Imagine has established itself as a leading mental health charity. We have a positive approach to mental health and believe that our service users can and do make an important contribution to the communities in which they live. The dreams and ambitions of service users can be achieved more easily if we can remove some of the blocks that bar the way.
Firstly, we must get the basics right. Our society continues to discriminate against people who disclose their mental ill health. We need to challenge that prejudice by public education and celebrating the success of those who live with or have recovered from mental ill health. Across all the areas of our society people who use and have used mental health services have a great deal to offer. Our training organisation, Clued-In, demonstrate this in delivering a range of mental health awareness training.
A decent home, not a bedsit or a hostel, is a priority for us all. The opportunity to access the support essential to successfully maintain a home, the power to choose who we live with, the right to a secure tenancy and the opportunity of home ownership must be available to all. In this context, we are delighted to have been asked by the Department of Health to develop a high quality supported accommodation scheme for women coming out of secure settings in the North West of England. The scheme is in Salford and is our first development in Greater Manchester. A second scheme has now opened in Sefton. |
Our social inclusion project Mainstream, seeks to ensure that the barriers to engaging in the community are eradicated. In education, volunteering, work, art, cultural activities, faith, and sport & leisure our staff have worked to ensure that individual service users can join in.
In this enterprise we have built many important partnerships: users, volunteers, carers, housing associations, statutory services, employers and many community groups have joined us. We can all imagine a better and more inclusive future.
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