Welcome to the Health and wellbeing bulletin. 

We hope you have had the opportunity for a well-deserved break over the summer months as well as having the opportunity to relax. It can be a very difficult time for many people putting on extra pressure due to the school holidays, the cost-of-living impact and concerns about financial and job security. 

Preventing Suicide Together

September is World Suicide Prevention Month and has come to be nationally recognised as a time for education and reflection on mental health needs.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has made available a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund to support suicide prevention activities delivered in England by non-profit organisations. The funding period is from financial year 2023 to 2024 to the end of the financial year 2024 to 2025. Find out more here.

World Suicide Prevention Day is on 10 September. We are encouraging all Tower Hamlets residents to take part in free training to help them support anyone who is feeling suicidal.

Suicide is a tragic response to difficult situations and feelings and it has a negative impact on family, friends and the wider community. Every 90 minutes someone dies by suicide in the UK and Republic of Ireland, but suicide is preventable.

World Suicide Prevention Day is a reminder that this issue is a priority and that there is hope for people who are struggling with suicidal thoughts. Everyone is encouraged to learn more about how to help someone who is thinking about suicide:

• Join 350,000+ Londoners who have taken the #ZeroSuicideLDN online suicide prevention training #ZeroSuicideLDN – Thrive LDN
• Safe Connections is hosting two online community workshops. There will be a Suicide Prevention Awareness Workshop on 5 September where people can learn about suicidal thoughts, what support is available and how to help others. There will also be a Self-Harm Awareness Workshop on 7 September. For more information or to register to attend, please contact safeconnections@mindthnr.org.uk.

London boroughs have the lowest suicide rates in England, including Tower Hamlets where the the suicide death rate was 6.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2019-2021 compared with 10.4 deaths per 100,000 for England. Still, more than 200 Tower Hamlets residents have died by suicide over the past 10 years, with approximately 3 in 4 deaths being among males. Each death by suicide has a profound impact on families, friends and the wider local community. Click here for UK statistical information from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Click here for a list resources to help with accessing immediate support in Tower Hamlets, support if you have been bereaved by suicide or support on how to start a conversation with a friend or loved one when you are worried about their mental health.

Suicide Prevention Awareness - Community Workshop 

Tuesday 5 September / 1.00 to 2.00pm 

This workshop will explore:

• The current context of suicide
  
• How suicidal thoughts and feelings can present and what they mean
• How we can help and support to prevent suicide as a community and as individuals
• What support is available

For more information, or to register to attend please contact: safeconnections@mindthnr.org.uk

Self-harm Awareness Workshop 

Thursday 7 September / 1.00 to 2.00pm / On Teams

This workshop will explore:

• Our own reactions to and perceptions of self-harm
• What self-harm is and how it can present
• Why people self-harm and what it can mean
• How can we help and support in the immediacy
• What support is available

For more information, or to register to attend please contact: safeconnections@mindthnr.org.uk

Quit Right Tower Hamlets Stop Smoking Service Launch Event

Tuesday 12 September/ 12.00 to 4.00pm / The Art Pavilion, Mile End Park, London E3 4QY

Smoking is the single largest driver of health inequalities. Quit Right Tower Hamlets has been awarded another 5 years to provide tobacco cessation support to smokers/smokeless tobacco users in Tower Hamlets. Queen Mary University of London and Public Health are inviting all stakeholders to celebrate this momentous occasion.

• Discover effective strategies/advice for quitting smoking
• Learn about other health and wellbeing services available in Tower Hamlets
• Connect with others who share similar goals
• Engage with the general public/service users
• Together, we can make Tower Hamlets a smoke-free community!

If you would like to hold a stall on the day, the booking link can be found here. 

Sign up here.

THCVS Health and Wellbeing Forum

Thursday 19 October / 10:00am to 12:30pm / Online and in person / Tower Hamlets Professional Development Centre, 229 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6AB

Join us to better understand the puzzle of local health and care services and who is doing what and how the VCS can influence.

There has been a lot of change in the way the NHS has been structured since July last year into the integrated Care System. In the borough the focus that we have been working with the ICS to develop a VCS collaborative that can create opportunities for the sector to influence, create solutions and embed approaches. The opportunities in the borough are:

• Working at a neighbourhood level with the Primary Care Network and Localities
• Neighbourhood forums and localities programme
• The community health services review
• THT health inequalities funds and how the sector can make a difference.

The session will have presentations from:

• Vicky Scott - update on VCS alliance with the ICS
  
• Tim Hughes - Partnership Programme Lead - Localities & Neighbourhoods Programme
• Zereen Rahman Jennings - Community Health Services review
• Phil Warburton and the Mental Health Alliance

Followed by a workshop to enable us to:

• Map what is currently happening and what are the decision-making structures
• Where can we get involved and have influence to strengthen collaboration, influence funding approaches.

Click here to register.

Ethnic Minority Network - Please Sign Up!

The Limehouse Project and Women Inclusive Team are jointly working to develop and coordinate the first ever Ethnic Minority Network in Tower Hamlets. The Aim of the Network is to raise the profile of the local BAME communities, share ideas and explore current issues.We aim to build a strong and supportive Network and become a resource for local BAME communities. Find out more here.

If you would like to join the Tower Hamlets Ethnic Minority Network, attend meetings and receive regular newsletters please complete the form here.

Understanding trauma informed organisational change - 
Evidence from research

Thanks to all who joined in on 10 August for a fantastic presentation by Dr Natalia Lewis, who shared a summary of the research that she has undertaken alongside others at University of Bristol about the current evidence base for trauma-informed organisational change initiatives.

Click here to access the video recording of the session. The slides from the meeting are available by clicking here.

VAWG Training Offer August - December

The following courses are free and open to anyone who works or volunteers in Tower Hamlets or with Tower Hamlets residents in any capacity:

• Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Professional Champion Course
• Allyship and Misogyny
• Trauma Informed Practice and VAWG
• Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) & Non- English Speakers
• Harmful practices: ‘Honour’ based Violence and Forced Marriage
• Sexual Abuse Awareness
• Female Genital Mutilation Awareness
• Young People and Violence against Women and Girls
• Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) & Online Safety
• Introduction to Survival Sex
• LGBTQ+ Experiences of Domestic Abuse

All sessions can be found by searching ‘VAWG’ in the Learning Hub. Any queries or requests for specific whole team training, please contact: amy-kate.garwood2@towerhamlets.gov.uk or vawg@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Find out more

Amy's briefing, Tower Hamlets Together, July - August 2023

Click here to see Amy Gibbs, Chair of Tower Hamlets Together latest briefing. You can find all past briefings here.

Would you like to be part of the new Community Diagnostic Centre at Mile End Hospital?

Mile End Hospital, has opened a Community Diagnostic Centre. This will be in area where Thames Ward was. The development team would like to know if you, or someone else you work with, or who is a Tower Hamlets resident, would like to have a walk through the building and hear the plans?

The new centre will be a one-stop-shops for checks, scans e.g. MRI and tests for a range of conditions closer to patient’s homes, and not have to go into a busy hospital. For more information, email emma.james42@nhs.net.

Find out more

Information and support from Skills for Care

The Government has launched the first major national survey of all care workers in all care roles in adult social care in England, including personal assistants and those in regulated professional roles. 

The national survey of care workers, conducted by Skills for Care, Ipsos and the University of Kent on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, is gathering information about working conditions, organisational characteristics, and workplace culture, to understand how work-related quality of life and wellbeing is affected.

The survey should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Click here to complete the survey.

Find out more

Participants wanted for photography campaign

SHEWISE in collaboration with But Natural Photography is launching a campaign to raise awareness of Domestic Abuse in South Asian communities. The purpose of the campaign is to start conversations and to educate community members about the prevalence of abuse, we want to encourage people to take action to promote social change.

We know that domestic abuse is devastating communities: 1.6 million women experience domestic abuse every year, though that’s only the tip of the iceberg, as so many women don’t report abuse due to fear or the worry they’ll be judged or not believed. With three women being killed a fortnight by a current or ex-partner, so much needs to change before women are safe.

SHEWISE are looking for London-based South Asian and Middle Eastern women (especially women from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Middle Eastern Countries) who have experienced or are survivors of domestic abuse.

If you would like to share your experience and your journey by taking part in the photo shoot then please contact us at: info@shewise.org or sayeeda@shewise.org.

If you have been affected by domestic violence, sharing your story can inspire someone who is going through something similar to get the help they need. Sharing your story can also help people who have not experienced domestic violence understand the importance of rallying for change and connecting with the cause.

The photos will be exhibited in some of the leading venues in London in the months of October and November 2023. 

Please note: all information shared would be confidential and individual identities are disguised. The idea is to show how women live with inseam Thousand cuts, subjected to years of abuse, and still manage to survive.

SHEWISE in collaboration with But Natural Photography will give you a copy of your professional photo as a way of thanking you for your participation. Please pass the attached information on to someone who may be interested in participating. 

Grant funding for Suicide Prevention VCSE Organisations

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has made available a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund to support suicide prevention activities delivered in England by non-profit organisations. The funding period is from financial year 2023 to 2024 to the end of the financial year 2024 to 2025.

The strategic objectives of the fund are:

• To support non-profit organisations to configure their suicide prevention services and activities to better meet the increased demand seen in recent years
• To support a range of diverse and innovative activity that can prevent suicides, both at a national and community level

This fund is open to non-profit organisations providing suicide prevention services, activities or interventions that meet the strategic objectives of the fund.

The activities being funded and undertaken using the grant should be non-economic activities, meaning that they are delivered to service users free of charge.

Click here to find out more and apply.