilience
- Being more in control of your life
Feedback from People Who Have Used Our Services
“I feel positive regarding the future and can acknowledge the achievements which I have made in recent months, which I plan to continue in the future.”
“I feel more able to look after myself and will rely less on family support due to a renewed sense of purpose and motivation”
“I am feeling that my self-esteem is gradually improving via accessing practical courses and being made aware of my abilities”
Support Timescales and Service Eligibility
GAMH support is time limited to 6 months. It is available to adults aged 16 and over who have mild to severe mental health difficulties who are not linked to community mental health teams (CMHT) or eligible for self-directed support budgets.
Referral Routes
Referrals for all our Service Centre support services can be made via the following routes:
- Primary Care Mental Health Teams (PCMHT)
- GPs
- Social Care Direct
- Housing Providers
- Community Addiction Teams
- Homelessness Services
The Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) can refer to our befriending and Groups opportunities service
How to Contact Us to Enquire About our Services and Make a Referral
North East Service Centre Project Leader: Lesley Mchugh, City Park, Suite C0, 368 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow, G31 3AU Tel: 0141 552 4934 Email: :l.mchugh@gamh.org.uk or s.ward@gamh.org.uk
South Service Centre Project Leader: Jenny Bunting, Pavilion 3A, Moorpark Court 11 Dava Street Govan Glasgow G51 2JA Tel: 0141 425 4850 Email: j.bunting@gamh.org.uk or d.doherty@gamh.org.uk
North West Service Centre Project Leader: Lesley Mchugh, City Park, Suite C0, 368 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow, G31 3AU Tel: 0141 357 2570 Email: l.mchugh@gamh.org.uk or s.ward@gamh.org.uk