Learning Together: Bristol Warm Welcome Network’s Bumper Health Day
When we launched the Bristol Warm Welcome Network in May, we asked community cafes and warm spaces what they wanted from it. Top of the list: a chance to actually meet other people doing the same thing as them. Warm Welcome spaces are inherently hyperlocal. They are in a fixed location, opening their doors to people who are, generally, from the immediate area too. They’re places to find friendship, relax, not worry about spending money if you don’t want to, and find some support if you need it. But if you’re part of running a space, there isn’t always much chance to visit other ones. It made sense that this came out number one.
Number two, though, really interested us. Spaces told us they wanted in-depth training on mental health. This reflects a broader trend in society of people increasingly struggling with how they’re feeling. Some of these people regularly visit Warm Welcome spaces, because they feel safe there. We listened, and sought to put together an event that would give spaces plenty of opportunities to network, and receive some expert teaching too. Cue our Bumper Health Day!
Image shows members from the Bristol Warm Welcome Network learn how to use blood pressure monitors
Dozens of spaces came to our event on October 20th at The Foundation space at Triodos Bank, from across Bristol and beyond. 47 people arrived in total. We were really struck by the range of spaces: from Knowle West to Avonmouth to Chipping Sodbury to Kingswood to Portishead. We were also hugely grateful to key stakeholders from the NHS and Bristol Health Partners for joining us too. Something we really wanted to do was tap into the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and the “3 big shifts”: analogue to digital, hospital to community, and sickness to prevention. With that in mind, we really appreciated having people from various parts of the NHS in the room to support us.
Image shows Jake Voelcker from Bristol Mind delivering Mental Health Training at the Bristol Warm Welcome Network Bumper Health Day
We started with mental health training, with Jake Voelcker from Bristol Mind doing a brilliant job. It covered all sorts, including:
What good mental health can look like
How the brain works (the Polyvagal System, to be precise)
Spotting signs of poor mental health
Grief and bereavement
How trauma can affect us (for example with memory)
Listening well
Things to avoid
Self care amid difficult conversations
Resources in Bristol to signpost people to
The most startling part of Jake’s training was how personal it was to people. He raised the topic of suicide, asking the room how many people have been in conversations with others who’ve been affected by it (or have been affected directly themselves). About three quarters of the room put their hand up. It was a stark reminder of how important the training was.
Image shows Tabinda Rashid-Fadel, a Bristol-based cardiac physiologist delivering Blood Pressure Training at the Bristol Warm Welcome Network Bumper Health Day
We also looked at the physical as well as the mental during our Bumper Health Day. Tabinda Rashid-Fadel is a Bristol-based cardiac physiologist who’s done incredible work in different communities around blood pressure. The strength of her results are rooted in testing before anything’s actually gone wrong. For example, she went to one place of worship and found 40% of people had referral-level-high blood pressure, with no obvious symptoms. Elsewhere at a sports club, she found some of the highest blood pressure she’s ever seen among under 40s.
It was a real pleasure to partner with Tabinda and bring her in to train up a group of Warm Welcome spaces to become CVD Community Champions. These spaces were given free blood pressure testing kits to take back to their premises, with instructions on how to use them. Again, we’re tapping into the NHS’ shifts to the community and prevention. By linking Tabinda with these spaces, we’ve helped create a network in Bristol and beyond where local residents can get their blood pressure tested quickly, by people they probably already know and trust.
So what next?
Well, we hope that our training creates lasting, positive impacts in communities across Bristol and the West of England. We want all volunteers and staff at Warm Welcome spaces to feel equipped to support individuals, however their mental health is. And we want the CVD Community Champions network, eventually, to span the whole of Bristol - a true Neighbourhood Health Service. If we can do that, we’ve done something truly special.
Want to find out more, or see how you can get involved? Drop us an email! aaron.james@goodfaith.org.uk