Reading Men’s Mental Wellbeing Service
Contact details
Location
1A Rupert Square
Reading
RG1 3HE
We will deliver the service in line with people’s preference offering in-person and virtual appointments via telephone, Teams and Zoom. In-person appointments will be in the local communities and at 1A Rupert Square, RG1 3HE, which is our current community base. We will also use community spaces such as cafés, libraries and community centres. These will be agreed in partnership with service users giving them control of the service they receive and guaranteeing that we are using venues which are most appropriate and welcoming to the local communities.
Contact:
Phone: 0800 058 4414
Email: lewishamoutreach@together-uk.org
Services offered:
Community Support
Awareness raising sessions
1-2-1 support
Drop-in sessions
Group workshops
Contracts & Projects Manager: Andre Silva
Head of Regional Operations: Gianluca Zucchelli
About the service
Our Reading Men’s Mental Health Service has been designed to make a real difference to men’s lives in Reading. The aim of this newly developed service is to provide effective, flexible support for men to reduce inequalities, improve mental health understanding, reduce stigma and contribute to long-term change. We will provide awareness raising sessions; 1-2-1 support; Drop-in sessions and a variety of Group workshops.
This new community service provides a community-based, needs-led, flexible service which engages with men where they are to contribute to borough-wide reductions in loneliness and health inequalities. Our approach is to work alongside the men of Reading, particularly white men in deprived areas and those from ethnically diverse communities, enabling them to be leaders in how the service engages and the support provided. This will be achieved through the creation of safe spaces for men to engage and develop networks and social connections so they can openly discuss wellbeing. Alongside working with the men of Reading, we will engage with faith and community leaders to proactively remove and prevent stigma, encouraging mental health conversations within all the communities in Reading.
What to expect from the service
12 sessions of 1:1 personalised support, including an initial assessment, developing goals and a support plan. Support will be guided by men’s needs and preferences, including areas such as:
- Self-management and coping strategies
- Accessing employment, training, or volunteering
- Linking people into specialist housing, benefits, debt, or finance services
- Linking people into community opportunities to tackle isolation
- Triage assessment for crisis support at our Breathing Space service
- Sessions will be delivered for each service user either weekly or every two weeks dependent on individual need and preference. We will provide the 1-1’s inside our main premises/hub and in the community in cafés, libraries, community premises and faith centres.
Group workshops
An activity programme designed to meet local needs, including:
- Group programmes themed around wellbeing, coping strategies, self-management and facilitating peer support.
- Group workshops allow for a mix of training, sharing experiences and collective solution finding
- Weekly groups to target isolation and facilitate peer support.
Drop in sessions
Drop in sessions will be provided every other week in the community utilising faith centres such as Mosques Temples and Churches, leisure centres, football, rugby and boxing clubs.
Health Information & Awareness Raising
We will deliver monthly Health information and awareness raising session per month in the community utilising faith centres such as Mosques Temples and Churches, leisure centres, schools, and sheltered housing and provide information in venues such as barbers shops and gyms.
Making a referral
People can get in touch with us directly for self-referrals, or they can be referred to us by professionals. The service will be available to any Reading resident, or anyone registered with a Reading GP, and aged over 18.
The service is delivered from 1A Rupert Square, in community premises, as well as various pop-up locations across Reading, and virtual options.
