History
An example of the excellent work produced within the centres
Richmond Borough Mind (formally Richmond Borough Association for Mental Health) was formed out of a merger in 2002 between Twickenham Association for Mental Health and Richmond & Barnes Association for Mental Health.
Below is a brief history of the charity and its predecessors, the services offered and the changes experienced over the years.
Twickenham Mind
Twickenham Association for Mental Health (Twickenham Mind) came into existence in 1959, and for many years operated on a purely voluntary basis, offering e.g. drop-in coffee mornings, and lifts for carers to outlying psychiatric hospitals serving Richmond. As it expanded it acquired a charity shop Then, as care in the community began to be seen as the right approach for those who no longer needed continuing care in a hospital environment., it ran group homes for people in mental distress, later transferred to the Richmond Churches Housing Trust. By 1975, Twickenham Mind was able to acquire a Victorian terraced house that had become a run down grocer’s shop in Twickenham. Twickenham Mind converted this property and it became a drop-in centre – Centre 32 – initially run by volunteers, but later, as the charity’s finances improved, with its own staff. The facilities at Centre 32 have gradually been improved over the years, and it continues to offer a warm and welcoming environment for both ‘regulars’ and as newcomers. User participation is increasingly a mainspring of its approach.
Richmond and Barnes Mind
Richmond & Barnes Mind was founded in 1971 at a time of great advance in the treatment of people suffering from mental distress and the coming of community care. Its early projects included three group homes offering people previously in psychiatric hospitals a place to stay as they slowly re-integrated themselves within the community.
To help with funds, and clothing and bedding, a ‘Nearly New Shop’ was opened in Sheen Road, Richmond to raise funds to support people with mental health problems. The premises also accommodated a carers’ support group, now part of the wider Carers’ in Mind Project.
As people no longer in hospital had nowhere to go during the day or in the evenings, an evening drop in ‘Tuesday Club’ was started in the shop premises.
The Vineyard Centre
In 1977, the Minister of the Vineyard Congregational Church wanted to open the crypt of the church as a drop-in centre for lonely people. His work as a probation officer had made him aware of the need for such a centre. However, the Minister lacked the funds to open the drop-in-centre, but Richmond & Barnes Mind seized upon the opportunity to lease the church crypt and open a centre for the “healing of loneliness” and a place where points of need and sources of help could meet. The centre was open to anyone who wanted to get involved: Richmond & Barnes Mind clients: probation clients: and anyone lonely in the local community who wanted to take part. The centre, in the basement of the Church in The Vineyard on Richmond Hill, became the Vineyard Project, which provides a safe, welcoming and friendly place with practical help, therapies and activities for a wide range of people, including the homeless and other vulnerable people on the margins of society, in the basement of the church building in the Vineyard on Richmond Hill to this day.
Ham Friends
In 1999, Ham Friends, a local authority drop-in centre, was threatened with closure and RBMIND undertook to manage the project, with the support from the local authority. Ham Friends is a drop-in Centre situated in an isolated part of the Borough and it provides meals and social activities and support.
The Counselling Service
In 1988 a Counselling Service was developed, using well-supervised volunteer counsellors in the last stages of their training. It moved to the Richmond Healthcare Hamlet in 1990, where free counselling accommodation was provided. The Counselling Service has a good record of helping its clients and remains an important part of the portfolio of services offered by Richmond Borough Mind today.
The Social Centre
In 1989 Richmond & Barnes Mind took over the management of the Social Centre at the Richmond Royal Hospital, to provide meals, activities and company for people referred by the Richmond Community Mental Health Team. The Centre was initially run by volunteers. In 2002 after the re-development of the Richmond Royal, modern accommodation was provided and the centre started to employ two part time workers. This Centre also hosted the Tuesday evening drop-in (The Tuesday Club) which closed in 2007.
The Merger
At their respective AGM's in July, 2000, Twickenham Association for Mental Health and Richmond & Barnes Association for Mental Health announced their intention to merge to form one organisation covering both sides of the River. Given the fact that the two organisations play a significant role in the delivery of mental health services in the Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, the Borough agreed to finance an organisational review by Brookside Associates to ascertain the strengths, weakness and capacity of this combined group. A number of recommendations were put forward in January, 2001 The subsequent merger was initiated on 1st November, 2001. The newly merged organisation was set up as 'Richmond Borough Association for Mental Health' and has received approval from both the Charity Commission and from National MIND, with whom we are affiliated. It is commonly known as Richmond Borough Mind.
Since the Merger
The merger arrangements gave Richmond Mind, for the first time, a part time Director, a post that became full time when its first holder left in...; This made possible both the integration of staff in the existing projects into a single team, a greater professionalization of policies and practice in line with changes in national thinking about mental health, and stronger partnerships both with the local statutory services and with others in the voluntary sector.
With support from statutory bodies, local and national charitable trusts and many other sources, modernisation of the existing drop-in services began, with a greater emphasis on user participation and activity in the community, and new part time drop-ins were started at the Maddison Clinic – ‘Maddison ‘n Mind’ and the Old Bakery in Mortlake – ‘Mind in Mortlake’. A pilot project to provide daytime and weekend activities in Lavender Ward at Roehampton hospital was a success, but funding did not continue. A grant was received to encourage peer groups among service users and facilitate other changes in the day services provided.
Other services – the carers and counselling services – have been funded from statutory sources to expand to meet growing demand. In 2008 RBMind took on a new community development project under the Government’s Delivering Race Equality in Mental Healthcare; under this two community development workers work with the local black and minority ethnic communities to improve their understanding of and access to local mental health services. A very recent project, funded by two charitable trusts, has been to start a Time Bank in Richmond with a special emphasis on offering opportunities for befriending and wider involvement in the community for those in mental distress.