Leeds Dads
Leeds Dads is a voluntary organisation that brings together a diverse community of fathers for social interaction and support.
To find out more, visit Leeds Dads
MindWell: Connect with others
For Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) 2022, we ran a Connect More campaign. The national theme for MHAW was loneliness and the Mental Health Foundation asked people to share their own experiences on social media with the hashtag #IveBeenThere. They also have resources, reports and blogs about loneliness, how it can affect mental health and how to take practical steps to address it.
Our Connect More themes and resources
We created MindWell resources that are perfect to use if you want to support your mental health by having more connections with other people. You could start with our Connect More planner and then use our daily themes and resources for a week.
To see the Connect More Planner, click here
What is Loneliness?
Feeling lonely and lacking social connections can happen to anyone of any age.
Loneliness is when someone lacks having enough social contact or close and meaningful relationships with other people. The charity Mind compares feeling lonely to feeling hungry. Just as feeling hungry tells your body you need food, loneliness is a way of your body telling you that you need more social contact.
The pandemic has been a very difficult time when many of us have been physically separated from our family and friends or the people who support us. People are, by nature, social creatures so lacking enough social connection or friendship can have a huge impact on our mental wellbeing.
We might feel that we have no one to talk to or get support from. It can be harder to go out or enjoy activities if we’re lonely and we could feel like there is nothing to look forward to. Even if we’re surrounded by people, we still need meaningful connections to feel that someone cares how we are.
It’s important that everyone finds ways to feel connected to other people. Whether that’s by keeping in contact with family, friends or neighbours; becoming part of a social group or network; or through volunteering.
How can I feel less lonely?
We’re often told that the antidote to loneliness is to join a class or club, or become a volunteer. These are all good ideas, but if we feel low or anxious, it can be difficult to go to a new activity or meet new people.
If you’re struggling with how you feel or even feel ashamed or fearful about contacting people or making new friends, you might find it helpful to talk to your GP or look other for support in Leeds.
Joining a peer support group can also be a good way to connect with people and there are several organisations running groups across Leeds. Some focus on an issue like anxiety or depression, while others might be for a specific group of people, such as women, unpaid carers or people who are transsexual. Peer support brings together people with similar experiences so that they can help, encourage and support each other. There are regular monthly or weekly groups and online services available.
If we’re experiencing feelings of loneliness, we can sometimes find it hard to reach out and connect with others. We might think other people won’t be interested in being our friend or socialising with us. We may believe that existing friends or family won’t be care that we’re struggling with how we feel. Our Connect More resources are designed to help you take small steps, so why not pick 1-2 actions to try?
To see local and national groups and services, click here.
Rugby League Cares – Off Load
Movers and Shakers - Touchstone
Coordinated by local charity Touchstone, the Mover&Shakers project aims to harness people-power to help make Leeds the most active city in the UK.
Mover&Shakers supported people to use their ideas, and their networks, to encourage others in Leeds to move more and be active. volunteer support and a welcome pack with information and goodies
Money and Me - Leeds Mind
Poor mental health can make earning and managing money harder. And worrying about money can make your mental health worse.
That’s why Money & Me is designed to support both your mental and financial wellbeing.
It involves up to eight support sessions with a navigator to help understand and improve your money management, to better protect your mental wellbeing.
To read more visit Leeds Mind, money and me.
Leeds Mindful Befriending
Leeds Mindful Befriending works with people over 50 in and around Leeds, who may be struggling with loneliness or social isolation.
We offer one-to-one befriending partnerships with a like-minded befriending volunteer. With your befriender, you can share what’s on your mind, or just enjoy having a chat
To read more visit Leeds Mind, befriending service.
Leeds Older People's Forum - Shine a light on Loneliness
Using a ‘test and learn’ approach, the Time to Shine programme aimed to find out how we can reduce loneliness and social isolation amongst older people in Leeds. We encouraged all our delivery partners to try new things and question whether they work or not, with the ultimate goal of using our collective findings to improve things for older people and help them feel much more connected.
Our key learning can be grouped as follows –
Co-production. Authentic and genuine co-production results in effective and successful projects and activities.
Strong and equal partnerships. Strong and equal partnerships create great outcomes for all.
Flexible projects. One size doesn’t fit all. Projects need to be flexible in their design and approach.
Person-centred. Recognises that everyone has something to offer and understands that seldom heard groups may need additional support.
Trusted relationships. Projects which successfully achieved their outcomes developed trusting relationships between staff, volunteers and participants.
Friendship. Successful projects encouraged and fostered true friendship outside of the initial activity.
Digital technology. Many organisations used digital technology to help older people stay connected, active, and engaged.
Covid-19 crisis. Identifying the challenges of the crisis, and capturing the opportunities for learning.
The Time to Shine programme, which ended in March 2022, encompassed over 100 indivudual projects and campaigns
Leeds Older People's Forum - Travel Connections
Leeds Older People’s Forum is leading Travel Connections, exploring how to improve transport options for older people. The programme has been awarded a grant through the Department for Transport’s ‘Tackling loneliness with transport’ fund.
The project come under five themes:
- Buses
- Taxis
- Active Travel
- Community Transport
- Travel Conversations
To read and find out more, visit Opforum, travel connections
Yorkshire Dance - In Mature Company
Project working in care homes focusing on older people living with Dementia. Developing movement and dance co-produced sessions to create connection.
Leeds Bereavement Forum’s Peer Bereavement Group Training for Older People’s Organisations |September 2020-22
Deaf EXperience Limited (DEX)
Deaf Experience is a charity that supports deaf young people across Yorkshire to meet other deaf young people and to share their experiences. We welcome young people with any level of deafness and all communications methods.
We run two groups, one for deaf young people aged 11-17 and another for those aged 17-30. Each group has regular FREE events and activities where deaf young people can socialise, learn something new and have fun. We know deaf young people are often isolated from their peers due to communication barriers and therefore experience loneliness. Our groups are designed to combat this and to help the young people to grow in confidence.
You can find out more about us on our website here: Deaf EXperience. Supporting young deaf people in Yorkshire. (dex.org.uk)
