Local mental health charity,
Maldon (Essex) Mind, regrets to have to confirm that one of its oldest
Projects, Blackwater Task Force (recently renamed STEPS), will close at
the end of July.
Blackwater Task Force (BTF) has been based at
the Knightswood site at Southminster for the last 12 years. It
started life in 1984 as a small outreach gardening and clearance
scheme, working from St. Giles Crescent in Maldon. It developed as a
diverse and active sheltered employment project, probably best known
for its furniture recycling and horticulture schemes, providing
opportunities for people with mental health problems to learn new
skills. Linda Allen, Chief Officer of Maldon Mind said today
“We
have been working hard for some time to try to find ways of remodelling
our provision to fit in with the new ways in which these types of
services are now being funded. Last year we invited a new project
manager with a background in employment services to help us with this.
In April, we introduced the name STEPs, (Supported Training and
Employment Programmes) to reflect the way in which our work was
becoming integrated with local colleges, and we hoped that we would be
able to make the project viable under the new funding arrangements.
Sadly, the various different contracts and agreements that could fund
our services have been placed with larger providers, and the
sub-contracting arrangements that are available to us will not give us
sufficient funding security to carry on. No one could have worked
harder than the staff and volunteers at STEPS to keep this special
service going in these difficult conditions, and I would like to thank
all at the project for their efforts over the years. “
Stephanie Troop, a Trustee of Maldon Mind commented
“It
is a great shame that we have to close one of our long-standing
projects. We have been struggling to find enough money to run it for
some time now. In common with other similar charity schemes in Essex,
we have had to withdraw from this type of service and allow provision
to be taken up by mainstream Employment and Training providers. This
fits in with the Government’s strategy of moving mental health
employment into the wider world of training and employment, and away
from health and social care.
“Maldon (Essex) Mind will continue
to work for better mental health in the community through its nine
other successful projects in Maldon District and further afield in the
county. These include NERIL- the telephone help-line which operates
throughout North Essex, CRESS -our carers’ relief Project across Mid
Essex, MAPME – our advocacy service, and BroSis, a young persons’
mentoring scheme in conjunction with local schools and services in the
Maldon district. We are proud of our achievements and we hope to
continue with these successful projects and to develop new services as
needs in the community are identified.
I must, however, sound a
note of caution. Central Government is making sweeping changes in the
types of services thought desirable and the ways in which they are
being funded. This process is putting at risk other well-established
and successful projects and many small and medium-sized providers such
as Maldon (Essex) Mind are struggling to meet the demands of this
change process. ”
Maldon (Essex) Mind, Villa 1, St. Peter’s Hospital, Maldon CM9 6EG. 01621 853211
BLACKWATER TASK FORCE - ANNUAL REVIEW 2007
This
has been a
year of huge change
for BTF because of the national changes happening in Employment
strategy for
people with mental health needs. Research has shown that people who
lose their
jobs through mental illness or are unable to sustain employment because
of
long-term conditions are less likely to get work in the future. BTF has
been a
successful sheltered Employment Project but in order to survive and
respond to
these changing needs it will have to develop an entirely new way of
working.
The
following
report has been
written by Lesley Bailey the Development Manager for the Blackwater
Task Force
(BTF).
“I
was appointed on the 1st July and my contract
will align with our core funding from Mental Health
Commissioning which has been extended to the 31st
March
2008 and the likely future funding period of ESF (European Social
Fund). My role
is to develop a Business Plan that will suit the project for future
funding
applications. The reasons for my appointment is that whilst Linda Allen
(Chief
Officer) has the strategic responsibility for BTF and Josie Mitchell
(Project Coordinator)
has had all the operational responsibilities of the project it has been
impossible for them to devote the time needed to become experts in the
way
employment legislation and funding initiatives will be implemented in
the
future. My background is very much about employment, social enterprises
and
supporting people with mental health needs to be able to progress
through
learning and training to improve their employment opportunities.
Clearly
it is now a time for change in regards to the
future vision of BTF, as future funding streams are focusing on
qualifications
and apprenticeships, the way forward for BTF is to be an established
educational and training centre of excellence. Predominately the
project has
worked with people who are experiencing mental health problems and this
will
continue, as well as supporting others who are disadvantaged through
disabilities or poor health to ensure that they are not
socially/economically
isolated.
The
project will be able to provide supported work
placements from the age of 16 through various programmes in Cookery,
Gardening
and Computer skills. These programmes will also have embedded skills
for life
(literacy and numeracy). There will also be other programmes to build
their
confidence and self-esteem through Personal Development and Work
Preparation.
The Project also needs to work towards sustaining itself. By building
upon the
work Josie and Julie and the team at BTF have established, the Project
will
focus on its assets and grow through them to become an established
social
enterprise working for the community. These changes are slowly taking
effect
with the introduction of the National Open College Network (NOCN),
which
provides qualifications at Entry 3 and Level 1, nationally recognised
under the
National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Framework.
The
team at BTF is becoming stronger everyday with
new volunteers recruited and students enrolled. BTF is going through
its
biggest challenge of survival, and we all hope that this time next year
the
Project will have acquired new funding and contracts, and will become a
focal
point for the community.”
