Re-stART 

Art based peer support group

Details

When: Wednesday's (plus a second day on Mondays from 20th May 2024)
Time: 11:30am to 1:30pm
Cost: FREE

Re-stART is completely FREE, but places are limited to 30 on each day and so we will need you to register to be able to attend. Once registered someone will be in touch with you to confirm your place and start date.

REGISTER FOR RESTART HERE

Each week will begin with refreshments and a time to chat and make friends with people who share some of your daily challenges, before following a rolling programme. This programme will provide the opportunity to try different types of art, designed by the team to be fun, and suitable for everyone regardless of experience or ability!

All art materials will be provided, unless of course you would prefer to bring your own.

About re-stART

Do you ever feel lonely?  Are there times you struggle with your mental wellbeing?  Maybe you have moments where you feel a little down or depressed, or maybe there are times when your thoughts feel overwhelming? You are not alone!  Some research carried out by MIND3 has identified that 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week in England, and access to practical help and support can be difficult for many people.
Pablo Picasso said “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life” so it follows that art can help anyone dealing with stress, trauma or unhappiness to find peace and new meaning in their life. We hope that this group will go some way to helping those who attend achieve that goal as well as making some new meaningful friendships and finding a place to belong.

Here at Burton Elim Church, we believe that “people matter” and Re-stART is an art-based peer support group run by people who themselves experience day to day challenges with their own mental health.  Out of their own journey and experiences, and a love for art, the group wants to bring together anyone who has mental health struggles or is lonely and in need of company, who would enjoy the opportunity to learn to express themselves using paints or modelling clay, in a relaxed space with like-minded people.

Mental Wellbeing

We all have mental health. Good mental health is an asset that helps us to thrive, and yet in March 2017 a survey commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation2 found that nearly two-thirds of people (65%) say that they have experienced a mental health problem. This rises to 7 in every 10 women, young adults aged 18-34 and people living alone and only a small minority of people (13%) were found to be living with high levels of positive mental health. 

Re-stART is an art-based peer support group offering friendship and a safe place to spend time with others who experience loneliness or struggles with their mental wellbeing. The arts are increasingly being recognised as playing an important role in improving our mental health through offering help, fun, promoting well-being and creating a space for social connection.  And these are all things available to you at Re-stART.

Group Boundaries

In order to make sure our peer support group is a safe place for you to come and relax, we have a set of group boundaries that everyone attending is asked to keep.

1. The purpose of this group is to provide a place for mutual friendship and peer support, and does not offer any form of counselling, treatment, or professional advice.  We are here to support each other, not fix each other.
2. Respect for each other is at the heart of supporting each other, and we will not tolerate behaviours that threaten anyone else’s wellbeing.
3. Please follow any health and safety guidance given by our facilitators.
4. This group is a part of Burton Elim Church, and offensive language or discrimination has no place in a church-based group.
5. When attending the group, people will not attend under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs or medicine. And please do not discuss medication - it rarely ends well and is not helpful!
6. What is shared in the group will stay in the group unless anyone threatens to harm themselves or another person when our safeguarding team and local professional services will be informed.
7. Please avoid talking about other participants without their consent or knowledge. This includes both inside and outside of meetings.
8. When sharing in any group activities or discussions, there will be no crosstalk (where 2 people engage in conversation excluding all others).  Each person is free to express their feelings without interruptions, and please respect that sometimes people have different opinions to you.
9. We will not share people’s contact details with others in the group without their permission.  We will agree with each other when and how we may and may not contact each other. Our group is not designed to provide support to you out of hours (evenings, weekends and bank holidays) and is not an alternative to professional services for people in distress or crisis.
10. If you are asked to complete a survey to help with monitoring your recovery or the effectiveness of the project, please help.
11. The facilitators will do their very best to assist with your needs within the limits of our peer support group. It would be fantastic if you can also meet any agreements made and do not overstep goodwill.
12. If you can’t make the meetings anymore, please let our facilitators know with as much notice as possible – no one will mind. It will mean we are more quickly able to offer places at the group to others.

Failure to stick to the boundaries will result in you being asked to leave that session, and return at a later session when you can keep to the boundaries.