Our
11th Year
Anniversary - 10 years
of service!
This
November
will mark the
beginning of our 11th year
of service
to our ever widening
community of service users and others in North Essex.
Ten years of service provision has seen us grow from a tiny helpline
serving
only Mid Essex, to one which has for the last 6 years served all North
Essex and in the year
ending March 2007, received 12,460
calls.
NERIL
has
continued to grow annually
at the rate of approximately 10% increased call rate per annum - an
impressive
figure. Most importantly it has also continued to be accessed by new
callers
every week - something which is very indicative of its continuing
service
benefit to our Commissioners. The issue of mental health distress is of
enormous concern to all health purchasers as from everyday occurrences
of poor
physical health; job loss and work stress; personal and accident
trauma;
relationship breakdown; financial problems and bereavement, can follow
the
development of more serious mental health conditions and ongoing
enduring
mental health illness.
NERIL
provides an encompassing service ranging from people who may be facing
first emotional difficulties and require one off support, to
those who have developed long term mental health problems and may rely
on the helpline as a means of support, particularly out of hours.
Indeed, one of the great strengths of our project is that access is
available
16 hours daily and right through the night when other services are
generally not easily accessible. The local call no. is 0845
0900 909
In
the first quarter of the current year, April through June 2007, 7.5%
of all calls were from first time callers, 64% of callers were of
female gender, 82% of all calls were for listening ear/support, and 3%
required either crisis prevention or crisis intervention. The majority
of calls ( 64%) lasted 15 minutes or less with only 5% of all calls
lasting more than 30 minutes. As NERIL has become busier, it has become
increasingly important to manage call lengths efficiently. The busiest
hours are between 8pm and 11pm.
NERIL
relies on
a team of 24 workers
of which 15 are employed Helpline shift workers, an additional 5 are
volunteer
Helpline workers and 3 staff provide administration back-up. All staff
are very
part-time but training is ongoing and supervised by a dedicated
Training
Coordinator. In June 2006 we achieved the distinction of becoming one
of the 55
accredited Helplines by the National Mental Health Helplines
Partnership.
Vigour
and enthusiasm are still hallmarks of those working together to provide
NERIL
and all believe very strongly in the local benefit of a service which
becomes
familiar with many of its callers as this has the value added benefit
of providing
a very therapeutic response to people in extreme distress. The quality
of our
”third sector” professionalism is recognised by the
North Essex NHS Mental
Health Trust and not only is NERIL represented on the Steering Group of
its
Crisis Resolution Home Treatment meetings, but it is also written into
the
operational procedures of the CRHT that NERIL can refer a service user
directly
to them.
A
very Happy
Birthday to all those
who have helped to provide this service to thousands of callers over
the years. MSH
In
the words of
one caller….
“Without
the support of NERIL I know
I did not have a future, but with their support I am now able to sort
out my
mental health issues…..You are the only ones I trust. You
are my stars and heroes.
The workers are angels without whom I would not have got through the
past
year”.
