Press Release
10th October 2008
A class act: How a flexible approach to training is turning around lives of people with mental health needs
For people with mental health needs, one of the hardest parts of recovery can often be reintegrating back into everyday life. A lack of confidence and fear of not being able to cope can make it difficult to regain independence, but Winfield, a Kent-based IT training specialist is working to change all that. Run by the learning disability and mental health charity United Response, Winfield acts as a lifeline to nearly 300 people a year, offering them the individualised and flexible training they need to gain new skills and rebuild their lives.
Operating out of three centres in Chatham, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone, Winfield trains up to 200 people a week in industry standard software including desktop publishing, Excel, Word and PowerPoint and has an acclaimed 85% pass rate.
Service Manager, Nigel Southall, explains Winfield's unique approach to training.
"For someone with a mental health need, undertaking an IT course through the normal route of college could be out of the question. A mainstream course would involve intensive study over a shorter period of time. The pressure to avoid missing lessons would be intense and there would be no flexibility over course dates, which would not help someone who has just been discharged from hospital who needs help immediately. We are open five days a week and give people a minimum 120 hours to complete their course in a one-to-one, quiet environment."
Terry explains the difference Winfield's flexible approach made to his ability to complete the training. He said:
"I found it a great benefit to be able to do each course at a rate that was suitable for me and how my depression was on any particular day. I could not have managed to do any course successfully if I had to fit my learning into a fixed time period."
But Winfield is about more than just IT training. Nigel Southall said:
"The students we teach each come here for their own reasons. For some, it's about getting a qualification so they can get a job. Others, like the routine and structure we provide, and importantly, the companionship and understanding which they may find lacking in other areas of their lives."
Eddie* came into contact with Winfield in 2007, after having being unemployed for two years due to anxiety and depression.
Eddie said:
"My self-esteem was at rock bottom and after being put on anti-depressants and receiving counselling for a year I was making little improvement. I'd always worked and worried that I wouldn't again.
"My psychiatrist suggested that I should contact Winfield with the sole purpose of meeting and interacting with people again. The chance to study again was attractive but really a bonus.
"I started on one day a week and am now attending two days. The difference it has made to my life is unbelievable. No one can really appreciate what it is like for someone to say "well done" to you at the end of a piece of work; something that I hadn't heard for years.
"Obviously at first I was anxious, but I am now confident enough that I have started to look for part time work again. My illness has greatly improved and what is more I have some certificates to show for my time in recovery.
"I shall always be grateful to Winfield."
Winfield offers IT training to people with mental health needs across North and West Kent. To find out more contact Sandra Hall on 01634 848886.
* Some names have been changed.
Ends
For more information, please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237 or 020 8246 5122 or emailsarah.bartlett@unitedresponse.org.uk or jaime.gill@unitedresponse.org.uk
Note to editors:
United Response is a national charity that works with people with learning disabilities or mental health needs - including some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
We provide everything from 24 hour care to a few hours of support a week. United Response is community based, working in many localities across England and Wales.
Our mission is to support people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to take control of their lives. We design our care and support around each person and work with them to achieve real inclusion, independence and citizenship for all. We support people across the whole spectrum of learning disability and mental health and have developed a range of specialisms in working with people with the most complex needs, particularly person-centred active support.
We are working towards a society where people with learning disabilities or mental health needs are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
We have won several awards for our pioneering work and for being a top employer. In 2007 alone, we were highly commended by the Charity Awards for our "Good To Great" approach to providing support, while the Charity Times named us one of the best six charities to work for in the UK. We are experts in the development of accessible communications.
United Response was founded in 1973 by chief executive Su Sayer. We are a top 100 charity, supporting more than 1,500 people throughout the UK at any one time and employing more than 2,000 staff.