Posted on by The Cellar Trust

Lived Experience: Getting back into Employment

I initially self referred to the step program at The Cellar Trust in 2019. I had been out of work for 10 years, I had hit rock bottom, thought things would never improve and that life was no longer worth living. I was out of work due to ill health, leading to severe depression, generalised anxiety and a lack of self worth. I had become so fearful of work that it seemed like an impossibility.

Upon referring to The Cellar Trust I was given support with my general mental health difficulties as well as help building my self-esteem, support with coping strategies, developing and learning new skills and emotional support with any problems that arose. The staff at The Cellar Trust were always on hand and willing to help no matter the issue. They went above and beyond to help me achieve my goals. With the support of Will Vaughan, Jodie Denning and Greg Roberts I managed to gain employment. Without them this would never have happened. Referring to the service completely changed my life and I will be forever grateful for what they have done for me.

After gaining employment The Cellar Trust continued to support me and helped with any difficulties that I needed addressing.

I had a relapse with my mental health in 2020 and re-referred to The Cellar Trust, they once again showed amazing support and were completely non-judgemental about actions that I was very ashamed of. They have helped me to gain employment again through a work placement that they arranged for me and their support is currently ongoing.

I cannot thank them enough and would encourage anybody struggling to refer to the service for support.

 

 

Posted on by The Cellar Trust

Meet Samina

As our first Meet the Team we are featuring Samina – she’s simply one of the friendliest, most hardworking and empathetic people who we have the pleasure of working with every day. She has a fantastic wealth of employment experience and she uses it to make such a difference.  We got talking to Samina, in and amongst her busy schedule…

What’s your role here at the Cellar Trust?
I work in the Pathways to Employment team, I’m a Pathways to Employment Specialist.

What do you do?
My role is to help people find their way back into employment. People who have experienced difficulties with their mental health and finding it hard to get back into work whether that’s voluntary, work placements or paid work. I do regular check-ins and counselling to support people through the process. It might be that they need sign posting to any courses or peer support groups or they may need support looking for jobs, writing their CVs, filling in applications or doing mock interviews. I’m there to help support them in any way I can. I also work with the Cellar Trust’s Partnership Engagement Officer who works with local organisations and businesses to find any vacancies to fill and I share these with my clients.

Once my clients find a role my work doesn’t stop there. I also offer In-work support. This is a 6 month check-in and support service that helps ease our clients back into work. So, if they need someone to talk to they have that. This helps to keep everything in-house as much as possible so we can offer our clients some continuity.

 

What brought you to The Cellar Trust and what skills do you need to do your job?
I have always, always loved helping people. I worked at Bradford University as a researcher around Mental Health, and at Bradford and Shipley colleges as a Trainer/Placement Officer. I was told by my manager in a former role that I had so much more to give and I ended up doing that here at The Cellar Trust. I love working alongside people and helping them to realise their skills and their potential. I love what I do – I’m basically a workaholic actually!!

I have worked a lot in volunteering and my work has been all about building people up and helping them; making a difference in people lives.

I’m multi-lingual; Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Macraani, basic French, German and Arabic speaking which really helps in interpreting and translating so that we can reach as many people in our communities as possible.

What do you love most about The Cellar Trust?
Even though we have different departments, we all work together to offer the very best to clients. We help each other to get the very best outcome for them. We are very transparent and accommodating as colleagues so we communicate very well and keep our clients at the centre of everything we do. Our CEO, Kim Shutler, is just brilliant – the very best. She’s very hands-on and approachable. Some CEO’s aren’t like that. She always makes herself available.

What do you love most about what you do?
Oh my gosh – making a difference to people’s lives. Whether it’s supporting them to get a job, helping them help themselves or boosting their self-esteem. I just love that part of my job. Just seeing the change in someone and know I had a part to play in that means everything.

If you had one message to give to people what would it be?

I would say come to The Cellar Trust so we can help you help yourselves reach the goal you’ve been aspiring to.

If you would like to learn more about how the Pathways to Employment team can help you click here

Posted on by The Cellar Trust

The Link Between Diet and Wellbeing

The Link Between Diet and Wellbeing

By Ken, Haven

Like many of us, I’ve tried various diets to help improve my energy levels, maintain physical health and shed a few pounds, yet it’s only more recently that I’ve started paying attention to nutrition and its potential impact on my mental health and wellbeing.

Much research is focused on the gut microbiome, which is a term for the trillions of micro-organisms that dwell in the murky depths of our digestive systems – we are truly never alone! It’s thought that over a thousand different types of bacteria, many beneficial to our systems, live in the gut but scientists are only beginning to understand their effects on our mental and physical health. If you also consider that every person potentially reacts differently to them, it becomes a hugely complex puzzle.

According to microbial ecologist, Professor Ley: “One person’s healthy microbiome might not be healthy in another context – it’s a tricky concept”. Research is in its infancy and while some 15,000 people have provided microbiome samples for study, this pales into insignificance compared to the 30 million who have had their human genomes sequenced. Some research suggests stressors such as psychological issues, disturbed sleep patterns and environmental factors can all have a negative impact on the microbiome.

An article in the British Medical Journal suggests that the classic Mediterranean diet can have a positive effect on wellbeing, especially when compared to our unhealthy Western diet, which tends to be high in sugar, salt and refined carbs. Good gut ‘flora’ can be boosted by probiotic yogurt drinks, available in most supermarkets and by regular use of probiotic supplements, available online (I’m always sure to check customer reviews) and in health shops. The good guys of the bacteria world help expel the bad, break down fibre and produce vitamins. They’ve also been shown to increase our ability to fight off infections and other ailments.

Personally, maintaining my physical and mental health has been a case of figuring out through trial-and-error what works best for me. While I’m not keen on a large breakfast, others in the office simply can’t function without one. Some don’t bother with lunch or prefer to snack throughout the day. One thing I’ve noticed for sure, is that if I wolf down an unhealthy snack for lunch (e.g. crisps and sandwich) I often feel my energy and mood crash shortly after. The same goes for chocolate, which offers a quick high followed by the inevitable crash. But everyone’s different and what works for me might not work for you.

For me, a daily routine of meditation, reading self-help books, listening to YouTube talks by positive people, plus being mindful of my diet, work most of the time. After all – we are what we eat!

**Please note that any radical changes in diet need to be discussed with medical professionals, particularly if you have underlying medical conditions.