Volunteering at Torfaen Mind

Posted Thursday 8 December 2011

At Torfaen Mind, we try to support and inform anyone with a mental health problem or an interest in mental health. We also try to help people develop a holistic state of wellbeing.  We do this through a wide range of services like wellbeing centres, housing projects, peer support/ belonging groups and counselling services. We also provide training like suicide intervention and mental health first aid.

We have 28 full time members of staff, but we also are extremely fortunate to now have another 30 plus volunteers. Volunteers help with a range of services - everything from administration to counselling and alternative therapies.

We applied to the local Mind grant fund to setup a time-banking system.  Each volunteer collects credits for the hours that they volunteer. Credits can then be exchanged for training (of the volunteers choice) or for sessions with our alternative therapist (also a volunteer!).  The therapists provide treatments like reflexology, reiki, neck and shoulder massage.

The work of the volunteers is so important to us and we’re so glad that this system could help us to repay people’s generosity, skills and time in a small way. Volunteers have also told me that it has improved their wellbeing of the volunteers (through alternative therapies) and of improving employability (through training that could be accessed).

The local Mind grant fund can have such a large impact on so many people through funding projects that wouldn’t be able to access funds elsewhere.  It also has a large impact on the community as a whole, as in this case, people are gaining new skills, being valued and receiving training.

So please give generously so that projects such as this one can have the opportunity to gain funding in the future!

Bernie Davies, Director of Torfaen Mind

Double your donation, for free. Help us raise £25,000 to support local Mind projects. 

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1 Comment

• Dyson replied on 9 Dec 2011 at 09:53

  I'd love to volunteer in something like that! It sounds great :)