Derbyshire artist Kate Smith is exhibiting a series of paintings in two venues in Derbyshire; there are six paintings at Ilkeston Community Hospital and an exhibition at The Elephant Rooms in Draycott.  The exhibitions are to mark World Mental Health Day on Monday 10 October.

Kate, an artist, designer, children’s illustrator and workshop leader, has a mental health condition called acute & transient psychotic disorder. She has decided to share her mental health journey through a project supported by Arts Council England by creating a series of watercolours, each one depicting different reflections on how her mental health manifests itself.

She hopes the paintings will raise awareness of, and get people talking about, mental health, not just on World Mental Health Day but every day.

Kate said: “I’ve always enjoyed art and I started to use drawing and painting as a coping tool when I was in hospital. When I was in a dark place, art helped.”

The artwork represents the positive and negative experiences that Kate has with mental health.

Kate has a vivid memory of a shampoo bottle from when she was in hospital, this was one of her first drawings, she drew the shape over and over, it provided her with a focus; it is one of the positive paintings. Butterflies feature in many of Kate’s paintings – they represent the butterflies you get with anxiety, but they also remind Kate of happy memories in Cornwall, watching blue butterflies on flowers.

Kate’s favourite flower is a tulip, a yellow tulip represents strength. The tulips also remind Kate of her Grandma teaching her how to arrange tulips to make sure they do not droop – stand up and stay strong.

The negative drawings represent psychotic clouds and the storm of psychosis, psychosis crosses and intrusive thoughts, and anxiety.

The drawings will be up in the main corridor of Ilkeston Community Hospital throughout October and everyone is welcome to drop in to view the exhibition during the month.

The paintings at The Elephant Rooms will be on display from Monday 10 October to Friday 21 October and can be viewed Monday to Friday between 9.00am – 6.00pm.

CONTACT:

Kate Smith 07950 781948

katesmithstudio@hotmail.com

World Mental Health Day takes place on 10 October every year. The theme of 2022’s World Mental Health Day is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority‘.

Mental health problems exist in our lives, families, workplaces and communities, impacting everyone. We need to do as much as possible to prevent mental ill-health – as individuals and as a society.
World Mental Health Day is a chance to talk about mental health in general, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to talk about things and get help if you are struggling.

POST: COMMuniTY CHESTERFIELD Business Relations Co-ordinator
BASE: This role is based at St Helena Campus in Chesterfield. However will require flexible working including a willingness to travel, work at University of Derby Campuses and work from home.
TERM: Fixed term until December 31st 2023
(Extension to be considered subject to funding)
SALARY: £25,273.43 FTE + 5% pension contribution
HOURS: 22.5 hours per week – 0.6 FTE

Opportunity for a Business Relations Co-ordinator to join our team to build relationships, promote our work and sell our products. This is an exciting time for our organisation, which is rooted in the voluntary community sector as we are growing and building new audiences.  We are looking for a charismatic sales person who wants a role with purpose and excellent job satisfaction. The role is incredibly varied because of the diversity of the people we work with.  Please Note: We will only consider applications received via our website.

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic individual who will be excited by the challenge, proactive and have a positive attitude. You will enjoy networking, building relationships and making sales, possessing excellent organisational skills and be able to communicate effectively verbally and in writing. The post holder will work with the existing Community Chesterfield team.

Fixed term contract until December 31st 2023 (22.5 hrs per week), with the possibility of extension subject to funding. We are committed to enabling our employees to work in a hybrid model, with office space available in Chesterfield but the role will include travel across Derbyshire.

Why work for Community Chesterfield?

• ‘Feel good factor’ – Make a difference everyday
• A healthy work/life balance is a company priority – 30-day holiday FTE, plus a day off on your birthday and access to additional unpaid leave of up to 4 weeks a year.
• Flexible working
• Generous employee package including: pension, mileage, sick pay, training and development.

Read our role profile here, person specification here, and find our application form here, equal opportunities form here and guidance notes here.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Jennifer Raschbauer, Project Director. Email address: jenny@dva.org.uk.

Application Deadline: 9:00am Monday 31st October
Interview Date: TBA

For further details contact Natalie on Natalie@dva.org.uk or 07591 904259

The Public Health Covid-19 Community Fund which can provide organisations/community groups that meet the criteria with £2000.

These funds are to allow groups to continue to play a key role in the local response to COVID-19 and to improve the health and wellbeing of Derbyshire residents. The criteria previously was very focused on reducing the spread and impact of covid on communities. However this criteria has changed to meet the living with covid strategy, one of those being “ increase mental health and wellbeing and support individual and community resilience”.

This is the link to the criteria with the application form COVID-19 Community Fund – Derbyshire County Council – and questions please contact asch.health.protection@derbyshire.gov.uk

The new Derbyshire Befriending website has a modern, straightforward style making it easy for people to find out all about befriending, how to find services and what to expect as a volunteer befriender. There are also lots of case studies on there showing the impact of befriending from the point of view of both befriendees and befrienders.

Visit here: https://www.derbyshirebefriending.org.uk/

SV2, who support victims of sexual violence, are wanting your comments on their name and the way that they communicate ahead of their rebranding next year. They would like feedback so that they can make it clearer what they do e.g. what support and services they offer.
 
You can visit the SV2 website here https://www.sv2.org.uk/
 
Complete the short anonymous poll here https://bit.ly/3Sk5THd
 
You do not need to be an SV2 client, anyone can participate.

The University of Derby are opening their doors and offering a FREE friendly breastfeeding support group. The drop-in sessions will run from the 15^th of September on the first and third Thursday of the month, between 10:30am – 12:00pm at the Chesterfield St Helena campus.

Whether you are expecting a child, are new to parenting, or are further down your parenting journey- all are welcome! The group will be led by experienced breastfeeding supporters, who are trained and supervised by Breastfeeding Network Derbyshire. They will provide non-judgemental support and information for families attending the group.

“It’s great that the Community Chesterfield Project has enabled us to work with the University of Derby in this way.” Says Alexandra Dilkes from Breastfeeding Network Derbyshire. “It’s a wonderful venue, centrally located and easy to get to.”
 
Free refreshments will be provided, as well as a selection of toys to entertain the little ones! There is plenty of public parking available within a 2-minute walk of the venue but none on Campus.
 
“I am so glad that we were able to bring Breastfeeding Network Derbyshire back to the University of Derby in Chesterfield, they make such a big difference to parents – particularly in the early days of being a parent. It’s thanks to the University that we have been able to offer the group such a fantastic venue.” Says Jennifer Raschbauer from Community Chesterfield.
 
Over the last two years, local volunteers from Breastfeeding Network Derbyshire, known as Feeding Together Bolsover and Chesterfield, haven’t let the pandemic stop them supporting families! They have been providing remote support and running regular ‘Parent in the Park’ walks at Poolsbrook Country Park.
 
The organisation will also be running sessions at Staveley Healthy Living Centre and Bolsover Children’s Centre. To find out what exciting things they’ve got coming up, check out their Facebook pages (@Bolsoverbfgroup and @bfnderbyshire).

Mental Health Together (MHT) is an engagement service run by Healthwatch Derbyshire. MHT exist to give mental health service receivers and carers a greater say in the health and care services they access; ensuring they are listened to and that their experiences and ideas are at the heart of service design and delivery. MHT are at an exciting phase in their development as Healthwatch Derbyshire is also now the official engagement provider for the transformation of community mental health services across Derbyshire. This new model of service is called ‘Living Well’ and they are looking to strengthen their workforce with people who have a passion for the work they do.

The purpose of the Living Well engagement service is to:

• Grow and support the voice of lived experience within the transformation work, focusing on adults of working age and older adults and underrepresented voices and minority communities.
• Successful delivery of the community mental health transformation across Derbyshire.
• Support effective co-design and co-production of this new ‘Living Well’ model.

The following jobs are currently available:

Living Well Lead Engagement Officer

Salary: £27,125

Hours: 37 hours

Closing date: Monday 26^th September, 2022

Interview date: Monday 10^th or Tuesday 11^th October, 2022

Location: Hybrid working

Employment type: Fixed term until 30th April 2024

Living Well Engagement Officer

Salary: £25,788

Hours: 37 hours

Closing date: Monday 26^th September, 2022

Interview date: Monday 10^th or Tuesday 11^th October, 2022.

Location: Hybrid working

Employment type: Fixed term until 30th April 2024

Living Well Support Worker

Salary: £23,502 based on 37 hours (pro-rata for part time)    

Hours: 18.5 hours

Closing date: Monday 26^th September, 2022

Interview date: Monday 10^th or Tuesday 11^th October, 2022.

Location: Hybrid working

Employment type: Fixed term until 30th April 2024