Visyon E-Mail Newsletter
PROMOTING WELL-BEING AND OFFERING EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
SUMMER 2014
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 2
Exciting Times...
In this Edition...
Life is exciting at Visyon at the moment. There are lots of new developments
happening, and although this can sometimes feel a bit daunting, overall there is
an extra buzz and level of activity in the air. Our five year strategy with its 3
fundamental objectives is driving our work forward and giving us a clear focus.
Celebrating our 20th year kicked off to a great start with our 2nd Annual
Conference which was a great success, reminding us of why we do what we do,
and the positive impact we do have. This newsletter gives a flavour of what is
going on but we always welcome enquiries for further information and visitors to
Fellowship House.
Best wishes
Chris
Welcome
Updates from:
Multisystemic
Therapy
Our 2nd Annual Conference in March was a great success with 57 attendees. Feedback
included: ‘I feel closer to the Visyon family’, Very interesting conference’, ‘I have a wider
experience of bullying amongst young people’. ‘The speakers were excellent and most
informing’; ‘I wanted to learn more about Visyon, but got so much more out of it than
this! Particularly learnt lots about social networking and bullying’
Anti-Bullying
Campaign
Counselling
New Staff
Creative Space
Family Support
CEES
Fundraising
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Visyon Conference 2014
MST Update
MST
Collette Lynch and Sarah McCubbin have now left the team and their cases have
been reallocated to Tom and Sarah, we are currently at capacity in terms of open
cases but will have capacity to take one case in each area at the next panel in
June. Recruitment for the new therapists has now been done. We have
recruited 2 new therapists who are due to attend the 5 day training in Liverpool
on the 16th of June, we are hoping that they can begin working with us by the
end of June.
The team held a workshop in Ellesmere Port at the end of April which was very
successful and there was some positive feedback from professionals, particularly
around the parent who came in to talk about her MST experience and answer
any questions from the participants.
MST Services held a two day European Conference in London on the 12th/13th of
May which the whole team were lucky enough to attend for at least one day, the
two days consisted of key note speakers, workshops and the opportunity to
network with other teams from around Europe.
Anti-bullying facts and figures
Anti-bullying
Young people self-harm because of bullying and loneliness
Becky, an 18 year old
who volunteers for
selfharm.co.uk said:
38% of young people haven't spoken to anyone about their self-harm, a charity poll
published on 27 February 2014 reveals:
ChildLine, Selfharm.co.uk, YouthNet and YoungMinds have collaborated in support of
Self-harm Awareness Day (1st March).
To help understand the key reasons why young people begin to self-harm, the charities
conducted a survey and received an overwhelming response from almost 4,000 young
people aged 25 and under.
"By bringing selfharm into the light
and speaking about
it openly we send an
important message:
‘You are not alone,
help is always out
there and there is
always hope’."
“We want everyone
to be able to
recognise the initial
signs of self-harm
and support young
people to know that
they are not alone”
2
8
1 in 4 name bullying as main reason for self-harm
Feeling 'alone' and being 'bullied' were highlighted as the key triggers that lead young
people to self-harm for the first time. One in four of respondents named 'bullying'; as
the biggest reason for hurting themselves and 61 per cent of respondents said that the
event leading them to self-harm had made them feel ‘alone’.
More than 38 per cent of respondents admitted that, other than online, they had never
spoken to anyone about their self-harming.
Demand for services is increasing
Each year, the charities see increased demand for services as more and more young
people are trying to reach out for support. ChildLine alone have seen a staggering 41 per
cent increase in counselling sessions where self-harm was mentioned.
Listening to music can help young people cope
Respondents were asked to rate their coping techniques:
45% rated 'listening to music' as the best way to stop themselves from harming
15% rated 'talking to friends and family' as the best method.
This, coupled with the admission that 38% have never spoken to anyone about their selfharm, highlights the increasing importance of breaking taboos around this issue and
encouraging people to talk more openly.
Counselling Update
Counselling
New Visyon Base in Crewe
Our new Crewe base has open for clients in Mill House, Brook Street, Crewe,
CW2 7DE. At present we are open Mondays and Thursday 1-4pm and Fridays 9-12 with
Wednesday afternoon opening coming soon. Additional counsellors are in the process of
being recruited and we will be holding a couple of open evenings in June for staff and
volunteers to look around.
Apart from our main base in Congleton and our base in Crewe we also have counselling
outreach posts in Wilmslow and Winsford.
Space to Talk is going exceptionally well as an advice sharing session and is
currently taking 3 -4 appointments per week.
Excitingly we are starting our innovative Skype service. We will be trialling this after
half term, offering the service to a select number of schools. Appointments will be
half an hour long and the child or young person will Skype from a designated quiet
room in the school to our Visyon Counsellor who will be in a quiet room at
Fellowship House.
Have you been helped by Visyon?
Do you know someone who has?
This year, Visyon is celebrating its 20th Anniversary, 20 years of
providing support for children and young people.
To mark this we are collecting the stories of people who’ve
been touched by Visyon’s work over the years.
These stories can be extremely powerful. If you have a story you’d be
willing to share, please send it to enquiries@visyon.org.uk,
or call 01260 290000
We will of course keep your stories anonymous.
Many Thanks!
We recently received this from a school nurse:
“As a school nurse I greatly appreciate the service that you offer to young people
and the quality of care you give. There are very few services available to young
people to support their mental health and well-being in this current economic
climate and it is good to know that VISYON are there.
3
I have referred numerous young people to your service and they and their parents
have always benefited from your support. Their needs have all been very individual
and you have met that need. Please pass on my thanks to all staff involved with
VISYON.”
New
Members of
Staff
New Members of Staff
Elizabeth Banks
Relief Receptionist
I joined Visyon in February 2014 as Relief Receptionist. My background is in property
law and I am a qualified Legal Executive, but for the past 5 years I have enjoyed
being a full time mom to my two little girls. For the last 3 years I have been chair of
the local pre-school which is a voluntary position. I help with the overall
management of the staff and setting and deal with OFSTED inspections, staff training
and supervisions, marketing, accounts and banking. It’s a varied and interesting role.
I’ve loved working on a project that makes a real difference to children’s lives in the
local community. I am also a parent Governor at my eldest daughter’s school with
links to Early Years and Literacy. In my spare time I love to swim, shop, spend time
with friends and enjoy eating out.
Cathy Vincent
Senior Counsellor
I began my working career in Nursing as a RGN then moving on to work for Thomson
Airways for twenty years as a Cabin Crew Manager, trainer and recruitment assessor. I felt
passionately about returning to a career in the helping professions, and in 2000 went part
time to allow me time to do a BSc majoring in Psychology. Following on from that I became
a volunteer for Victim Support for several years. In 2011 I completed a Post Graduate
Diploma in Counselling at the University of Manchester and an MA Counselling in 2013.
I joined Visyon as a volunteer counsellor in 2011 and worked at St John’s School in Knutsford
this led to a paid position in 2013. I also began working for Visyon in another capacity in the
summer of 2013 as a Key Worker for the Troubled Families Initiative, which I currently do.
I finally took the opportunity to take Voluntary Redundancy from Thomson Airways in July
2012 to pursue a career in Counselling. I currently have varied counselling work as a
Counsellor, Supervisor and Trainer for Lighter life and as an Associate Partner for Edge
Inclusion Specialists. I also work in private practice from home.
In my spare time I love spending time with my family and taking my dog for long walks. I also
love good food and travel.
In my role as temporary Senior Counsellor I will be supporting the voluntary, paid and
placement counsellors, taking referrals and managing our innovative Space to Talk Service.
Your present circumstances don't determine where
you can go; they merely determine where you start.
20/20 Challenge
...Please will you
help raise money
for Visyon...
4
Nido Qubein
20/20 Challenge
Could you hold a fundraising event for Visyon? Visyon is 20 years old this year and we are
inviting people to hold small events to raise money for Visyon. We are aiming to have 20
such events one for each year, and we have called this our 20/20 Challenge.
Creative Space
Creative Space
CONGLETON CARNIVAL:
Saturday 12 July 2014
UTOPIA IN COLABORATION WITH VISYON
CELEBRATE THE FLAMBOUYANT 70’S WITH THEIR VERSION OF THE STYLE ICONS
OF THE TIMES SUCH AS CHER, DOLLY PARTON, KISS, THE SMURFS AND MANY
MORE!
JOIN US THROUGH THE STREETS OF CONGLETON
FOR MORE INFO CONTACT VISYON ON 01260 290000
Visit Creative
Space’s new You
Tube page. See
Mikki’s stop gap
animation the
campaign song
and more...
Press button to view
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UTOPIA:
"Utopia is a friendly and supportive social group for young LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Trans*) people aged 16-20 in and around Congleton. We have been up and running for
around 6 months, but we've already got big plans and happenings for this summer. On
th
Wednesday June the 11 2014 we will be meeting up with our friends from Utopia
Macclesfield and Crewe for a spot of canoeing at Budworth lake in Northwich, which will be
a great opportunity to make friends and learn some new exciting skills. On July 12th we will
be involved in the Congleton Carnival as part of the Visyon float, donning our best outfits
and flying the rainbow flag. We're currently in the process of making our float look
outstanding whilst taking the opportunity to raise some awareness locally of the challenges
that face LGBT people, as well as celebrating how far things have moved forward since the
70s! On August 19th we will be meeting up with our friends from Macclesfield and Crewe
again for a residential to the Peak District, where we will have the chance to take part in
some challenging yet rewarding outdoors activities and building stronger links between the
groups. Considering this is our first summer together as a group, it promises to be a
winner! If you think Utopia is the group for you, please feel free to come along and get
involved. We meet on Tuesday evenings from 5.00 - 7.45 at Visyon, Fellowship House and we'd love to meet some new faces!"
Creative Space
Congleton Unplugged at Fellowship House, Saturday 1st March,
18 young people attended the session. The event started with a song writing
workshop at 2pm, followed up with an open mic session which ran from 4pm to
6pm. We had great performances from members of the Monday Night Music
Club, as well as our special guest performers Andy Stubbs and Phil
Maddocks.........a great time was had by all.
Music
workshop
Congleton unplugged Photo by kind permission of Congleton Chronicle
Family
Support /
Education
Outreach
Family Support Update
The title of Ian Murfitt’s role has changed to Education Outreach Officer, to better
reflect the work he does. So far he has had 60 referrals for this academic year. We
are pleased to report that Nantwich Education Partnership have recently
extended their contract with Visyon and Ian will be with us until at least August
2015.
Listen to your elder’s advice
not because they are always right,
but because they have more
experiences
of being wrong...
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Quote dictionary.me
Facebook
Likes
CEES - Cheshire East Empowerment and Support
Sam has set the
challenge of
getting 1000 likes
on Visyon’s
facebook page by
the end of the
year – we’ve got
480 at the
moment so we
need your help.
Please can you
ask everyone you
know who is on
facebook to like
us, if you’ve not
done so already
CEES is a consortium of seven partners including Visyon who won a two year
contract to work with families in need of support by employing Keyworkers.
Keyworkers provide a 20 week intervention, working with the families to identify
the presenting issues and to improve their outcomes by offering individualised
support, and helping families to overcome these issues.
Keyworkers focus on what outcomes the families want to achieve by recording
these and agreeing an action plan which is monitored throughout the time spent
with the families.
Visyon is currently recruiting for further Keyworkers in order to meet the demand
for our services.
Fundraising
Small
Counselling Room
Playroom before
Playroom after
Lloyds Banking Group Makeover
Before
A team of 9 people from Lloyds Banking Group came and decorated the 3 counselling
rooms and the annex for us on their Make a Difference Day. They travelled from all over
the country, and did such a fantastic job one of our Cousellors commented that it ‘calmed
the client down, not having things on the walls, and he really liked the black painted chalk
board’.
Lloyds Banking Group Team Leader Tracy emailed us to say:
After
‘It was our pleasure to give something back to such a worthy cause, the work you and your
team undertake is life changing and inspirational, you give hope and confidence to so many
people at a time in their lives when all they feel is despair.
‘Lloyds Banking Group are committed to ensuring charities are supported, I would like to
take this opportunity to personally, sincerely and genuinely thank you for giving our team
the opportunity to make a small difference and support the work you all do.’
Many thanks, Tracey
Working hard
7
We would also like to thank B&M Congleton for donating brushes, sandpaper, J cloths
filler and other bits, Jewsons, Congleton for donating two tins of paint and blackboard
paint, and Wilkinsons, Leek, for a £20 voucher which bought varnish and rollers, more
sandpaper , white spirit and other essentials to make it all possible. Thank you all for
your support.
Fundraising
Sign up to
giveasyoulive,
select Visyon as
your charity
and we will get
a donation from
your online
shopping at no
cost to you….
Click on this link to find
out more:
www.giveasyoulive.
com
Visyon
01260 290000
enquiries@visyon.org.
uk
www.visyon.org.uk
Fellowship House
Park Road
Congleton
Cheshire
CW12 1DP
Registered
charity number:
1107951
Visyon Ltd is a
charitable
company
registered in
England and
Wales
Registered
company
number:
525075
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Thank you to Claire, her mother, Andrea, and Kathryn from our MST Team who ran
the Liverpool Half Marathon in March and raised an amazing £198 for Visyon as
one of our 20/20 events.
A big thank you to Lesley Seal who held her special birthday party in April. Lesley
kindly asked for no presents, but donations to Visyon instead. We have received a
fantastic total of £322.86.This was another of our 20/20 events.
Thanks to Cheshire Community Foundation, Visyon has been allocated £10,000
towards holistic therapy packages for children and young people at our base in
Congleton. This money will contribute to individual counselling sessions for the
child or young person and/or their parents/carers; play therapy sessions for
children up to 11 years of age; and coaching in filial play.
Future Events 2014
Sunday 22nd June - 6pm Bengali and Indian Cuisine Taster Experience at Bon O
Phool, Congleton. A unique opportunity to taste a large selection of those dishes
you have seen on the menu but never ordered! Tickets £15 each. For more tickets
or further details email philippa@visyon.org - one of our 20/20 events.
Saturday 5th July - Coffee Morning at St Stephens Church, Congleton, 10am – 1pm
Proceeds to Visyon. Good quality bric a brac etc wanted. All welcome – one of our 20/20
events
Saturday 12th July – Congleton Carnival - Visyon’s Creative Space will be taking
part with Utopia – see article on page 5.
Saturday 27th September – Visyon’s fantastic 20th Birthday Masked Ball in
Congleton Town Hall, 7.30pm for sparkling wine reception followed by a delicious 4
course meal, licensed bar, raffle, auction, and dancing to the amazing 9 piece band
Not Quite Jazz, who play Rat Pack Favourites, Swing and Blues. Dress is smart
casual, but masks are essential! Tickets are only £26 each available from Visyon
reception or ring 01260 290000.
Thursday 30th October – Halloween Walks in conjunction with Congleton Museum.
We will also be holding our usual quiz night in November, and having a stall at
Congleton Christmas Lights. More details in the next Newsletter.
Thank you to
Lloyds Banking Team