Sutton multi-partnership
Local partners bring mental-health advice for parents into Sutton Library
In Sutton an innovative partnership has been developed following the Be Well community organising and mental health training — which has involved creating a Parents and Carers mental wellbeing information and advice session. The project is delivered at Sutton library and is a partnership between the Library, Sutton Council’s Family Hub, the Sutton Mental Health Foundation, health visiting services and a carers support service from SW London and St George’s Mental Health Trust. The service helps parents access advice and support, as well as understand and access local resources. This might include advising on domestic abuse, financial advice and a range of family support services.
“The Be Well training had a significant impact on identifying shared outcomes between organisations, and gave them the opportunity to come together to support joined up working and form a significant partnership that has grown in strength. It has also brought many individuals together to form new relationships across organisations”
“I think that community settings are a perfect place for de-stigmatising mental health — this Be Well value really resonates with me and I think that everyday settings (such as libraries), in which a range of local professionals and services can provide support in a safe and familiar setting, is great. We are bringing the conversation around mental health into everyday life (and therefore helping to normalise that kind of conversation), rather than it having to be a big, scary thing that you need to go to a specific health setting to access”
“What really resonated with me was the opportunity to meet new people in the community, and the value of having a ‘stage’ for people to express themselves and to be listened to — unjudged. Followed by the opportunity to let the training evolve into working in partnership community projects. The trainings were all high quality.
What has been key to success in Sutton is partnership working and collaboration with other LBS teams and local organisations — it has given so much more to the offer than what any one service could offer alone.”
“The Be Well programme has been inspiring and reinvigorating on many levels. The community organising training really resonated with me, especially around understanding power and how we can take collective action. I think we have also lived the values around working together, rather than being dependent on one person to make things happen.
I am now working with so many people that I wouldn’t have had contact with before (e.g., at the Library) and am being supported by the project to run some wellbeing sessions at the Refugee Centre. My role has also changed and is much more focused on community engagement”