Trauma-Informed Training for Outlookers charity from the West Yorkshire Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub
Outlookers is a member led organisation that provides peer and technology support for people living with sight loss across Kirklees. The team is made up of a range of rich diverse experiences, including staff and volunteers with lived experiences of sight loss. Losing sight at whatever stage in life is a traumatic experience and Outlookers offer a range of services that aim to help people maintain their independence.
Becky Bracey, Volunteer Services Lead at Third Sector Leaders Kirklees was aware of the different levels of support the West Yorkshire Staff Mental Health & Wellbeing Hub offer to Staff and Volunteers. Becky made contact with Dr Kerry Hinsby, Clinical Lead from the Hub to explore if Outlookers might benefit from one of the offers within the CrISSP pathway (https://workforce.wypartnership.co.uk/critical-incident-staff-support-pathway). As a result, the Hub offered a tailored training day for Outlookers peer practitioners and team leaders with the aim of supporting trauma informed thinking.
Dr Raj Dhanjal – Principal Clinical Psychologist from the West Yorkshire Staff Mental Health & Wellbeing Hub who delivered the training, described the day as “a humbling experience and where there was reciprocal learning. The team were welcoming, nurturing of one another and it was evident that there was a lovely community ethos when walking through the doors. It was a pleasure to carry out a training with two beautiful guide dogs! Woody the guide dog definitely had a calming influence on me”.
Mark Owen – Chief Executive Officer at Outlookers added “When providing peer support, our staff and volunteers often find that members share their traumatic experiences of living with sight loss, an experience that many have had themselves. Working with the hub has allowed us to gain the skills necessary to support each other as peer practitioners as well as an insight into where to go for additional support. We have a duty to look after the welfare of our staff and volunteers and training like this can help us deliver on that commitment.”
Find out more about the West Yorkshire Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub here: https://wystaffwellbeinghub.co.uk/support-for-vcse