Through the Community Mental Health Transformation Grant, local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations in York have been supported to deliver community-led mental health projects for people experiencing significant mental ill-health.
Alongside funding, York CVS provides ongoing support to grant recipients, including guidance, connection and peer networking. At a recent grant recipient networking event, we spoke directly with projects about their work, the impact they are seeing, and the value of being part of a supported network.
Below, we share a selection of project stories from across the programme.
Project stories
Organisation: Mokkha CIC
Project overview
Brighter Futures is a programme developed by Mokkha CIC to support people experiencing addiction, mental ill health and social isolation through trauma-informed, small group sessions in trusted community venues. Weekly sessions focus on creativity and grounding activities, including candle making, journalling, reflection and peer support, helping to build safety, trust and connection.
Alongside this, Brighter Futures offers digital inclusion and practical community support, recognising that many people face barriers to accessing online services such as housing applications.
Find out more:
Website: mokkha-cic.co.uk
“Everybody at Mokkha has lived experience, so we all come from a place that understand. So we try to, connect peers with clients that are in a similar situation to what their peers have been.
For me personally, I’ve got 30 years of lived experience in addiction and in and out of custody. It was a lady who founded Mokkha, Patsy, who was the one that walked alongside me and even when I fell, she never gave up, which every other organisation that I’ve been with has. So that instilled that this person’s gonna be there and they’re not gonna let go.”
Organisation: Emerging Voices
Project overview
Emerging Voices is a local charity providing music-based activities for people with lived experience of mental ill health across York and North Yorkshire. Through choirs, music sessions and community-based activity, they create safe, welcoming spaces where people can connect, build confidence and reduce social isolation. For many participants, being part of the group supports a gradual return to wider community life, education or work.
Simon Thomson, Chair of Trustees at Emerging Voices gives us an insight in to the work they are doing and how York CVS have supported their organisation. Watch the video to find out more.
Find out more:
Website: emergingvoices.org.uk
Organisation: MySight York
Project overview
MySight York supports blind and partially sighted people to live well with sight loss, enabling people to make confident choices and access support at every stage of their journey.
Each year, over 1,500 people in York access MySight York’s support and activities, helping to improve mental wellbeing and reduce social isolation.
Find out more:
Website: mysightyork.org
“The Community Mental Health Transformation Grant will enable MySight York to strengthen the emotional support available to people adjusting to sight loss.
The funding will allow us to expand our specialist counselling provision while also growing group activities and peer support that reduce isolation and support people’s mental wellbeing.”
Organisation: Night Light Theatre
Project overview
Night Light Theatre runs Create-to-Connect, a theatre and arts for wellbeing project supporting people with lived experience of homelessness and social exclusion. Delivered in partnership with Carecent, the project offers welcoming, no-pressure creative sessions where people can take part at their own pace, build confidence and connect with others.
Using drama, storytelling and performance, Create to Connect helps people discover creativity they may not have known they had, strengthen relationships and open pathways into wider opportunities, including further learning, employment and community involvement.
Find out more:
Website: night-light-theatre.co.uk
Organisation: Converge at York St John University
Project overview
Converge is a partnership project based at York St John University, working alongside Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust to offer short courses for adults aged 18 and over with lived experience of mental ill health. Courses are delivered by York St John University students and graduates, alongside people with lived experience who bring their own skills, interests and professional backgrounds to the programme.
By focusing on learning, creativity and participation, Converge supports people to rebuild confidence, rediscover their identity and engage in opportunities beyond a mental health illness narrative. The programme plays a preventative role within the community, helping people stay well, build on their progress and reconnect with wider community life.
Find out more:
Website: yorksj.ac.uk/converge
“The event this morning has been really good to find out what’s going on across the city. It’s nice to see new people being funded as well as some of the older organisations. It’s opening up that world of what’s possible for people and seeing the way that, there’s all sorts of different organisations that can complement each other in what they do.
I’ve been talking to the My Sight candidate and looking at the apps and things that they’ve got available through their charity that could help some of the people that we support coming in with more complex problems alongside their mental health. Nice to be able to collaborate and kind of work together on that front gives you a bigger toolkit.”
Organisation: Kyra Women’s Project
Project overview
The funding supports Kyra’s ROSE (Reaching Out, Supporting, Empowering) Growing project. This early intervention programme supports young women aged 18–26 who are at risk of, or recovering from, serious mental illness through drop-in sessions, wellbeing courses and counselling, helping them to build confidence, resilience and connection.
Find out more:
Website: kyra.org.uk/our-projects
Organisation: York City Knights Foundation
Project overview
York City Knights Foundation is a registered charity working across York and North Yorkshire to support positive outcomes in health, education, community development and rugby league. Through a growing range of programmes and partnerships, the Foundation uses sport and community engagement to inspire change and improve lives.
With a vision to inspire communities and change lives across York and North Yorkshire, the Foundation’s work continues to evolve, with new projects regularly being developed to respond to local need and strengthen communities
By using the profile of the club, the power of sport and trusted position within the community, the project aims to make a positive difference to men’s mental health.
Find out more:
Website: yorkcityknights.co.uk/foundation
“It’s great to be here today to meet the partners, draw an experience, but I think together we’re all a little bit stronger than if we’re working separately. ”
The Community Mental Health Transformation Grant is managed by York CVS on behalf of the York Mental Health Partnership and the Connecting Our City Partnership.
