Support

Our Groups

Learn more about our various support groups and get in touch if you want to join.

The Gup Shup group (chit chat) is a weekly session set up for service users to keep busy and interact with others to reduce isolation and maintain good health. Service users with underlying health conditions participate in these group activities on a regular basis which has contributed to improving their health and wellbeing. 

The sessions are led by WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) which is a charity dedicated to bringing high-quality, professional education into the heart of the communities and provides a qualified tutor who delivers the session with the support of Roshni Ghar staff.  Service users have been involved in the planning of the sessions and have been consulted on what they would like to try. 

‘Umeed’ is a specialist critical care group for South Asian women in crises and at risk of relapsing and is suited to high needs service users. This group provides a quiet atmosphere for ladies who have been discharged from community mental health team and psychiatric ward, suffering from severe mental Health conditions such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia and Psychosis. In these sessions we provide holistic support to explore different areas of life in which the service user needs support and guidance with.

We also focus on personal responsibility, empowerment and self-management of long- term health conditions, such as diabetes and other chronic pain, which largely affect ethnic minorities and how to deal with these alongside a mental health diagnosis.

‘Dekh Bhal’ translates to ‘look after’. This group caters for women who are towards the end of their twelve-month wellness plan. The group’s focus is to provide a safe space for elderly South Asian women who have a mental and physical health diagnosis or are at risk of developing these.  Dekh Bhal supports elderly South Asian women who are at risk of social isolation and allows them to explore issues relating to their mental health in a non-judgemental environment. The service users are encouraged to engage in activities that promote positive wellbeing and independence. Activities are also designed to ‘awaken interests’ and stimulate cognitive use.  Roshni Ghar group leaders encourage women to develop support networks outside the service and to utilise this once they are discharged from the service.

The women have reported they have benefited from this group and that it has equipped them with a better understanding of how mental health conditions can be managed aside from medication, such as healthy eating, exercise, and stress management.

Roshni Ghar’s Young Girls’ Group is attended by young girls from the locality needing support with their mental health and wellbeing needs. Referrals are received from a variety of professionals in the health, education and social care sectors. The group is planned in consultation with the girls who attend, and this group.

The purpose of the group is to empower young girls to have the confidence to look after their own mental and physical wellbeing, this is achieved via a series of activities such as: cooking, team building, creative writing, arts, and crafts as well as self-care activities.

The girls report that the group has been beneficial to them in allowing them to develop networks and support systems outside of their family and school bubble, thus increasing their confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, we have personally seen the girls develop as the group has progressed. The Young Girls have been supported to develop healthy coping mechanisms, using a wellness toolkit.

Roshni Ghar have also delivered culturally appropriate mental health workshops to the young girls, empowering them to seek support for themselves and to recognise poor mental health among friends and family.

Carers often neglect their own health and wellbeing as they are focused and busy caring for others. Roshni Ghar’s Carers Wellbeing Group was developed as the service recognised that it is important for carers to look after their own health (both physical and emotional) and to make time for themselves. The group is user-led and is facilitated by Roshni Ghar support workers who are carers themselves or have lived experiences of caring responsibilities.

The Carers Wellbeing Group meets on a fortnightly basis at the request of the carers. It is an opportunity for carers to connect with others in a similar situation, whilst accessing support for their own mental health and wellbeing needs. The group provides carers a safe and non-judgemental environment to offload and seek advice on issues relevant to them and build a network of support for themselves.

Caring for a loved one with additional needs can be very isolating, and the Carers Wellbeing Group meets regularly to gain support from one another, gather information as well as have time away from their daily caring roles. The group has enjoyed taking part in Tai Chi, mindful walks, beauty courses, ‘Create and Connect’ art sessions and much more. Getting involved in something different has helped the carers stay well both physically and mentally.

Feedback from Carers:

‘This group was needed in the community. I can feel alone when caring for my son and coming to the group helps me receive peer support, engage in activities to take my mind off my caring responsibilities and receive useful information’. ‘I make sure I take the time to attend the group. It is the one place where I feel accepted and not pitied and judged’.

The In-reach Support Service is a drop-in service offering 1:1 emotional support to female (South Asian) inpatients sectioned under the Mental Health Act and admitted to the Heather Ward (psychiatric unit) at the Airedale General Hospital. This support service has been running for 6 years and is valued with positive feedback from both clients and staff at the Heather Ward. To ensure continuity of care we support women in the community post-discharge from the Psychiatric unit. We work closely with staff from Community Mental Health Team at Meridian House (Bradford District Care Trust) and other specialist mental health teams. When a referral comes through from their service, we carry out joint home visits and do regular follow up with the clients CPN. This partnership helps improve communication, identify barriers, and improve access in to mainstream services for women from predominantly South Asian communities

At Roshni Ghar we believe in working with and alongside organisations in our Health and Community sectors as together we really are stronger.  Collaboration helps us to share knowledge and expertise and pool resources for the betterment of the people we serve.  

We work closely with a number of organisations in Keighley and beyond to develop and deliver new and innovative projects and services to improve the understanding and treatment of Mental Health services district wide. We believe that early intervention is an important aspect of Mental Health and therefore Roshni Ghar provides outreach support to women with low level mental health needs in community settings. We use various methods, techniques and activities to prompt women to think about their mental health, with a focus on staying well and recognising early sign of mental ill health and how to access support.

Some of the organisations we work with are:

Highfield Community Association

Keighley Health Living

KAWACC

Bangladeshi Community Association

Sangat Centre

Eden Project

Missing Peace

Project 6

Hive

WEA

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