1st June to 7th June marks Volunteers’ Week. Our volunteer’s are very special to us so we thought now would be a good time to celebrate our very own Wendy, who back in November 2019 won VAI’s (Voluntary Action Islington) Volunteer of the Year in the 60+ category for her work with the Stress Project.

Wendy has volunteered for the Stress Project for 12 years as a mental health champion, therapist and communications and PR officer. She brings a combination of skills in business & therapy and personal experience of disability and depression.

Wendy’s journey with the Stress Project goes back even further. At first she was a service user accessing courses of low-cost Acupuncture. This inspired Wendy to train as an Indian Head Massage and Massage therapist and become a volunteer with us at the weekly drop-in - and later as part of our outreach scheme at the Mayton Street festival, Manor Gardens, Centre 404 & at the Arsenal Foundation’s Inclusion days for disabled Children.

Wendy’s therapeutic approach is about ‘giving with an open ear’, and in her own words; “I get energy by sharing, and I love the feeling of making people feel better, you can see it in their face almost immediately.”

In 2013, she was funded for 6 months by Vodafone World of Difference - who donated to Holloway Neighbourhood Group the same amount as she was paid – to work in a part-time capacity to improve our referrer network. This is work she continues to this day, being a superb ambassador while representing us at various network meetings such as with The Finsbury Park Women’s network, encourage disadvantaged women to develop their own businesses and engage in training opportunities such as sewing and dressmaking.

Although dealing with her own health issues and managing pain and disability, she has always supported us. Commuting is becoming extremely difficult for her and she has done remarkably well over the years.  We’ve benefited greatly from Wendy’s skill, knowledge and the links she has developed with partnership organisations within the community – the contribution is invaluable to us and also to her own physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Our volunteers are the backbone and heart of our organisation and Wendy is an exemplary example of this. We are all so proud of her achievements – the fact that she won the award doesn’t change that.  Thank you Wendy and congratulations.

To find out about volunteers week please visit: https://volunteersweek.org

​Daniel 

During these difficult and unknown times we all find ourselves in I have been somewhat frustrated.  Due to my own long-term health conditions I was placed in the Government’s ‘shielded’ group, so I’ve been isolating and have not been out since the middle of March. The frustration was partly that I couldn’t register in the call out for NHS volunteers. However, I was able to help one person - an ex-neighbour and friend who is in her 80’s and sadly has serious chronic conditions.

I registered her with the Government’s & Islington Council’s schemes for vulnerable shielded people. Eventually, she started receiving a weekly parcel of dry and tinned food. However, it took a couple of weeks, and prior to that Islington Council put me in touch with a community group who could help.

At the community group, I spoke with a friendly sounding young lady, and explained my friend was very low on food. She managed to get, and safely deliver, all the food items we had agreed upon, with just one substitution.

A few weeks later, I asked her to get another few items - my friend needed some fresh veg and a couple of treats as was feeling very down. She again managed to get it all. When she rung me to say job done, she told me she had then gone to a nearby shop a second time as she thought that magazines would cheer up my friend. Could I call my friend and ask her to come down to her front door again as she had left a couple of them in ‘our delivery place’?

I am very grateful to this wonderful volunteer who was prepared to go to numerous places for the right things. She was already a star in my eyes, but to think of something extra, and then go and get magazines after delivering the food was an amazing act of kindness, which I will not forget. They certainly gave my friend a boost.

There really are some wonderful people in our community - one of the reasons I love Islington!
Take care and hope to see you all soon.

Wendy – HNG Marketing volunteer

Sometimes in life we get so caught up in our own thoughts that we forget that others may not see the same things we do or have the same beliefs and morals. This lockdown has shown me that we all deal with things differently, at different times and even if the world is going through something as a whole, we all react differently.

Because of this, instead of just assuming what someone may need or want it’s important to simply ask. When I get into conversations with people this week as part of our In-Touch service I will, of course, ask how they are and how they are coping. However, I will also ask what it is they think they need, or would like, to make things a bit brighter and to help them feel happier and more comfortable.

This is something I feel we all could do, it costs nothing. It will also give you an insight to someone else’s outlook on life and allow you to reflect on your own.

Stay safe, stay at home and be happy.​

Sahir – Older Men’s Project Worker

This week is also Creativity and Wellbeing Week and I am always inspired by the kindness and understanding shown by our wonderful Art for Wellbeing tutors James and Oriana, who encourage kindness and understanding between students and also remind students to remember to be kind to themselves. The result is that these classes have become safe places for anyone however experienced or inexperienced to safely explore their creativity in a supportive and positive environment.

One of the ways to be kind to yourself whilst being creative is to notice the positives of your act of creativity. So - maybe your self-portrait’s a bit of a monster at the moment but hey – you had fun making it and the eyes look really good!

My pledge this week is to make sure I print and post a copy of an old family photo that I know one of my elderly relatives would very much like to have.

Antoinette

Today, Monday 18th May, marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. The theme this year is Kindness. I’d like to take this chance to share an act of kindness I’ve experienced at HNG and make a pledge to do something kind for someone this week. To steal a line from someone else ‘every little helps’.

It was early in my time at HNG and it was a very hot day during July. The sun was beating though all the glass windows of the Old Fire Station’s reception, which I had been left to cover (we were short staffed at the time as one member of staff had ‘selfishly…’ broken their ankle). It was a very busy day with lots of people coming in and out of the Centre – and it also was the day when new phone lines, phones & broadband were being installed in the building. 

At one specific moment an exercise class was about to start, so lots of people were asking me questions at the same time. The telephone engineer was waiting to talk to me – and the phone was ringing – also a volunteer was trying to ask me some questions. I slightly snapped at the volunteer and said something like, “I can’t deal with your question right now I’m having a very stressful time and it’s also my birthday”. The afternoon rolled on and it was much quieter. At some point the volunteer came back in clutching a brown coloured paper bag and handed it to me. The smell was divine – they had bought me a McDonalds. A cheese burger, fries and hot apple pie.  It was an act of kindness that I’ll never forget and will always be grateful for. 

For my pledge of kindness this week I am going to share a sewing project with a friend of mine I’ve not spoken to in ages. I know they like sewing and it will give me an excuse to check in with them and see that they’re safe and to (hopefully) get some advice for my project. 

Some simple pledges can be found here if you feel like joining in. 

Until next time. 
Daniel

​As our new ‘A Friendly Chat’ service completes its fourth week, I am delighted to say that we’ve made over 250 phone calls to our service users to combat isolation and share information about where to get practical support. We offer a listening ear and help people to stay connected.
 
People are looking forward to our phone calls – they are providing “lightness and laughter” in their week. It’s very apparent that many people are getting a lot of support from friends, family and neighbours – but, where possible, they are also looking to help other people. For example, one person has been practising the Mindfulness techniques they’ve learnt at the Stress Project especially around “letting go” and “learning to accept what she can and cannot control”. And while practising this herself she is also passing this advice on to other people. So, there is a new sense of community developing – passing on, or helping each other where we can. 
 
Over the weeks I’ve noticed some trends appearing. In the first week people were very focused on getting on with it. “This is the situation and I’ll cope as best I can”, so to speak. In week 2, I found that people were becoming a little more stressed and needed more signposting to other support services for things like food delivery. In week 3, I sensed that people were becoming unmotivated and in week 4 the trend is more towards frustration, “when is this situation going to end?”. So, I’ve been offering little bits of advice - encouraging people to lean on their coping skills, such as Mindfulness, or signposting to something creative like an on-line art class.
 
I'm finding that our phone calls are really appreciated – people are asking how staff and other service users are and say they look forward to my call next week. It’s fantastic that Islington Council are referring people to our service – these are people who previously have not accessed our services so it’s great to welcome them into our community. If you know of someone who could benefit please do let us know. 
 
Until next time, 
 
Sahir – Older Men’s Project Worker

The Stress Project is continuing to support good mental health within local communities whilst following the important guidelines to stay at home. We have significantly altered how we deliver therapies and wellbeing activities for the people that usually visit our therapy centre in Holloway.  
 
We have successfully moved our low-cost counselling service to a video or phone service, and so far have delivered over 80 counselling sessions using this method.  We are incredibly grateful to our clients and counsellors for their patience as we implement new systems to support this service. We are still accepting referrals for phone and e-counselling – the referral form and eligibility criteria can be found here.  
 
We have also made over 200 phone calls to our service users to offer a friendly listening ear and help people stay connected - combating isolation and sharing information about where to get practical support. We are currently planning online Art for Wellbeing and Mindfulness sessions and virtual Drop-In support sessions. If you would like some support accessing these new services, please do let us know. 
 
We are determined to stay connected to as many of our service users as possible – so watch this space for updates on our services. In the meantime, do take a look at our short video, here, where Neil will take you through a relaxing session of Tai-Chi.
 
 
Carol Louvet, Stress Project Manager