In the last year, the world has come to a standstill due to the pandemic. But local Leicester Charity Shama Women’s Centre has stepped up to offer more support than ever before.
Our expanding service offer is responding to growing demand and changing needs in the community, including education support, employment advice and health and wellbeing tips. In the last year, requests for statutory mental health support have surged, resulting in extended waiting times to access support. Our exemplary project, Bereavement to Achievement plus, funded by The
National Lottery Community Fund, has been extended to provide crisis support to those that needed it most and our counsellors have increased their capacity to ensure we could meet the ever-growing demand.
The impact of COVID-19 has had a knock-on impact, creating what many are calling a ‘mental health pandemic’. In response to this, we’ve created a fantastic range of resources for people to access immediately. The new package of support went live with the launch of our new website on International Women’s Day and can be found at www.shamawomenscentre.co.uk.
As the country begins to transition out of lockdown and people prepare to return to the workplace, our offer takes into account the needs of employers to ensure their staff are supported at work. Our free downloadable resource advises on different mental health concerns, explains how you can identify them, and gives you guidance on where to access support.
In addition to this, we have developed a library of online workshops to increase understanding of some of the common mental health concerns, signs to look out for if you or someone you know may be struggling, and advice and guidance on how to support yourself and others when struggling with mental health.
We are also geared up to provide coaching and training for staff and managers, to ensure they have the understanding and tools to support their staff back into work. We aim to ensure staff are supported as best as possible and to reduce the effects of stress, anxiety, depression, amongst other conditions impacting the everyday running of your business. On average, better mental health support in the workplace can save UK businesses £8 billion per year, and introducing early intervention measures are far more impactful than a reactive approach to supporting employees.
Our specialists understand the importance of tailoring support to the individual needs of different people, with different cultural, economic and educational backgrounds being taken into account, we’re confident that we have a solution that meets your needs. For more information about our services, or to find out how we may be able to support you, contact us: business@shamawomenscentre.co.uk
