John Barnard, senior service manager at United Response, gives an overview of the different aspects of the charity’s mental health support.
United Response has been offering mental health support since 1997. Five years ago, we became part of Pathfinder, an alliance of ten organisations of third sector mental health providers and secondary care services in West Sussex, which ensures that people with mental health needs can find the right support.
HOUSE 48 is our mental health resource centre in Bognor Regis. It offers a single point of contact to support people with their mental health or to signpost them quickly to where they can get help. We are also able to refer people to Pathfinder clinicians for more complex cases.
At United Response, we offer support with stress, anxiety, sleep patterns, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, general wellbeing, panic attacks and low mood/depression. We also run self-care sessions, which provide tools and techniques to help people manage the emotions that are having a negative impact on their lives.
We receive on average 70 referrals for support each quarter and we actively support approximately 150 people at any one time. We offer group support too – from walking, emotional management and creative art, to twice monthly drop-ins at the local community church café, where we inform people about the support available in the local area. Our support is short-term and is usually completed in around 12 sessions.
Supported housing
We support 15 people in United Response-managed properties. This support is for people with severe and enduring mental health issues, who all generally have poor housing histories. The support we provide gives people the skills to manage their tenancies and to eventually move on into their own home.
We also offer floating housing support for people who could be at risk of losing their home, and we support people to maintain tenancies or find more suitable accommodation. People who come into our housing service could be with us from six months to five years, depending on the housing stock available and their place on the housing register.
This service is provided by two full-time and one part-time support worker and these are challenging roles that require good mediation skills.
Community support workers
Finally we have seven community support workers across West Sussex, who are placed in the NHS trust assessment and treatment service, and support patients with complex mental health issues. Their work ranges from supporting people to apply for benefits to helping them engage in social activities and manage their mental wellbeing.
United Response is a charity that supports people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs, at home and in the community.
If you are struggling with your mental health, you can find local sources of support on this website.
