News
March 2010
Derwentside Families First and Living Mindfully
Living Mindfully has recently been commissioned to provide mindfulness based coaching and stress reduction courses as part of an innovative new approach to support families in Derwentside.
A team of advisers from JobCentrePlus and partner organisations have come together to deliver employability services to residents of Moorside and Delves Lane in South Consett and the Green Corridor area of South Stanley and Craghead. This exciting new project involves advisers in direct work with families where more than one person is unemployed.
Teams have been set up in the community, although advisers often work with families in their own homes. The Families First team works to assist the whole family, supporting them through change, and continuing to provide advice and guidance as individuals within the family move into work or training.
Tracey Greenwood, team manager of the new service, says “It’s a great opportunity to be part of a new project reaching out to more people”.
The advisers work closely with a range of organisations, such as Derwentside Homes, and other providers delivering specialist back-to-work support. Families First is also working with ‘DWP Customer Insight’ to gain a more in-depth understanding of the issues families face and the solutions they might find together.
The team has developed a number of activities in the community including family fun days, drop in / open days and coffee mornings as well as marketing activities in local retail outlets, GP surgeries and community venues. The team is already working with 50 families, on traditional employability skills and experience, as well as issues such as debt management and confidence building.
Living Mindfully’s coaching and stress management courses will play an important part in helping people to identify how they would like to move forward with their lives, and provide them with new skills for managing the potential challenges and stresses they might face along the way. Living Mindfully’s approach is designed to help individuals to find their own direction and improve their prospects of achieving their goals.
Living Mindfully Director, Elaine Young, says “We are delighted to be helping the Families First team to provide a unique new service with the potential for such a positive effect on individuals, families and the community.”
To see more details about Living Mindfully’s mindfulness-based coaching and stress reduction courses available through Families First click here for a brochure.
If you live in Derwentside and would like to find out if you would be eligible to attend these courses, or want to find out more about the services Families First may be able to offer, contact them on Freephone 0808 178 1898 or visit their website here.
Alternatively, you can contact Living Mindfully on MBSR@livingmindfully.co.uk or give us a call on 01207 693909