About Well Wessex
The Well Wessex charities comprise of The Balsam Centre, Chard WATCH, Creativity Works and Heads Up. Together we aim to improve effective mental health provision across Somerset by sharing knowledge, expertise and resources.
We work collaboratively to identify issues and opportunities to improve the journey for people with mental health needs across Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset. We develop suitable models of practice and coordinated approaches in response to those issues and opportunities.
Well Wessex works with people of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances. The four charities are well established, well respected and have a range of operational and strategic partnerships in place.
History of Well Wessex
Brought together in 2017 by interested funders from Somerset Community Foundation, the group’s aim is to improve and extend access for effective support for mental health and wellbeing provision across Somerset by sharing knowledge, expertise and resources.
Well Wessex has been developed in response to issues for the need for more local place-based provision across Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset. These include the high and increasing number of people who have slipped through the net of statutory provision, or are unable to access services and activities whether through lack of confidence, mobility or transport difficulties.
All state health and social services have sharply declined in the last few years, while demand has significantly increased and exceeds our ability to meet it. All four of our organisations have been working at, often beyond, capacity for some time, with very little or no, state funding, often dealing with crisis situations.
Each charity focuses on supporting recovery, independence and resilience through holistic approaches, employing individual support together with shared creative and cultural skills and learning based activities. Working with social and community structures people are enabled to find their ‘tribe’ and experience a sense of connection and belonging, sometimes for the first time.
Well Wessex Values
- To work in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation
- To work collaboratively
- To recognise and respect the wide range of reasons people need to access mental health and wellbeing support
- To respect differences of each organisation’s culture and aspiration.
Our Tools
5 Ways to Wellbeing
The five ways to wellbeing approach was first outlined in 2008 by research carried out by the New Economic Foundation (NEF). The evidence suggests that a small improvement in wellbeing can help to decrease some mental health problems and also help people to flourish. These five steps are simple enough for anyone to incorporate within their daily lives but provides unlimited benefit.
Inner Blue Sky
Inner Blue Sky understanding provides the benefits of tuning in and listening to a sense of wellbeing and resilience within. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the true nature of thoughts and feelings, and why quite often, the best way to deal with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings is not to give these a lot of attention or take them seriously. We can learn to tune in our inner wisdom.