Partnership provides community support for local health, care and voluntary sector workers

Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub has partnered with Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Mind to deliver additional support to local health, care and voluntary sector workers.

The partnership allows health care and voluntary sector workers access to additional support through Mind’s Linchpin project, which provides a range of community-based activities as well as one-on-one peer support and counselling.

The Linchpin project

The project has been funded by the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub and is being delivered by Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Mind. It complements the Hub’s existing offering by providing alternative community-based wellbeing support for those living and working in the health, care and voluntary sector across Humber and North Yorkshire.

The wide range of physical and creative activities in the Linchpin project provide people with the opportunity to connect with others in their local communities. This in turn can boost people’s wellbeing, addressing issues such as loneliness, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and much more.

Need for support

Health and social care staff have been under enormous pressure for the last several years. However, evidence suggests that they’re more reticent to step forward for mental health and wellbeing support. Resilience Hubs were introduced to address the needs of the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic and have played an important role in supporting staff to remain in work.

Commenting on the addition of the Linchpin programme, Holly Walker, Service Manager for the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub explains: “We provide a wide range of support to help the emotional and mental wellbeing of staff and a lot of people across the region access our services. However, we recognise everyone is different and some people will benefit from alternative forms of support and approaches. We know that community-based support and activities can play a really important role in helping people’s emotional and physical wellbeing.

“We therefore decided to look for a community partner that could provide a programme of alternative support that people could access in their local communities. Mind’s Linchpin project is a perfect solution. From Clubbercise to art therapy there’s a range of activities for everyone and their peer-support scheme provides people with access to support from those with similar experiences to themselves.”

The project

The project’s holistic approach encourages self-care among those dedicated to caring for others and all the activities can be easily accessed in the local community. By prioritizing well-being and mental health, the Linchpin project aims to empower health, care and voluntary sector staff to thrive.

“We understand the unparalleled demands placed on those working within the health and social care and voluntary sector, and the Linchpin project is our proactive response to provide the crucial support they deserve,” said Hayley Doubtfire, Linchpin Coordinator at Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Mind. “Our goal is to provide a supportive framework that nurtures and uplifts those at the forefront of caring for others”.

Anyone working within the health and social care or voluntary sectors across Humber and North Yorkshire can refer into the project by completing the referral form on the Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Mind website – www.swrmind.org.uk.