Darlington Mind Ltd.

June 2011 Volume 4, Issue 2

With You In Mind!

Inside this issue:

Out of the Mouths of

Bairns 2

News from the

Volunteer Manager 2

News from Jan 2

Therapeutic Benefits

of Pottery and

Ceramics

3

News from the

Music & Dance 3

How To Say No 3

Housing &

Community Service

News

4

Hydration

Consternation! 4

Open Mind News 5

Brinkburn Nature

Reserve Review 5

Poetry Corner 5

Mr. Men Quiz! 5

Tech News 6

Horticulture Project

News 6

Highlights from the

Royal Visit 7

News from the Rural

Project 7

A Different

Perspective 7

Newsletter Feedback

Questionnaire 8

It is with some sadness that we inform you that this will be the last issue of With You In Mind in it’s current format.

The Newsletter has been successfully produced for the past three years with thanks to a number of staff members who have been instrumental in it’s design and distribution.

However, without the articles, poems, quizzes, recipes and all other manner of submissions from staff and service users alike, there would have been nothing to design or distribute! So we thank you too.

Be comforted that this is not the end of With You In Mind but only the end of this current paper-format. We hope to explore options which are more technologically advanced, such as using our brand-spanking-new website, to bring you information which is “live” and up to date.

Please take time to complete the questionnaire on the back page of this, our final issue, so that we can gain valuable feedback to influence how we proceed in the future.

Editors Blog

The next six months will be challenging

for Darlington Mind as we await the

outcome of the tender proposals we

have submitted to Darlington Borough

Council. Many of our core services will

have to change including our day

services for adults and older people as

well as some of our housing provision. I

will keep you updated on progress over

the coming months.

We have finally completed the purchase

of St Hilda's Hall and refurbishment

work will begin later this year. This will

involve the development our new Cafe,

training rooms, additional toilet facilities

and lots of upgrades within the building.

Darlington Mind is also looking at

developing a range of new services too

and applications are to be made to

charitable trusts and other funders.

Gary

From the CEO’s desk...

The answers to the Spring Quiz featured in the last issue were;

1. Who came up with the idea for Daylight Savings Time? Benjamin Franklin (USA) / William Willet (UK)

2. On average, how long to queen bees live? 1 – 4 years

3. Which butterfly travels the farthest to get home in Spring? Monarch butterflies

4. Which US city gets the most rain? Hilo, Hawaii

5. Besides flying, what else do baby birds learn early? To sing

6. Who first introduced the Easter Bunny to America? Germans

The winner with 5.5 / 6 correct was Denise. Well done!

Spring Quiz Answers

With You In Mind!

Page 2

I am so delighted that the number of service users wishing to get involved in the Recruitment & Selection of staff has increased and would like to encourage more service users to discuss with me what this involves. Or perhaps you would like to be more involved within our Committees; or Policy Review & Planning or with the Governance of the organisation but want to know more?

Well, why don’t you contact the Volunteer

Manager, Christine or me for an informal chat?

The Management & Housing Committee would happily take your views or ideas under consideration - so the next time you’re at a Consultation Meeting let us know your suggestions and we’ll make sure it goes to the next meeting and promise to report back to you.

Remember we encourage your ideas, compliments, complaints and suggestions to enable us to enhance our services as we wish them to continue to meet your needs and want to maintain and enhance the quality of the services we offer. So feel free to speak up at the meetings or put a suggestion into the various boxes around the site, write a letter or discuss your idea in private with a member of staff.

Many thanks to all service users, staff and volunteers who have offered to support the Fundraising Group.

Regards

Janet Rissetto, Operations Director & Deputy CEO

News from Jan...

Hello Everyone!

I would like to welcome all the new Volunteers that

have joined our team since our last newsletter.

Altogether there has been six new Volunteers who have

started; Carmel in Admin, Jennifer, Helen, Leanne and

Frances in Art & Creative Crafts and Lauren in MHSOP.

Four new Counsellors have also started - Carole,

Bernadine, Tracey and Janet. All the other new

volunteers are still going through the recruitment

process. We also have had four Social Work Students,

Holly, Kyla, Emma and Yasmin who you may have seen

helping out in various projects. Lyn is now finished but

has enjoyed her work experience with us and has been

a great help. Lyn is going to come back as a volunteer,

which is great. I would also like to thank all of our

existing Volunteers for all the fabulous work they

continue to do for the organisation. It is very much

appreciated by everyone. The Fundraising Group has

met a couple of times and is getting established. I have

had a good response from volunteers who would like to

help out at events but not necessarily want to attend

the Fundraising group, which is really good.

Christine Thompson, Volunteer Manager

News from the Volunteer Manager

John’s brother, Ralph, got lost in Whitley Bay when he was about 6

years old. Ralph’s family went to the police station to collect him.

The police had asked Ralph where he lived and he said next to Mrs

Dunn’s coal house!

Mr pregnant sister was telling her young son that a baby would be

coming to stay. He looked a little concerned then asked “what do

I do if you’re not in when it arrives?!”

Having just discovered the delights of ice-cubes in her drinks, my

four year old granddaughter suddenly noticed they had disappeared

while eating her dinner. Surprised, she exclaimed, “Whose stolen

my ice-cubes?!”

A young child asked their grandma about grandfather clocks. They

said if you get a cuckoo coming out of a cuckoo clock shouldn’t

you get a grandfather popping out of a grandfather clock!”

I sometimes use a hairnet and one evening when my young grand-

son was visiting us he stared hard and long at my head. Then he

said “Gosh Nanny, that must have

been a whopping big spider to have

made that!”

Out of the Mouths of Bairns by MHSOP

Volume 4, Issue 2

Page 3

It is with great pleasure that I can announce the new Assertiveness and Confidence Building Course started on Friday 13th May. The course has attracted a lot of interest and was oversubscribed. The course is four weeks long and each session is approximately 2 hours long (not including a break). For those of you who were unable to attend the course or who missed out on a place this time around here’s something for you to have a look at, how to say NO!

Claire Atkinson - Group Work Facilitator

New to Darlington Mind

The Assertiveness and Confidence Building Short Course

The Saying “No” Chart

The Music and Dance

Project sessions are

continuing to develop and

grow. The song writing

group is now running at

seven to eight original

songs and recording is

progressing steadily – the

plan is to make an album

of members’ work. Musical

styles are diverse, and

several group members are

now writing their own

music tunes and guitar

chords to the songs in

addition to scoring the

arrangements on paper. I

am continually astonished

by the quality of the work

being brought to the

session and I invite anyone

to come to the sessions to

hear the work being

produced.

The MHSOP reminiscence

sessions are now re-

established on a rota

between Tuesdays and

Wednesdays. Content still

includes singing and music

quizzes and work as well

as ever.

The guitar group now has

a group of three and one

individual lesson with

another in the planning

s t ag es . Cu r r i c u l u m

includes chords and

strumming patterns for

well known songs.

Music appreciation is also

evolving and becoming

well attended. We have run

several sessions on specific

music themes such as

music from TV adverts and

original versions of well

known songs which is

adding a new dimension to

this group.

Zumba is still up and

running, with a dedicated

group attending the

Dolphin Centre for the

Wednesday sessions on a

weekly basis. New dance

sessions at the YMCA are

in the planning stages and

it is hoped that these

sessions will run on a

Tuesday afternoon once

plans are finalised.

Any thoughts or ideas on

new sessions or new

members are welcome. Just

contact Andy on the main

switchboard.

With the ceramic six week course well underway with marvellous results, being highly enjoyable it has had the healing benefits throughout, giving clients the opportunity to express themselves creatively.

Pottery provides the creative outlet for pent up emotions and feelings that can’t be expressed verbally, promotes the use of care and attention to detail to create a final product.

The art room produces a relaxing non-threatening environment which helps reduce blood pressure and slow the heart rate to promote a sense of calmness encouraging creative

energy.

The act of moulding and sculpting clay and the concentration required to create pottery provides a distraction from issues, thoughts and activities that may otherwise play on the mind.

It also helps to maintain cognitive, emotional, social and physical fitness. For clients who have arthritic hands, working with clay can be therapeutic, helping to reduce pain and tension. Whilst increasing hand-eye coord inat ion and concentration.

Shirley Hayes

News from the Music and Dance Project

The Therapeutic Benefits of Pottery and Ceramics

Page 4

With You In Mind!

As warmer weather appears to be on the horizon - at last!

- I thought it would be interesting to put together some

facts about hydration for TAP members who wonder why

I keep reminding them to bring a drink to sessions – please

read on for some information which should explain why.

It might surprise you to know that when you exercise you

can lose up to 500ml of fluid in just half an hour – that’s

nearly as much liquid as you get in a pint of milk. You mainly lose this

through sweating and in the air that you breathe out. If you don’t

keep your fluid levels topped up, you will quickly become dehydrated,

which can affect your health and performance.

Making sure you’re well hydrated before exercising is very

important, especially if you’re in a warm environment. If you’re

dehydrated before you even start, your core temperature will rise

faster and your heart will have to work harder than usual. This can

have a negative effect on your performance and can even lead to

serious conditions such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

If you’re dehydrated by just two percent it can have a negative effect

on your performance so it’s important to keep your fluids topped up.

If you’re exercising for less than an hour, cool water is probably the

best drink to keep you hydrated.

It’s important that you don’t wait until you feel thirsty before you

drink – by then, it’s too late and you will already be dehydrated.

Once all the hard work is over, you’ll no doubt be ready for

something to drink. Not only will this be refreshing, but it’s important

to restore your fluid levels to normal as this helps your muscles to

recover.

Although you may be so parched during and after exercise

that you feel you could drink gallons of water, it’s

important to bear in mind that drinking too much can be

harmful and could cause a condition called hyponatremia.

This is where excess water dilutes the salts in your body

and your cells swell up, which can cause a number of

health problems.

The array of different sports drinks can be overwhelming and you

could be forgiven for not knowing which to choose or whether they

really offer any benefit. These drinks not only replace lost fluid but

they also contain carbohydrates and electrolytes (sodium, potassium,

magnesium and chloride). These provide fuel for workouts, help to

keep you hydrated and simply make the drink taste better. There are

three main types of sports drinks – hypotonic, isotonic and

hypertonic.

Hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic – what’s the difference?

Hypotonic drinks are low in carbohydrates (less than 4g per 100ml)

and are designed to replace the fluids you lose during exercise.

Isotonic drinks contain a moderate amount of carbohydrate (4 to 8g

per 100ml) and as well as helping to replace fluid, they will also go

some way towards replenishing your body’s carbohydrate stores.

This is important if you’re exercising for more than an hour.

Hypertonic fluids have a high concentration of carbohydrate (over

8g per 100ml). This means your body absorbs them more slowly than

plain water but it will give you a real boost with refuelling.

Darran TAP Co-Ordinator

Hydration Consternation!

The long awaited Royal Visit took place

in April with Prince Edward visiting the

site to officially open the refurbished

Supported Living project - a mere year

after it reopened!

The Prince toured the building and one

resident was lucky enough to show the

Prince around his room (we hope he

hovered that day!). The Prince took time

to speak to the other residents who were

socialising in the Kitchen and Lounge

areas at the time. All of the residents

were pleased at how pleasant and

sociable the Prince was and thoroughly

enjoyed the day.

We have welcomed two new residents

to the Supported Living project recently

and are doing our best to get them both

settled in. We have another couple of

residents on the move soon so two more

new faces will be arriving in the next

month or so. Moving home can be

stressful for anyone and coming to a new

environment even more so. We ask that

everyone can be as welcoming as

possible to our newbies

We have recently been piloting Housing

Advice Sessions, open to all service users

of Darlington Mind. These have proved

not to be as popular as hoped and this

pilot has now ended. If need for this

service increases, it is something we can

look at again in the future.

Otherwise, the Housing & Community

service continues as usual with the

Games Club taking part on Friday

afternoons from 3.00pm in the Open

Mind Studio and the Cookery Club being

held every Wednesday from 1.30pm in

the Communal Kitchen.

Housing & Community Service News

Page 5

Volume 4, Issue 2

Inspired by the birthday of Roger Hargreaves, author of the Mr. Men books, in May, I thought I would test your knowledge on the cute little

characters to see if you know who they all are! Write the name of each Mr. Men character underneath each picture and submit your entry to

Reception by the 29th July 2011 to be in with the chance of winning a £10.00 voucher!

.................................... ..................................... ..................................... ........................................................... .......................................................

.................................... ..................................... ..................................... ........................................................... .......................................................

Mr. Men Quiz!

Haiku Poems from

Paul

The Beach

Pebbles on a beach,

Breeze ripples over the

dunes,

Fresh air heals the mind.

The Crab

The crab lies at home.

Within his shell he rests

alone,

Amongst the seaweed.

Reeds

Reeds and weeds swaying.

Amongst the clean fresh

water,

Pebbles and stones lie.

The Jumper by Peter

The man walks to the

rails, rope attached.

Trembling with fear he

makes his move.

He looks at the water.

It’s very cold.

He falls

Missing the water.

Congratulations he

receives with pride.

He collects his trophy and

goes for a ride.

Returning to base he tells

of his achievement,

Then walks home calmly,

his award in his hand.

He gets home to the

sound of a brass band.

Poetry Corner Open Mind News

Summer is here! In Open

Mind we have a full

programme of activities

available to suit all tastes.

Our gardening project is up

and running, with service

users working at the new

allotment and St. Hilda’s garden is looking good.

Mini-bus trips are monthly; please give staff your

suggestions for new destinations.

During late March and early April I had a number of visits to the area to see what kind of wildlife I can locate on my door step. I came across the following; Sparrow Hark, Collar Doves, Blue Tits,

Great Tits, Crows, Blackhead Gulls, Wood Pigeons, House Sparrows, Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Robins, Green Finches, Coal Tits, Black Birds, Bull Finches, Goldfinches and a pair of Long Tail Tits.

Sometimes there are many birds around the area. As for a nature reserve goes it’s not the best due to the lack of management and

dedication to caring for it. I give it a mark of 3 out of 10.

Brinkburn Nature Reserve Review by Simon

Page 6

With You In Mind!

Tech News

How many

of you out

there want to get yourselves

online and using the internet?

We have just recently entered

i n t o p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h

eVOLution, a charity based on

the town, and UK online

centres, to begin delivery of

their Online Basics course.

This exciting opportunity will

allow you to spend just under a

few hours covering the main

skills required to use

computers with the ultimate

goal of the scheme to encourage

people to get online and use

the internet. It is ideal for

anyone who has no prior

experience with computers, or

even those who just want a

refresher on the fundamentals.

It is available to anyone with

an interest in learning how to

use computers and the internet,

opening up for them the

exciting modern world of

digital communication.

With our mobile

devices course

in full swing we

thought it would be a good

opportunity to bring attention

to the newest iteration of the

operating system for Windows

Phones, version 7. Aimed at the

consumer market, Windows Phone

7 offers a tile-based interface

that allows applications to be

organised on-screen much like a

desktop on a regular computer.

Integration with social

networking sites such as

Facebook and Windows Live is

available. Microsoft Office

documents can also be viewed on

any devices running the

operating system if the

Microsoft Office Mobile

software is installed. A

multitude of devices and

s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r s a r e

associated with Windows Phone 7

allowing for flexibility when

choosing what phone you want.

In computer

gaming, one of

t h e m o s t

i n t e r e s t i n g

innovations recently has been

the Xbox 360’s Kinect. This

extraordinary piece of hardware

uses an infrared grid to

calculate the depth of objects

i.e. how far away they are.

Using this it is capable of

taking movements of the body

and transferring it into an

input much like a controller.

It can also use this

information for facial

recognition and tracking. Even

the environment is taken into

account with the Kinect capable

of adjusting itself based on

obstacles such as furniture or

walls when in use. Games

produced for the device involve

using your whole body to

control the action on-screen,

making for a physically

demanding but enjoyable

experience.

From everyone here at the ICT Project we hope you have a lovely spring and summer!

The Horticulture Project has made progress with the first users

attending the first Health and Safety Awareness session on 18th April.

I was then able to encourage users to volunteer to help with the

necessary site works that were needed.

To enable works to begin on site the Project needed to source a

temporary solution for toilet access on site and Nixon’s Hire

provided us with a competitive quote for this service, until the

composting toilet is installed.

On the 3rd & 4th May good progress was again made by all, with

users turning over the large site, removing large amounts of debris,

glass, plastic and assorted rubbish and preparing it for the soil

delivery the following day. Day two was again a hard physical day,

beginning with more rubbish removal, the spreading of organic

manure, then users helped to distribute the 20 tonnes of topsoil

across the site which was delivered by PD Aggregates, who were able

to provide us with an exceptionally competitive quote for the top soil

They were prepared to do this based on their understanding of

Darlington Mind’s valuable work and personal experience.

Work has started on the installation of the composting toilet on the

9th May and will hopefully be concluded by the end of the week all

being well. GroundWork have also made further progress to the site

with groups of young people helping to lay pathways, building more

raised beds and we hope that in the near future the covering of the

Poly Tunnel ready for use.

The site has been transformed, all made possible by the hard

work of its first users.

Kath

Horticulture Project News

Page 7

Volume 4, Issue 2

Hi I am Emma a 1st year student, and I am currently on my thirty day placement at Darlington Mind. I had the

pleasure to be involved in the Royal Visit for the official opening of the supported accommodation, and what a

brilliant day it was, everybody that I spoke to thoroughly enjoyed it.

The day was not just about HRH Prince Edward, it was also about all the hard work that the staff, volunteers and

service users do. This was shown by certificates and awards that he gave out which I thought was really great. It

was really good to see that all the hard work that everyone had done had being recognised.

I had only being on placement for two days when this happened but the main thing that shone through on this

day and every day since is how important Darlington Mind is to the community and how devoted all staff and

volunteers are. This shines through the service users that are involved in services in Darlington Mind.

A Different Perspective

During the week commencing 14th of

March, the project and its users

enjoyed a week of festivities as we

took part in the TAP Project

celebration week. This week contained

sessions in the following areas; Arts &

Crafts, Dancing, Self Defence and

Complementary Therapies.

One of the major highlights was when

the project made use of our minibus to

take service users from our project and

the TAP Project up to Northumberland

for the day. Service users were able to

walk alongside one of Britain’s most

historic landmarks, Hadrian’s Wall.

Halfway through our walk, whilst

taking in the picturesque scenery we

stopped and had a picnic.

To complement this walk we also

provided a coastal walk, where service

users from both projects enjoyed a

short walk by the sea and a fish & chip

dinner at Whitley Bay.

The week long activities concluded

with a party at the Clifton Centre

where service users enjoyed a buffet.

News from the Rural Project

We are pleased to share with our readers a few highlights of our recent Royal Visit.

If you would like copies of any of the 90 photographs taken on the day, please speak

to a member of staff who will be able to arrange this for you. There will be a small

surcharge of £1.00 per photograph to cover printing costs.

Highlights from the Royal Visit

St. Hilda’s House

11 Borough Road

Darlington

DL1 1SQ

01325 283 169

01325 285 332

www.darlingtonmind.org.uk

Regd. Charity No: 1093140

Company Limited by Guarantee

Darlington Mind Ltd.

Darlington Mind

Darlington Mind is a

registered charity supporting

people with mental health

issues in Darlington. If you

would like to make a

donation toward our work,

please make cheques payable

to ’Darlington Mind Ltd’ and

send to the address above.

If you would like to arrange a

fundraising event in aid of

Darlington Mind then please

contact either Janet or

Christine for help and advice.

Thanks for your support!

Hello to all Newsletter readers!

We would like to appeal to all readers of ‘With You In Mind’ for your thoughts on the Newsletter and

how it may be improved. We would much appreciate if you take the time to complete this short

questionnaire so that we can aim to consider and implement your views.

Once completed, please return this sheet to a member of Reception staff. Thank you.

Q1. How regularly do you read With You In Mind?

Every issue (4 issues a year) Most issues (2/3 issues a year) Rarely (1 issue a year)

Q2. What would you like to see in the Newsletter which would encourage you to read every issue?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Q3. Which aspects of the Newsletter do you like the most? i.e. articles / poems / quizzes / news / recipes etc.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Q4. Which aspects of the Newsletter do you like the least? i.e. articles / poems / quizzes / news / recipes etc.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Q5. Do you think there are enough contributions from service users?

Yes No

If you answered No, what contributions would you like to see from service users?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Q6. Do you like the format of the Newsletter? i.e. in A4 booklet format, blue paper, the font size and style etc.

Yes No

If you answered No, what changes would you make to improve the format?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Q7. Do you have access to the Internet? At home, at a local facility such as the Library or at Darlington Mind

Yes No

Q8. What do you think of the frequency of the Newsletter? (released every three months)

About right Too often Not often enough

Q9. Do you have any further suggestions on how we could improve the Newsletter in it’s current

format, or how we could better get news about our project to you?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

And finally…

Q10. Would you like to be involved in the production of the Newsletter?

Yes No

If you answered Yes, which aspects would you be interested in being involved in?

Writing articles Submitting poems/art/quizzes Helping to design the Newsletter

Other Please state: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Also if you answered Yes, please leave your details below so that a member of the Editorial team can

get in touch with you.

N a m e : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Contact Telephone Number: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Address: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

Newsletter Feedback Questionnaire