David + Danny + Abou + Phoebe + Oleksii + Atalya + stop ECT + James + Zalo + Pablo + Nadia + Vijay + Paul + Yinka + Tommy + Alicia + Dana + Aki + Laila +
Yinka
World health organisation + UN commit to zero psychiatric coercion
High risk medicines: clozapine
Deaths unexplained, lives devastated: here’s another national tragedy hidden in plain sight
How Ireland transformed democracy
In diversity there is beauty and strength
Maya Angelou
The scale of the problem – Yarmouth
Medical gaslighting: when conditions turn out not to be ‘all in the mind'
Social Movements and NGOs: Can They Get Along?
The garden as refuge: The restorative power of green spaces and nature
There’s this misconception that anarchism means chaos - but the term means ‘without rulers’
We don’t expect people to organize for us - we organize for ourselves
Jen Angel
Lake Alice Psychiatric hospital
Can anyone defend this ?
Yet Electro Convulsive Treatment is still done worldwide + in the UK
Why do people turn a “blind” eye + say they can do nothing ?
For example health and well being boards + Integrated Care Boards
Does that makes them complicit in the crime?
Nazir thinks otherwise ?
Wendy
Lucy Letby: Police urged to investigate hospital bosses for corporate manslaughter
STOP ELECTRO CONVULSIVE TREATMENT
Electro convulsive treatment appears to be banned in some parts of Australia
https://www.madinamerica.com/2014/10/electro-convulsive-therapy-australian-children-banned/
There is an international petition which has got over 135000 signatures
Electro convulsive treatment is a human rights abuse + must stop now
Campaign Against ECT Gains Traction in UK
MPs call for ban on electric shocks as mental health treatment
In the Courts, a Partial Win for Informed Consent and ECT Justice
Why are we stuck in hospital ?
Number of autistic people in mental health hospitals: latest data
'Barbaric': Hundreds with learning disabilities kept locked up for years
Problem linked to local councils + housing? - Wendy
Dispatches : hospital undercover Are they safe?
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/hospital-undercover-are-they-safe-dispatches
NO THEY ARE NOT
We have published the latest data set showing human rights abuse within the Mental Health system – please see below + the website for further details
Revealed: Housing associations urged ministers to let them increase rents
community land trust – housing affordable
Healthy foundations: integrating housing as part of the mental health pathway
community powered NHS – animation
The real Tragedy of the Commons
We can reset the paradigm
We can move away from hyper-individualised accounts of people 'out for themselves' and work on creating the societal conditions for a community led approach including Tolworth
A community-powered NHS: making prevention a reality
LBRUT should follow Hartlepool’s lead?
Camden Health + care citizen’s assembly
LBRUT should follow Camden’s lead?
Achieving food security through land reform
Learning from other countries – energy
NHS paying £2bn a year to private hospitals for mental health patients
We could do so much with that money – Wendy
Inquiry investigates deaths of 1,500 NHS mental health patients in Essex
Not just Essex? - Wendy
Where we are born into privilege, we are charged with dismantling any myth of supremacy
Where we are born into struggle, we are charged with reclaiming our dignity, joy and liberation
Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future
Solidarity requires commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground
Can randomly selected citizens govern better than elected officials
The law in 60 seconds – legal aid for inquests video
Hillsborough law – duty of candour - would this help with our Freedom of information requests ?
Cannabis, ketamine and speed to be decriminalised in London by Sadiq Khan
Biden Proposed a Rent Cap for Corporate Landlords. What’s Next?
Sadiq Khan: leaseholders in England should have the right to withhold service charges
A shorter working week for Europe
Children imprisoned on remand – the stark reality of racial bias
Combatting Structural Racism and Classism in Psychiatry: An Interview with Helena Hansen
Suman Fernando’s book Institutional racism in psychiatry + clinical psychology
Mental Health Act reform: race and ethnic inequalities
How Western Psychology Can Rip Indigenous Families Apart: An Interview with Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn
People deprived of liberty due to misapplication of Mental Health + Capacity Acts
As a result of the Bournewood case the Mental capacity act came into being
The mental capacity act
Assume capacity
Best interest
Least restrictive
People can make what others would consider unwise decisions
Supported decision making
Capacity can easily be assessed
Can someone make a decision
Can they communicate the decision (not necessarily verbally)
Can they remember the decision
-Wendy-
Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report
Half of people with a learning disability and autistic people reluctant to provide feedback on care
The authority gap: why women still aren’t taken seriously
Women disproportionately affected by soaring Mental Health Act detentions
Pathologized Since Eve: Jessica Taylor on Women, Trauma, and “Sexy but Psycho”
Report Finds Monitoring of Electroshock Treatment Unsafe
New Study Finds ECT Ineffective for Reducing Suicide Risk
We can STOP ECT with lasting power of attorney
Provide Tapering Strips for People Who Want to Withdraw Safely from Psychotropic Drugs
NICE Guideline Update Acknowledges Severe Antidepressant Withdrawal
Withdraw antidepressants gradually, says NICE draft guidance
NHS statistics show continuing rise in antidepressant prescribing
Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions
How universal basic income can tackle anxiety + depression
Long-term antipsychotic use linked to breast cancer
Government review finds 10% of drugs dispensed in England are pointless
Sedated, How Modern Capitalism Created our Mental Health Crisis - James Davies +
CRACKED – why psychiatry is doing more harm than good
Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: January to March 2021
“Almost 4 in 10 adults earning less than £10,000 a year experienced depressive symptom compared with around 1 in 10 earning £50,000 or more”
The data shows what we know to be true: struggling with your mental health doesn’t happen in a vacuum
Why not Diagnose Social Conditions Instead of Individual Symptoms
Council of Europe Releases Report to Promote Voluntary Mental Health Treatment
The WHO Calls for Radical Change in Global Mental Health
the new WHO + UN guidance – psychiatry must entirely change
Emotional CPR: Heart-Centered Peer Support
How do we pay for a basic income
Largest Study on Guaranteed Basic Income Proves Transformative for Participants
Welsh basic income pilot has been published
In a statement from Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice
The pilot will be targeted at care leavers
All young people leaving care that turn 18 over a 12-month period starting this summer will be invited to participate
That is expected to be about 500 people
Participants will receive the payments for 24 months starting from the month after their 18th birthday
A £1,600 a month basic income will be paid each month
Extending Welsh Universal basic income pilot to heavy industrial workers
Evaluation of welsh basic income pilot
The UK Four-Day Week Pilot One Year On
From friends
3rd Saturday of each month 10:30 to 13:30
BBC radio 4 Is psychiatry working?
well-being courses at Kingston Adult Education
£1 Concession Tickets for Kew Gardens+ Hampton Court
As part of their new 10-year strategy, Kew Gardens is committed to ensuring that cost is not a barrier to accessing their gardens in both Kew and Wakehurst
They have introduced a new admission price of £1 for anyone on Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Visitors just need to present proof of their benefit on arrival to be eligible for the new concessionary ticket
All-in-one-hub
SPEAR –RWCDARS – MIND – CAB - DWP
every Friday 11am -1pm
Twickenham United reformed church
First Cross Road
TW2 5QA
Ian
Good Climate News from Good Energy
How you can help birds and other wildlife now
Making gardening accessible for all
Watch live! Inside the Swift nest box
Take part in our free festival of art
Your gardening update from the RHS
A Requiem for the Dispossessed
Which bird can plant a forest ?
Autumn special: six wonders to see now
It's World Migratory Bird Day!
Just announced for autumn 2025!
Shocking bird crime figures revealed
Community based organisations + community recommended organisations
Platfform: for mental health and social change
JUDI’S ROOM FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH
FEEL - Friends of East End Loonies
Mad Pride campaign for psychiatric abolition
A Caring Mind | A blog for carers of mental health
Liberation
Please contact the email below for more information
liberationrights@gmail.com
Poverty eradication organisations + self-expression
Barnes hospital – community land trust ? - Wendy
Joseph Rowntree foundation (JRF)
Unlocking the power of communities to protect people from hardship
UK Poverty 2024: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK
Impact of hardship on primary schools and health care
what's causing structural racism in housing
Elections Bill could disenfranchise millions of voters
Anxiety nation Economic insecurity and mental distress in 2020s Britain
Join JRF to support and grow economic and social futures that work for everyone
A framing toolkit: How to talk about homes
Reboot: building a housing market that works for all
talking about homes:the foundation for a decent life
What pushes unpaid carers into poverty?
Rethinking hardship with community, power, and policy innovations
including bringing private homes into social ownership - Wendy
the relationship between poverty and NHS services
Including Mental Health information - Wendy
addressing poverty with lived experience (APLE)
Disabled people against cuts – DPAC
National Survivors User Network (NSUN)
At NSUN, we believe a successful government would:
Recognise harms in current mental health systems
Challenge inequalities in mental health care
Tackle issues that cause and exacerbate mental ill-health, distress, and trauma
Prioritise lived experience in mental health reform
NHS long term plan consultation : NSUN’s response + template for members - DECEMBER
Positive mental health group - monthly
last Tuesday of month - 2.30 to 4.30pm
contactfaheem.uddin@nhs.net
NSUN is a great organisation with a great newsletter …
You can sign up to it here…
NSUN's strategic direction: redistributing power and resource in mental health
NSUN is now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health
NSUN also has a directory page here
The PIP overpayment trap for hospitalised recipients : call to form a campaign
What counts as mental health care ?
Funding grass-roots groups – welfare support + accessible transport
Exploring “community” and the mental health lived experience landscape
NSUN responds to the Cass Review
Queer Identities and Self-Harm: Conquering Shame
A blog via Self injury Support
Funding mental health + migrant justice
Article by John Pring via Disability News Service
Benefits claimants have been treated as a political punching bag this general election
Article by Mikey Erhardt via Big Issue
People detained under the Mental Health Act dying at three times the rate of those held in prisons
An article by Amy-Clare Martin via the Independent
i do not want a seat at your table – co-production in mental health services
A blog by Amy Wells via the NSUN blog
A blog by Nima Hunt via The Mental Elf
Neoliberalism, Security and the Politics of Mental Health
An event recording by Medact via YouTube
DWP staff fail in two-fifths of cases to meet new standards aimed at stopping deaths
A blog by John Pring via Disability News Service
Secret DWP reports link more deaths with systemic flaws
An article by John Pring via the Disability News Service
police still being used in “punitive” NHS mental health schemes – says report
An article by John Pring via the Disability News Service
Whose camera is it anyway? The use of body-worn cameras in acute mental health wards
An article by Alison Faulkner via The Mental Elf
free our people now new campaign + network
Simone Aspis - Free Our People Now Project Manager on
simoneaspis@inclusionlondon.org.uk
or 07749 892 843
Blog by Colin King via NSUN
Work Under Capitalism is Making Us Mad
An interview with Micha Frazer-Carroll via Tribune
The festival building a future free from oppression
An article by Micha Frazer-Carroll via huck
mental health is not an individual problem
An interview by PE Moskowitz with Micha Frazer-Carroll and via Mental Health
Psychiatric patient made to pull down her pants to ‘prove’ she was on her period
An article by Katie Boyden via METRO
DWP plans to spy on claimants' bank accounts will pile misery onto disabled people
Article by Mikey Erhardt via Big Issue
NICE Guideline Update Acknowledges Severe Antidepressant Withdrawal
Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: January to March 2021
“Almost 4 in 10 adults earning less than £10,000 a year experienced depressive symptom compared with around 1 in 10 earning £50,000 or more”
The data shows what we know to be true: struggling with your mental health doesn’t happen in a vacuum
hand in hand peer travel buddy – mind Islington
Galop launches the UK’s first ever LGBT+ Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline
Lothlorien Therapeutic Community
Community accountability peer support hub (CASH)
Build Back Fairer in Greater Manchester: Health Equity and Dignified Lives
Survivor Researcher Network (SRN)
Violence abuse + Mental Health Network
Homelessness + renter organisations
Hastings commons – a community land trust – you can buy a share for a pound
Awaab’s law - to prevent any more children dying from damp and mouldy social housing - PETITION
Housing First news: research strengthens case for national Housing First roll-out
Housing First in England – beyond a pilot?
Housing First for Women: valuable lessons
Scotland's Housing First Pathfinder evaluation
Suicide Prevention and Postvention
New fidelity framework events & videos; advocating for Housing First funding
End wealth supremacy - Universal basic income - community land trusts - would solve this issue ? - Wendy
The third biggest driver of homelessness in England- domestic abuse
1.3 million households on the waiting list for a social home – 18 June 2024
In England, 3,898 people sleep rough on a given night – 23 May 2024
This morning 145800 children in England woke up homeless – 10 May 2024
5351 long term empty homes in Liverpool – May 2024
We published a report about the impact of homelessness on children's education
In this report, we found that half (49%) of teachers in England work with children who are homeless –February 2024
We could end this with people power – community land trusts – people assemblies – Wendy
The number of children living in temporary accommodation reached another record high this month: 142,490 children without a home. This is an increase of 3,560 children in just three months
March 2024
did you know that three-quarters of people in temporary accommodation report living in poor conditions?-October 2024
1474 homeless people died in 2023 in UK
Art + homelessness international
They get richer, we get sicker: report your disrepair!
Latest reports show 4,389 people slept rough in London between October and December 2023
a shocking 23% year-on-year increase
Creative + nature + advocacy
sometimes Dragon cafe runs laughing therapy sessions
Me and You and a Global Pandemic
Medicating Me: Personal Impressions of Psychiatric Medication
National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTI)
Mental health - a growing public health priority and human rights imperative
Seni’s Law – Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018
People organised + information
Peer Respite Advocacy Week & Celebration!!
"How Big Pharma & Psychiatry Gaslight Us"
hearing voices family + friends group
The First LGBTQIA+ Peer Respite in the Country
The Hearing Voices Approach - Get Involved
A Statement on Israel and Palestine + Support Gatherings
Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice
Celebrating Black History Month with the Black Movement Leaders Project
Peer respite can break the cycle of hospitalisation +
Votes on IOC & Peer Respite are Coming Soon!!
Mad in the Family Monthly Newsletter
Concern as Proportion of Children in England on Antipsychotics Doubles
Seattle Schools Sue Tech Giants Over Social Media Harm
Council for evidence based psychiatry
Robert Whitaker Answers Reader Questions on Pharma Marketing and Psychiatric Drugs
Why Does a Parent Medicate a Child? An Interview with My Mother
We should listen to our emotional pain
Martin Harrow: The Galileo of Modern Psychiatry (1933 – 2023)
In addition, global outcome for the group of patients with schizophrenia who were on antipsychotics was
compared with the off- medication schizophrenia patients with similar prognostic status
Starting with the 45-year follow-up and extending to the 15- year follow-up
the off-medication subgroup tended to show better global outcomes at each follow up
I conclude that patients with schizophrenia not on antipsychotic medication for a long
period of time have significantly better global functioning than those on antipsychotics
Suman Fernando’s book Institutional racism in psychiatry + clinical psychology
Responsibility Without Blame in Therapeutic Communities: Interview with Philosopher Hanna Pickard
Reason and Madness: How Psychiatry Marginalizes Those Who Contradict Western Norms
Art, Music, Exercise, and More: What Are the Recommended Doses for Improving Mental Health
How Western Psychology Can Rip Indigenous Families Apart: An Interview with Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn
Research Reveals Mental Health Professionals’ Participation in Rape Culture
Why are policies which affect so many lives based on such bad research ?
Antidepressant Use Linked to Sexual Dysfunction, Why Aren’t Prescribers Discussing It?
How Psychiatrists Responded to the Launch of Our New ECT Survey
Exercise Leads to Best Outcomes for Depression
Mood Disorder Handbooks Perpetuate Psychiatric Myths, Present Barriers to Systemic Thinking
Answers from Outside of Academia: Revealing Community-Based Rehabilitation in the Global South
From a Paranoid Schizophrenia Diagnosis to a Peer Researcher in Nigeria
Context and Care vs. Isolate and Control
Pharma Pushed “Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis” to Boost Drug Sales, Researchers Report
More Psychologists, More Problems? The Paradox of Mental Health Workforce Expansion
Demedicalizing Depression: An Interview with Milutin Kostić
Many Results in Psychology and Medicine Are False Positives
Decolonizing Psychology Requires a Critical Psychology of Caste
Youth Antipsychotic Use Linked to Increased Risk of Death within Five Years
Can Psychiatric Units Function Without Restraints? Italy Says Yes
Case Study Demonstrates How Racism Drives the Misdiagnosis of Schizophrenia
New Study Exposes the Trauma of Involuntary Psychiatric Detention
Beyond Paternalism or Abandonment in Mental Health Care: An Interview with Neil Gong
Doctors Paid to Market Drugs on Social Media
ECT Causes Deadly Heart Problems
Our Medical System Protects Wrongdoers and Punishes Whistleblowers: An Interview with Carl Elliott
Doctors Are Not Trained to Think Critically
By a doctor
study finds psychiatric hospitalization erodes “service user” dignity
What It’s Really Like Inside a Psychiatric Ward
By a former police person
The Path from Trauma to The Power of Nature: An Interview with Banning Lyon
Open Dialogue Training in NHS Reveals Transformative Potential, Yet Faces Cultural Resistance
The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: An Interview with David Taylor and Mark Horowitz
Antidepressant Withdrawal Commonly Misdiagnosed as “Mental Illness”
Antidepressants cause cardiovascular disease
Is Pediatric Bipolar an Epidemic in the U.S. or a Result of Pharma Influence?
Digital Mental Health Tools May Reinforce Global Inequalities, Colonialism
From Freud to Fanon: How Daniel Gaztambide is Redefining Psychoanalytic Practice
Faith Healing in India: An Ancient Way of Tending to Madness
Madness, Utopia and Revolt: An Interview With Sasha Warren
Mood Tracking: My System for Reducing Psychiatric Hospitalizations
Philosopher Links Depression to the Distortions of Global Capitalism
UN’s Mental Health Goals Off Track as Social Factors Remain Unaddressed, Study Shows
Hearing Voices Groups Provide Meaning Through Peer Support
The New WHO and UN Guidance: Psychiatry Must Entirely Change
The WHO Calls for Radical Change in Global Mental Health
newsletter here
London hearing voices network – update
London hearing voices network would like to hear from you 🌠
Any thoughts welcome - please contact lhvn@mindincamden.org.uk
Spiritual crisis Network (SCN)
London SCN
contact
Social prescribing – what matters to you …
including beyond the pill
Self- development
Our perspective on just about everything comes from the psychological cage we’ve been conditioned to live in
A cage created by
A difficult or disappointing experience
A privileged or sheltered life
Social influence
Pop-culture and mass-media stereotyping
And the list goes on
Gradually, unbeknownst to us, our cage - our conditioning - drains our mental energy, leaving us vulnerable to bad decision making
When we were young, we saw the world through simple, hopeful eyes
We knew what we wanted and we had no biases or concealed agendas
We liked people who smiled
We avoided people who frowned
We ate when we were hungry, drank when we were thirsty, and slept when we were tired
As we grew older our minds became gradually disillusioned by negative external influences
At some point we began to hesitate and question our instincts
Healing in Your Relationships
If you don’t allow yourself to move past what happened, what was said, what was felt, you will look at your present and future through that same dirty lens, and nothing will be able to focus your foggy judgment
Always be kinder than necessary
Forgive yourself for the bad decisions you made, for the times you lacked clarity, for the choices that hurt others and yourself
Some chapters in our lives have to close without closure
Be careful not to dehumanize people you disagree with
Being kind to someone you dislike doesn’t mean you’re fake
People tend to be more thoughtful and kinder when they have found a little happiness and peace of mind
How can I respond from a place of clarity and strength,
rather than continuing to react in anger and frustration to the painful experiences I've been forced to live through
Think about that question for a moment
Read it again, and sit with it
Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, pause for a few seconds, take a few deep breaths, and make space for a healthy change of state—for something new to enter
It's time to consciously redirect your focus by taking it away from something unchangeable that drags you down, and instead zero it in on something small and actionable that moves you forward in the present moment
4 Hard Choices that Make You Happier in the Long Run
You can choose to be present when it would be easier to pick up your phone
You can choose to do a workout when it would be more comfortable to sit around
You can choose to create something special when it would be quicker to consume something mediocre
You can choose to invest in yourself when it would take less effort to procrastinate
Let Your Inner Child Out
Sometimes the grown up in you needs a break
So, every now and then, release your inner child and enjoy some carefree fun
See the world with childlike wonder
Ask lots of questions
Revisit one of your favourite childhood books or movies
How will you let your inner child come out to play
All You Need Is Less
If you're wanting more love, more peace, more meaning, more focus, you'll probably find that all you need is, less
Less expectations, less talk, less buying, less thinking, less stuff, less stress…
Are you ready for less
Involving Others in Decisions
How often do you involve others in the decision-making process
It makes sense to include those who are impacted by the decisions,
or those who will implement those decision
It increases their engagement and responsibility,
and having various perspectives can only lead to better outcomes
But involving others in decision-making takes time and resources
How do you figure out when to Involve others in the decision making, and when not to
Nourish with Happiness
Apparently, there is no nourishment like happiness
So are you nourishing yourself with happiness
Here are 3 ways to nourish yourself with happiness, everyday:
1) Feed yourself a dose of laughter (a good joke or a funny video clip)
2) Engage in one activity that makes you happy (gardening or cooking)
3) Create space to feel happy (a dose of gratitude or meditation)
Be Present to Prevent Stress
Whenever you find yourself stressing about getting things done or what’s going to happen
try this: be present
Firstly, become present to your emotions
your stress
and then, become present to what you’re doing and where you are
Be present and you may find that it helps you to feel less stressed
more relaxed
and be more effective and productive
Be more present and in the long term, you'll increase your stress resilience, and may even prevent feeling stressed
Growing through Life
Are you just going through life or are you growing through life
If you feel like you’re just going through the routine of life, nothing probably seems exciting
Why not grow through what you go through
Grow through life, and you'll most likely find learning and excitement even in the routine
Dreams Need Courage
No matter how much you’ve achieved or accomplished,
there’s always much more to explore
So have the courage to dream
Have the courage to define your dream clearly,
to go beyond any obstacles and reach for your dream,
even when you can't see what lies ahead
Dream and have the courage to make life an adventure worth exploring
Walk in Someone's Shoes
You know the saying about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes before judging them
Next time someone's being difficult, leave your opinions, assumptions and emotions aside for just a couple of minutes
Then, figuratively walk in their shoes, that is, try to see things from their perspective to understand where they're coming from
Even if we walk a mile in someone’s shoes,
we still can't judge them because we can never really know the reasoning behind someone's actions or what it’s like to be that person
So, just try to understand others as much as you can
The Three Questions
When you're confused and unsure about a decision, ask yourself three questions:
Who am I?
What is important to me?
What is my purpose?
The answers that arise will most probably lead you to clarity
Point of Light
If you're feeling low in energy, low in mood, try this simple meditation:
Bring your attention up through your body to a point in the middle of the forehead,
just above and behind the eyes, behind the mind
Begin to experience yourself as a point of concentrated energy,
a spark of light, full of radiance and positive energy
Feeling good, feeling re-energised, you’re ready to move on to whatever's next
Peace of Mind
Peace of mind comes not from wanting to change others, but by simply accepting them as they are
For your peace of mind, can you let go of what you want others to do or how you want them to be?
Can you accept everyone as they are?
Peace Takeaway
Sometimes it seems as if someone or something can so easily take away our peace
But actually, no one and nothing can take away our peace because peace is our natural state of being
Next time it feels like someone or something has taken away your peace, understand that you just got pulled away from your peace
Then, pull your attention away from everything else and return back to your natural state of peace
The Seed of Life
We are like a tree
the seed is the essence of who we are
our life-force
and our branches represent work, family, friends, health, dreams, ambitions
When the seed is vibrant, our life-force pulses through each branch to every single leaf
So, extend your branches in a joyful gesture and celebrate life
And when you feel overwhelmed by it all, concentrate on the seed and you’ll revitalise everything
What Are You Focusing On?
If you’re feeling anxious, ask yourself how much you are focusing on things that are outside your control
Every time you start focusing on what’s outside your control
gently bring your focus back to what is within your control
Do this and you'll start to feel less anxiety and more peace, and increase your capacity to deal with things
A therapist’s guide to self-care
Self-care is the practice of taking action to improve your health
We can do this regularly or just from time to time, but it’s important to turn this abstract concept into a concrete goal
I've written a blog on the ‘6 domains of self-care’, including my top tips on how to give yourself a little love
Physical self-care
This is about taking care of our physical body and getting back to basics
Eat regularly and in a way that nourishes your body
Exercise regularly
Boost your sleep
Psychological self-care
We all know it is important to take care of our mind
This might include seeing mental health professionals or simply doing things to help us recharge
Turn off phone notifications
Keep scheduled therapy appointments
Take time for reflection
Emotional self-care
This involves your relationship with yourself
Check in with your feelings and see how you’re doing
Keep a journal
Vent your frustrations
Engage in opportunities to create happiness
Physiotherapist – Working from home: 4 health hacks
Plump it up
Make your chair more ergonomic
Add cushions and a foot rest to take care of your lower back
Go for a raise
Try shaking up your desk design
Raising your laptop will help to protect your posture
Break it down
Take micro-breaks
Regular movement helps prevent muscular pains
Stretch yourself
That's it
Stretch
Stretching at your desk will reduce the risk of muscle strain
3 simple techniques to help improve your breathing
Breathing control
This means just breathing easily, using the least effort
It helps you to relax
Place your hand on your tummy, below your ribs
Feel your tummy rise and fall as you breathe gently through your nose
Let go of any tension, just breathe as you need to
Deep breathing
This helps to fill the lower areas of your lungs
Take a long, slow deep breath in
At the end of the breath in, hold the air for 2 to 3 seconds before letting the air out gently
Try to keep your shoulders relaxed
Repeat for 3 or 4 deep breaths
Huffing
This is a way of clearing mucus from your lungs
Take a breath in and then breathe it out quickly through your mouth, as if trying to mist up a mirror
Once any mucus has moved upwards, you should find it easier to cough it out But there is no need to try and force up mucus
Always finish with more relaxed breathing control (exercise 1) after the huffing exercise
A to Zzz our top tips for a good night's sleep
Be consistent
Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day – and avoid napping throughout the day, if possible
Create the right environment
When it is time for sleep, make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool
(The NHS recommends 18-24C for adults and 16-20C for children)
Have a change of scene
If you find yourself unable to fall asleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing elsewhere
Try reading or drinking some non-caffeinated herbal tea, and stay off social media and news sites, which can often be
balancing your needs with the care of others
Coalition for Personalised Care
Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance
Economics of happiness – local futures
Beyond Conspiracy: Framing Meaningful Activism
Gabor Maté supports the localization movement
Dr Gabor Maté on Mental Health and Localization
Mental health crisis : blame the system, not the individual – Eva Henje
Intersectionality
Commitment to modernise Mental Health Act in Kings Speech – JULY 2024
"I have three alarm clocks...!" ⏰
Costs NHS £534 million per year - £18 million per month !
Life in a mental health unit when you shouldn't be there – 2:42 minutes
How to protect yourself from scams - EASY READ
Get help with money + energy bills
The world’s 1st TV station run for + by people with “learning disability”
Our Disability Energy Support service
Right to Ride: new travel guide
£1,010 price tag for disabled households
We'll be campaigning for Keir Starmer's new Government to:
tackle the extra costs of disability
transform attitudes to disability
make sure that those of us who want to work get the right support to do so
fix our failing benefits system
‘I want to go home’ - What to say to someone with dementia in care
Challenging behaviour foundation
Find a public living room near you
Disabled Activists Deliver Book Exposing Deaths At Hands of DWP To Every member of parliament
PM Must Stop Scapegoating Disabled People For Government Policy Failures
Is James Davies book – SEDATED relevant here ? Universal basic income now ! - Wendy
UK government faces UN for violation of disability rights
New Report Finds People Struggle To Share Experiences of Health and Social Care
1.6 Million Disabled Pensioners Set To Lose Winter Fuel Payments
We want :
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Access to treatments
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Improving cost of living support
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Sustainable social care
The Mental Health system is broken
reforms to the Mental Health Act
action-attainment – beyond autism
Land + other views
Five ways religion intrudes on politics
Sacred or secular: rethinking public investment in church preservation
Education Policy Institute: disadvantaged pupils ‘less likely to be admitted’ to faith schools
The first UK-based dedicated helpline for people leaving high-control religions
From pulpit to parliament: religious threats to legal abortion
American evangelist ‘dark money’ infiltrating UK politics
MILLIONS OF POUNDS SPENT BY CHURCH OF ENGLAND TO EVANGELISE SCHOOLCHILDREN
CONCERN FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS AS FIRST SIKH ‘COURT’ ESTABLISHED
Remove Bishops from house of Lords
Abolish house of lords replace with people’s assembly ? - Wendy
Land justice UK – Land and Food
A win in the fight for land rights – PETITION
Human rights
The British Institute of Human Rights
What is a human rights approach ?
Standing up for our everyday rights ⭐
Everyday rights - get involved in our call for evidence
Equality + human rights commission
Why can’t they stay in France ?
the role of the past in today’s racism against refugees
Companies including Serco make millions from refugees’ misery in the UK’s for-profit asylum system
We need to talk about racism within the asylum system
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
Our manifesto calls for 5 key things:
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Rights – Everyone should be able to thrive, no matter where we’re from
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Safety – We must welcome people who seek sanctuary on our shores
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Dignity – We all deserve to live with dignity and feel safe in our homes and workplaces
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Justice – We should all be able to defend our rights and hold the government accountable
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Community – We all deserve to find care and belonging in our communities
Migrants organised- We keep each other safe!
Defiance:fighting the far right
Patients not passports – A toddler charged £70k for life saving NHS care – ACTION
WHICH - Food prices increasing
Third sector + campaigning
Third Sector – Governance bulletin
This is a charity – Wendy
Fifth former Oxfam GB staffer sanctioned after DRC sexual misconduct investigation
King Charles's charity warned over working in Bahrain
Church of England announces £100m fund after slavery links
Charity 'won't be silenced' by Israel blacklisting
Average CEO pay at large charities rises to £175,000, survey shows
Christian charity pledges £7m in reparation payments over its past links to slavery
Charity for single parents adopts four-day week
Paul Streets: Hope and optimism in Great Yarmouth
Healthy places, prosperous lives
4,100 children are sent home from school every day – AUGUST 2024
Transforming asylum accommodation
including kindness in public services
kick it – stop smoking – kingston
well-being courses at Kingston Adult Education
Silverfit Kingston - over 45’s Fitness Sessions
contact jennifer@silverfit.org.uk
Kingston Voluntary Action (KVA)
4 in 10 children in London live in poverty
1 in 4 are living in poverty after housing costs
Source: London’s poverty profile 2021
100 Campaigns that Changed the World podcast
The Scottish government ‘s consultation well-being + sustainable development bill
Change. Be as clear as you can about the change you want to see
Collaboration. Consider how you can work with others
Capacity. What resources do you have, and what other resources will you need
Context. Research and understand the wider environment
Support + more ideas
Israel Repeatedly Committed War Crimes With US Weapons
Mental illness is a lie which causes untold damage
hospital safety for diabetes patients, institutional misogyny, climate change, and more…
Whistleblowing, patient feedback, visiting restrictions + events…
Latest hub highlights: Misogyny, crosswords, Ockenden…
Mind the implementation gap, vaccination programmes, mesh removal
Patients died after catalogue of errors by Priory mental health chain
Listening to families, safety management systems
including more events for example
Huntercombe group : a mental health scandal
Systemic failures, PSIRF, surviving scrubs, and more…
including ombudsman raising concerns about human rights in Mental Health
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/human-rights-mental-health-care-crisis-b2234510.html
Bed shortages, painful hysteroscopy, revised NatSSIPs, and more…
Prescribing antidepressants for chronic pain lacks evidence, experts say
Trust must pay £200k to whistleblower it subjected to ‘campaign of harassment’
Women’s healthcare in Britain ‘worse than in China and Saudi Arabia’
Three-quarters of children detained under mental health act are girls, new report warns
Trust spent £680k in failed attempt to fight whistleblower
Eight resources on eating disorders
Mothers and babies being put at risk due to unsafe NHS maternity services
Forgotten heroes, whistleblowing, thrombosis misdiagnosis
Leading for patient safety, ADHD diagnosis, private surgery
'Misogyny’ and ‘medical patriarchy’ widespread at major trust, reports find
The elephant in the room: Patient Safety and Integrated Care Systems
NHS trust to review all suicides since 2017
Drug firms funding UK patient groups that lobby for NHS approval of medicines
Trust given warning notice over rapid tranquillisation
World Patient Safety Day, Lucy Letby verdict, Patient Safety Partners
Co-production with communities as a solution to health inequalities
NHS computer issues linked to patient harm
CQC admits it is failing to keep patients safe
Inpatient mental health – a digital desert
getting people to accept restraints – seclusion – electro convulsive treatment – forced imprisonment – forced medication as human rights abuse is an uphill struggle – Wendy
The Hughes report: options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh
Take patient partnership from theory to practice
Make increasing the availability of quality care a national priority
Place health at the heart of government
Deliver genuine two-way communication between patients and the NHS
Provide the workforce that patients need
Published guidance for Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) teams
the plan for health + care services to work with people + communities
Start engagement early
Provide clear and accessible public information
Build relationships with excluded groups
Co-produce and redesign services and tackle system priorities in partnership with people and communities
The NHS Constitution for England
Public Health Scotland CEO: Poverty costing NHS £2.3 billon
Government writes off £1.4bn of PPE from Covid deal
CHANGE NHS CONSULTATION - DECEMBER
As laid out in this important article by clinical psychologist Sanah Ahsan
our current approach to mental health care is centred on purely medical responses to "individual" conditions
But we know that issues such as poverty, debt and housing play a huge role – in fact, 73% of Just Treatment supporters who filled out our recent survey on mental health cited material conditions as a key cause of poor mental health
A landmark legal case against big pharma greed
Fighting for our children’s lives
ZERO SUICIDE ALLIANCE – FREE TRAINING
Make every contact count – RESOURCES
Kings Fund do provide FREE spaces – just ask for one - our voices are important
FREE ONLINE COURSE - Play full: getting creative with design thinking in health and care
Transforming power relationships in partnership working
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Power over |
Power with |
Power to |
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Power is seen as finite and zero-sum – you either have it or you don’t Use of authority to coerce, control and repress others seeking to claim power Power is negative and repressive and perpetuates inequity |
Power with others through collective action and coalition Mutual support, solidarity and collaboration |
The power of humans to be agents of change and to exercise their agency |
Strong foundations: why everyone needs good emotional health – and how to achieve it
Public harms: racism and misogyny in policing, education, and mental health services
Including poor health + housing + obesity + bad roads
Health Management and Policy Alert: 10 September 2021
Including Home for all
Making good trouble: Clenton Farquharson CBE on co-production, equity and change
People power: lessons from the health care response to the Grenfell Tower fire
What is needed to reduce ethnic minority health inequalities
How much longer and further are health inequalities set to rise
Poverty and ill health: what's the connection?
How will integrated care systems work under the Health and Care Bill
Including details of a free course “an introduction to leading with kindness and compassion in health + social care
The power of those small acts of kindness
Six ways to create a culture for integration
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Experiment + learn together
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Have a clear shared vision |
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Set the tone |
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I |
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Understand each others worlds
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Use data to prompt discussion |
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Share challenges + strengths |
Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report
Discharge from mental health inpatient settings
Devolution in Manchester has improved health system, study finds
From refugee to NHS doctor, Dr Waheed Arian tells his story on our podcast
Listen to mums: ending the postcode lottery on perinatal care
General election briefing: health is our greatest asset
We know that poverty kills people early - so too does the stigma that surrounds it
AI in healthcare: navigating the noise
What could provider collaboratives look like
Not really outcome-based commissioning? Certainly not people commissioning? – Wendy
UCL Institute of Health Equity
The abundance project - TO SEPTEMBER 2027
Health inequalities: Improving accountability in the NHS, August 2023
Structural racism leading to stark health inequalities in London
Westminster Health Forum - WHF - policy conference – PROVIDE FREE SPACES – JUST APPLY
A relaxation technique to help you
People’s theatre
Call for Writing: Photography, Colonialism and Climate Justice
Justice
Haldane society of socialist lawyers
What’s the truth about mental health and unemployment?
46% of Britions support Universal basic income – so how do we get this to happen ?
Video of launch for treating causes not symptoms: basic income as a public health measure
UBI gives people the chance to make their own choices, to make decisions for themselves, their communities, their households, their lives and their futures
UBI does everything from sharing out problems, to delivering a feminist vision to tackling the climate emergency, to stopping benefit traps
It does all those things, but ultimately UBI is democracy
Baroness Natalie Bennett
Every step we take towards a Basic Income will liberate power in the hands of the citizen
Paddy Ashdown
Andy Burnham joins call for basic income trial
Report from Manchester University
How universal basic income can tackle anxiety + depression
Stockton, California who released incredible results from the experiment there
Our proposal for a community led basic income pilot in Jarrow and Grange, East Finchley
A beginner’s guide to basic income costings
Universal basic income motion passed by Richmond Council
Large Basic Income for Artists pilot launched in Ireland
Evaluation of welsh basic income pilot
The UK Four-Day Week Pilot One Year On
universal basic income discussion
Basic income + our mental health
Newsletter of the European Network for the Fair Sharing of Working Time
Prosecuting mental health – accountability or criminalisation
A different understanding How the CJS discriminates against those with autism
When should a family dispute end up in court
Barely legal - The experience of remote tribunal hearings
The forgotten people - Prisoners on remand in the pandemic
Does L&D stop the revolving door of police custody
Does diversion from court have an image problem
Computer says yes – you will pay a fine and get a criminal record
Children imprisoned on remand – the stark reality of racial bias
From cells to streets - the revolving door of crime and homelessness
Many on Mental Health wards are also homeless – from Manchester data – do we need to think about this differently ? - Wendy
the system does not make us safer
Truth, justice + accountability
Progress on the legal aid for inquests campaign
Deaths of racialised people in prison 2015 – 2022: Challenging racism and discrimination
Black men seven times more likely to die following police restraint but racism not being addressed
New INQUEST podcast shines a light on powerful resistance by bereaved families
LISTEN NOW: Podcast exploring policing's fatal consequences through the decades
LISTEN NOW: New episode asking, from Cherry Groce to Chris Kaba, what happens when the police kill?
✨40 Years of INQUEST: Unlocking the truth
A day in the community where we celebrate and empower women
Unfortunately, for women in prison, today won’t be a day for celebrations
There were almost 5,000 receptions of women into prison last year, and more than half of them were for women on remand
Too many women are being swept up into the justice system when it is not necessary or appropriate
Most women in prison have a history of childhood abuse or trauma, they need a safe space and support
Prison life during the pandemic
International Women's Day and other news
Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms
Criminal justice lessons from across the globe
The decades-long injustice of the IPP sentence must end
In the last year, prisoners self-harmed at a rate of once every 10 minutes
American Mercinaries: Killing in Yemen on BBC Iplayer
capital punishment is racist - PETITION
Who profits from our broken asylum system?
new official definition of ‘extremism’
5 WAYS THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS MAKES THE UK A BETTER PLACE
☑Protect everyone's human rights
☑Treat everyone with dignity and respect
☑Defend everyone's ability to challenge those in power
Fighting NHS Charging – What can you do now
Orwell's predictions are coming true
political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable
and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind
George Orwell
Inside the UK’s welfare surveillance system
Using Freedom of information requests – Wendy
Why is PayPal trying to silence activists
Whistleblower: 'army spied on UK citizens'
Edward +Annie + David + Jeffrey + Thomas
Inside the post-Snowden legal challenges
Stop the Met Police using facial recognition surveillance - PETITION
Minister meddled in facial recognition probe
Stop Govt spying on all of our bank accounts
5 things to know about the new Snooper’s Charter
Ex-undercover cop reveals surveillance tactics
New censorship tactics revealed
five threats to your privacy in this election
400,000 Housing Benefit claimants will be spied on by the Government
what the government isn't telling you about facial recognition
£230 million of taxpayers money on facial recognition software
We know this software is faulty - Wendy
NETPOL – the network for police monitoring
Spycops in CND: Request for information
The fixers who made £98m from the Tories’ VIP lane
Other information sources
‘We need urgent action on Black mental health’
Checking manifesto – JULY 2024
Knife crime in England and Wales is rising, even if you exclude London
What size are the UK’s armed forces?
Political parties misleading leaflets
Work and pensions secretary incorrectly claims PIP is worth ‘thousands of pounds a month’
Has your Amazon Alexa been spreading misinformation ?
Sanders and McDonnell on community wealth
Land banks and community land trusts
Community wealth building as health building
Scotland’s guide to community wealth building
wealth supremacy – how extractive economy + the biased rules of capitalism drive today’s crises
The UK election has resulted in a landslide majority for the Labour party
However, the incoming government should not forget that just a few weeks ago, a YouGov poll showed “a lack of trust in British politicians is the biggest reason non-voters are choosing not to vote,” and that among reform possibilities for the House of Lords chamber, a “rolling citizens’ assembly” was most favourable
How to assemble a Citizens' Assembly: a guide!
A Blueprint for the EU Citizens' Assembly
Big questions, detailed answers: Our definitive How-To Guide to Citizens' Assemblies is here
How Ireland transformed democracy
people assemblies in German museums!
participatory budgeting process
Community wealth building comes to Scotland
How to Make a Democracy Economy
South Korea explores community wealth building
How NY can enter ‘a new era of public power’
‘A global beacon’ for community wealth
North Ayrshire Council in Scotland
Technology
Innovation is not designed to create happiness
It's designed a lot of the time to facilitate one's needs and desires, to stimulate desire and all of those kinds of things
It's certainly about doing all of that, but it's not about making the world better for people
And it's not about improving their lives in any way
It's about trying to actually create a world in which more profit is to be had
Military
The one sector of government that doesn’t experience austerity is the military budget
To what degree is competition between states somehow rather related, tightly related, to the competition between capitalists
Ask Prof Wolff: Is Nordic Socialism a Progressive Step
How Capitalism Shapes our Food
Coping with (and Resisting) Capitalism
You need to be very strong
To do the job that she did - you really have to be your own person
You couldn’t be the kind of person who worries what people might think of you, and you really have to say, no,
I’m not going to adapt, I’m not going to fall into that mould
I’m going to break it and keep breaking
Paul Caruana Galizia
Jersey’s Pandora’s Boxes: The Tax Justice Network podcast
The Swiss banking clean-up is a mirage
10 measures to expose sanctioned Russian oligarchs’ hidden assets
How City of London finance is making us poorer – infographic
Tax haven ranking : UK protects itself while keeping world defenceless to British tax havens
Pandora Papers shows transparency failure is an accountability failure
The Prime Minister pays the same rate of tax as a teacher but earns £2.2 million
right time for taxes on wealth
How the super rich avoid inheritance tax
International pressure to tax billionaires is growing
Six wealth tax policies that could raise £50 billion
Ten tax reforms to raise £60 billion for public services and a fairer economy
UK’s richest families got inheritance tax relief on £2bn of assets in 2022
In a world struggling with a cost of living crisis recent research by Oxfam and ActionAid has shed light on a shocking reality
In 2021 and 2022 the world's 722 largest companies reaped windfall profits totalling a staggering $1 trillion annually
It couldn't be clearer that tackling the cost of living crisis requires a bold approach
This has to include higher taxes on both companies and the wealthy
The cost of living crisis affects ordinary individuals and families who struggle to make ends meet as prices soar for essential
goods and services while wages struggle to keep pace
Meanwhile, wealthy corporations have seen their profits skyrocket during these challenging times
How the super rich avoid inheritance tax
This information obtained using Freedom of Information requests
This discrepancy highlights the urgent need for systemic change
12 July 2023
We Need to Have a Talk About Leonard Leo’s Version of Catholicism
Opus - dark money, a secretive cult, and its mission to remake our world
At least $15.9 billion spent on US election campaigning
What a waste of money - We need to move to people power NOW ! - Wendy
Starmer's NHS 'fixer' has made £8m+ from private health consultancy
Peter Mandelson's Firm Secretly Lobbied for Qatar Freeports
Peter Mandelson’s lobbying form under investigation
Labour to announce plans for five new UK freeports in budget
Tata Steel closure leaves 2,800 jobless - but could net bosses millions in profit
Tony Blair advising Covid contract ‘overnight billionaire’
Rachel Reeves advisor’s firm lobbies for Shein
British food firms successfully lobbied to defer £1.7bn plastic packaging tax
DP World: UK Minister told not to talk about P&O sackings
Stamer urged to cut ties with P&O ferries owner over links to Russia
UK lobbyists accused of ‘greenwashing’ oil-rich Azerbaijan ahead of COP climate summit
Universal basic income in Florida
Basic income “won’t stop people working” lessons from Canada
How misogyny lures men to the far right
Kenyan women are denouncing femicide. Will anyone listen?
UK troops stationed abroad pay for sex “day in, day out” without sanctions
Information obtained using Freedom of Information act – but the process was long + difficult – Wendy
Conspiracies and US cash: The fight to centre abortion in UK’s culture wars
‘Are we not human?’ Uganda’s LGBTIQ community reels as anti-gay law upheld
Uganda’s U-turn on refugee policy leaves Sudanese asylum seekers stranded
Rights groups urge World Bank not to resume lending to Uganda over anti-gay law
Government fails to monitor firms with £4bn contracts to house asylum seekers
Anti-immigrant laws leave 1,000s unable to claim asylum
Do we really need a Global Commission on Modern Slavery?
Is Shell’s exit from Nigeria a front to dodge legal responsibilities?
Yes, slavery and empire did make Britain rich
Labour Lovebombed by lobbyists
No 10 advisor has financial interests in AI
As the far right riots in the UK, India offers a cautionary tale
I saw how the US backed Jerusalem’s ethnic cleansing – and Blair looked on
Disabled people don’t need another inquiry. We need change
Plans to spy on Disabled people’s bank accounts show Labour isn’t for change
Benefit crackdown will worsen an already terrible system
Universal basic income – 3 day week – well being / doughnut economy – we are not cogs in the capitalist system ? We are people End Wealth supremacy now ! - Wendy
Government secrecy still rife as departments consistently breach FOI deadlines
How the DWP fought to withhold evidence its policies kill disabled people
information obtained using Freedom of Information act – Wendy
Exclusive: Cops share dozens of photos of dead bodies and crime scenes
information obtained using Freedom of Information act – Wendy
information obtained using Freedom of Information act – Wendy
Government extensively profiled NHS doctor
information obtained using Freedom of Information act – Wendy
90% of Met officers disciplined for racism still work for force
Met Police officers kept jobs after sending racist and sexist messages
Met firearms officers: 2,000 complaints, 5 dismissals
Revealed: Police began monitoring ‘social justice’ activity after BLM protests
Racism in UK maternal care: ‘Why aren’t we being listened to’
Women disproportionately affected by soaring Mental Health Act detentions
Synagogue church of all nations scandal
Men’s Catholic order gave secret millions to ‘deceptive’ anti-abortion centres
Forget GDP growth, it’s sustainable wellbeing we need to aim for
Finance firms gave Labour £2m in two years before banker bonuses U-turn
UK accused of being ‘complicit’ in Gaza deaths after giving Elbit new contract
How the UK government rebranded protest as extremism
Conservative Party took £1.3m from donor group linked to Israeli settlements
A dying baby, a Trump tweet: Inside network setting global right-wing agenda
Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ vitriol is working – don’t take our rights for granted
What you need to know about Palantir, the US firm in line for a £480m NHS deal
European Union funds charity that compares abortion to Holocaust
The next prime minister could fix the housing crisis. Here’s how
Revealed: UK private tenants hit by record annual rent hikes
King Charles’ property empire earns £334,000 from housing benefit
Landlords urged to ‘take advantage’ of soaring rents in ‘grotesque’ email
Private renters will face ‘winter of hardship’ after autumn statement
Eight landlord MPs spoke during debate on renters’ rights
Revealed: Housing associations urged ministers to let them increase rents
I am facing my second no-fault eviction in two years. Renting is broken
The Budget is great for landlords but a disaster for renters
I’m an NHS children’s doctor. Our housing system is driving a national health emergency
Let's abolish the colonial IMF on its 80th birthday
Can tech ever rid us of online abuse? Does it even want to?
Local councils call bailiffs over debts of just £3
“Shocking decline” of HMP Wandsworth isn't an outlier
Labour accused of ‘racism’ after ‘disgusting’ treatment of Palestinian man
Labour and Tories fail to commit to exposing universities’ secret donors
Concerts, clothes and New York breaks: New ministers take £170,000 of gifts
Lobbyists helped MPs get elected – and you have no right to know about it
Starmer’s new immigration bill is just as racist as the Rwanda plan
Labour given £4m from tax haven-based hedge fund with shares in oil and arms
Firm behind £4m Labour Party donation invested in weapons for Israel
No 10 adviser involved in AI policy has financial interests in AI
Waheed Alli found to have breached rules after openDemocracy investigation
How Big Pharma preys on poor countries – and patients pay the price
People + countries with less wealth always pay more for everything ? - Wendy
The UK doesn’t work for Disabled people
There are 16 million of us – Wendy
A new and silent land grab is underway – we must stop it
Is Shell’s exit from Nigeria a front to dodge legal responsibilities?
Business as usual for EU and Azerbaijan amid Nagorno-Karabakh ‘ethnic cleansing’
The silent serial killer: 391 deaths in 25 years at the UK border
Omid + Saratch + Abd + Houmed + Husham +
Minister who owns beef farm approved £5m ad campaign promoting red meat
information obtained using Freedom Of information (FOI) requests - Wendy
Facebook whistleblowers in the UK
Hey, YouTube – leave our kids alone
Breaking Big Tech’s chokehold in Brussels
Freedom of assembly
Campaign for freedom of information
ICO should end its near invisibility on FOI
Call for tougher FOI enforcement and other news
ICO action against government departments for FOI delays
Social housing and Freedom of Information
FOI challenges on national security, social housing and the environment
Hacking is far more than a security issue. It chills free speech
We must not stay silent on Iran’s use of the death penalty
Remembering the women who pay the ultimate price for freedom
Ukraine – why we can not afford to look away
UK journalists fall victim tonew police tactics
The silencing of Afghanistan's women
Can newspapers still hold the powerful to account?
Crown confidential – end Royal secrecy
INFOGRAPHICS – SIMPLIFIED MEDIA GUIDES
Article 19 – defending freedom of expression + information
Bringing together all these brains in one room makes for a stronger platform for us to speak in one new unified voice.
Then the tech organisations can actually listen to us
Virginiah Gitome, Code for Africa
(Kenya coalition member)
Because concentration creates bottlenecks of power
Agustina Del Campo, free speech expert
Anger is not sufficient to maintain motivation over time;
you also need to have hope,
and to believe that you can make a difference
Kathryn Sikkink, author and human rights academic
It is beyond outrageous that the authorities plan to deprive millions of girls and women of access to schools and universities and the right to education in a bid to subdue their spirit of resistance and freedom-seeking
Saloua Ghazouani, ARTICLE 19’s Director for Middle East and North Africa
I chose journalism to be close to people
It might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I could bring their voice to the world
Shireen Abu Akleh - Palestinian–American journalist
Protecting the Right to Protest
How can we end violence against women journalists?
75 years on: How human rights heroes create change
Belarus: Time to make some noise
celebrating women free expression heroes
Speaking up for digital freedoms worldwide
UK and USA: Traditionally ‘Open’ societies have begun closing
Queer resistance to digital oppression in the Middle East and North Africa
Podcast ‘Silenced’: Afghan journalist Sanjar Sohail
How can the UN protect freedom of expression for our future?
Younger people
Manifesto for new parliament – VIDEO
Supporting your child with anxiety
Tips for coping with peer pressure
Toxic masculinity and mental health
tips on the start of your eating disorder recovery journey
Rediscovering your identity in eating disorder recovery
Tips for coping in these anxious times
Read our tips and advice for supporting a friend
building positive mental health – including worksheets
culturally-informed guides with young people
support if you are experiencing Islamophobia
What to do if you’re experiencing eating problem
A guide to eating problems for parents/carers
How to support a friend with an eating disorder
How to have a conversation with young people about mental health
Five tips for looking after yourself during family arguments
How I'm learning to cope with travel anxiety
Fighting for the right to learn
From Afghan girls, to you: “our story is full of hope”
Hearing from Afghan girls on Malala Day
My body - my sanctuary - how body shaming affects girls beyond self-esteem
From Guyana to Indonesia, Assembly is the place for girls' voices
When the world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful
"Stay true to what you believe in and let your art reflect it"
"We are here to get our futures back"
My unforgettable chat with Malala in Brazil
Brazilian girls are deciding their future
Using your voice for policy change
Using comedy as a vehicle for activism in Nigeria
Recognising your power and taking action
What would education be like if it was designed by girls – for girls ?
End violence against women + girls
A whole system approach to domestic abuse
domestic abuse is a gender crime ?
Maternal Mental Health Alliance
Listening to the stories of women who have experienced child removal due to drug and alcohol use
Is Hanna Pichard’s work relevant here ? - Wendy
10 November 2022 – Report - Key perinatal mental health findings
40%of deaths within the year after pregnancy were from mental health-related causes
Suicide remains the leading cause of direct maternal death in the first postnatal year
Suicide during pregnancy or up to six weeks after is increasing:
In 2020, women were three times more likely to die by suicide during this period compared to 2017-19
Very few women who died by suicide in 2020 had formal mental health diagnoses, but significant numbers had a history of trauma
Maternal mental health briefing for integrated care systems
We want all integrated care boards and partnerships to work collectively across the NHS, local government, other public services, and voluntary sector organisations to provide services that support maternal mental health, reduce health inequalities and use public money wisely so that all women and their families can access the care they need
British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Twins Trust Bereavement Service
preparing your teenager for adulthood
Ask pornography sites and the government to protect children more
Government bodies
mental health act statistics – annual figures 2021 - 22
Still, we suffer – Wendy
draft mental health bill – EASY READ
Mental Health Strategy Delivery Plan for 2022/23
Rapid review into data on mental health inpatient settings: final report and recommendations
Proposed NHS mental health access standards for patients
Energy Bills Support Scheme explainer
Health research authority (HRA)
Health quality improvement partnership (HQIP)
From Paternalism to human rights
Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report
Our revised plan and approach for transformation
Restrictive practice — a failure of person-centred care planning?
Our approach to assessing local authorities
Organised crime may be profiting from student loan fraud worth £60m – report
Improving productivity could release tens of billions for government priorities
The effectiveness of government in tackling homelessness
Office for National Statistics
MONTHLY EVENTS TO DECEMBER 2024
A report from the Office of National Statistics revealed an estimated 778 people died in England and Wales while homeless in 2019 – an annual increase of 7%
This is the fifth year in a row that the number of people who have died has increased
It is the highest number since records began
The lasting impact of violence against women and girls
Beneath our feet: improving estimates of UK land value
ONS blog - Inclusive measures of growth – How ONS is moving Beyond GDP
Boosting the UK’s research capabilities to help solve the challenges of the day
Geographic divide in health, disability and unpaid care
ONS - Disability: When the numbers alone are simply not enough
Census 2021 – Shining a light on the population
Measuring wellbeing and going ‘Beyond GDP’
Housing + rental prices – semi automated tool – NOVEMBER 2024
DHSC Voluntary Sector Newsletter – INCLUDING HELPLINE FOR SUPPORTING + BEHAVIOUR
Ombudsman news special – annual review launched
local government + social care ombudsman – update
Ombudsman considers everyday human rights in new report
Broken trust: making patient safety more than just a promise
local government association (LGA)
Inclusive economies and healthy futures: Supporting place-based action to reduce health inequalities
Debate Not Hate: the impact of abuse on local democracy
Get in on the Act: Mental Health Act 2022
INCLUDING THE SELF BUILD + CUSTOM HOUSING BUILDING ACT
Including monthly Mayor’s Question time
free school meals in London to 2025
My society – including support with FOI requests
PETITION – Vital information hidden
Stop talking and take action: working together to tackle health inequalities
Housing support services in hospitals may speed up discharge
Antipsychotics pose previously unknown risks to dementia patients, NIHR study finds
Cervical screening: home self-sampling could be environmentally friendly
A summer’s violence: knowing, and caring, when inequality bites
Exploring therapeutic engagement in Finnish adult acute inpatient mental health settings
NEW CHARTER PROVIDES FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT & ENGAGEMENT
together in research - autumn 2024
Health and Social Care Committee
Health + Safety Executive (HSE)
Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
New end of life and palliative care report
SCIELine: New strengths-based approaches resources and learning
free mental capacity act e-learning +
Strengths-based practice for council services and more
Strengths-based leadership / safeguarding / workforce
what is strong rather than what is wrong
Covid-19, learning disabilities and autism
Why are we stuck in hospital ?
Wandsworth
Enough is enough - Hard-hitting report tackles ongoing health inequalities in mental health services
Community Empowerment Network (CEN)
Know Your Rights & Employment Workshop - For the Community - 6 November
contact
june@wcen.org.uk
In the UK, people with brown skin are being denied equal and compassionate mental health care
They are more likely to be brought to and kept in hospital without their consent
They are more likely to access mental health services through the police and criminal justice systems, and to find themselves unwell and back again once released
People with brown skin, particularly men, are more likely to be forcibly restrained and given more than the recommended amount of medication
WCEN 2021
Richmond
Richmond community drug + alcohol service (RCDAS)
Mon – Weds – Thursday – Friday – 9am to 430pm
Tuesday 9am to 1pm women only
Tuesday 1pm to 430pm
Ilex House
Unit 2
94 Holly Road
TW14HF
0203 228 3020
Mortlake community association
part of Neighbourhood care group
Richmond town centre has a new ‘Safe Space’ on Friday and Saturday nights
sometimes we do not realise we are lonely
We’re expanding our Psychotherapy and Counselling service and looking for new members of the team
Mental Health Act stats demonstrate increasing racial injustice
Art Group
Basic art materials are provided
The group takes place every Wednesday – 1-2.30pm at the Vineyard Café in Richmond
contact
peernetwork@rbmind.org
Art group Turner House
contact
ewa.rudz@rbmind.org
Compared to other London boroughs Richmond has
The highest rate of hospital admission for mental health
The second highest rate of admission for self-harm
The 4th worst youth wellbeing score
A third of those aged 16-19 already have a mental health diagnosis
Statistics from the Richmond Borough Health and Care Plan 2019-2021 and the Mental Health Needs Assessment 2022
Your ideas wanted
contact engagement@rbmind.org
Join carers community
contact carers@rbmind.org
Mind responds to announcement of Work Capability Assessment reforms
free mindfulness workshop every Monday
Bridge the gap – support booklet
Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College
Easy News: Personal Independence Payments - what might change and how you can have your say
Guide to Richmond’s NHS, Care & Support
Lots of info and assistance available
resources to help if your child seems unwell
Persistent cough? get it checked by your GP
Anti-Bullying week - Make a noise! Plus help with cyber-bullying
Screening children for Type 1 diabetes risk; Proposals for children's cancer services location
end-of-life compassionate support
Information about blood pressure
Hospital discharge - Stalking - awareness - Richmond Park accessible minibus returns!
YOUTH COUNCIL PODCAST: CHALLENGING 'TOXIC MASCULINITY'
Talking Bubble – Telephone Befriending with Language Options
Free home sensors for unpaid carers in Richmond
Young people update - NOVEMBER
November in Richmond libraries
Additional grants are also available from the Household Support Fund for food, bills and other essential items, via Citizens Advice Richmond and Richmond AID
Free home sensors for unpaid carers in Richmond
Mental Health Awareness Week: Coping with feelings of anxiety
Free minibus service to Richmond Park
recycle your small electricals
Eight ways to help reduce your risk of dementia
Centre for Governance + Scrutiny (CfGS)
Open government is the ‘foundation of good government.'
If done well, open government:
reduces opportunities for corruption, saving the taxpayer money
builds trust through a collaborative approach to problem-solving and policy development
helps ensure officials act in the public interest and enhances the integrity of public institutions
supports growth and efficiency by leveraging technology and data
council constitutions owned + understood by all
governance & scrutiny newsletter
including the review of council constitutions + the operation of schemes of delegation for decision making
Hounslow
You can find details of health services in your area from NHS Choices
Call 999 for emergency services
Emergency and urgent care health services – 111
Hounslow Council: Out of hours social care support – 020 8583 2222 For more information please click here
Hounslow Council: For more information on Adult social care, please click here
Hounslow Council: For more information on Children and families, please click here
CarePlace: Provides a Directory of Services, Information and Guidance enabling direct access to local care and community services For more information, please click here
West London NHS Trust – Mental health crisis: 24-hour helpline 0800 328 4444 For more information, please click here
safe space Hounslow crisis helpline – 0203 475 5185 – 11am to 11pm – 365 days per year
Hounslow matters weekly newsletter
Thrive weekly newsletter - including events
Heston Repair Café
contact
hestonrepaircafe@gmail.com
Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter OBE has today offered support for Hounslow Council’s trailblazing new programme
Grow for the Future
a first-of-its-kind policy in the UK to turn wasteland across the London borough into new allotments - community gardens and orchards to grow food and pair them with local schools to teach children about healthy living - sustainability and biodiversity
Heston farm community space to grow fruit + vegetables – get involved
English lessons for asylum seekers
contact
Cost of living + general support
Fridays – 10 -1pm
Sutton +
Sutton Healthwatch – Mental Well Being
The economic case for investing in the prevention of mental health conditions in the UK
Mental health and the cost-of-living crisis report: another pandemic in the making?
Check out our ways to cope with anxiety
Sutton Mental Health Foundation
We all get more forgetful as we get older, but there are things you can do about it
The way you live your life, and in particular the way in which you eat,
can make a huge difference to your memory, slowing down cognitive decline or even reversing it
Westminster Drug project (WDP)
what drives health inequalities
How less pay has affected people's mental health and wellbeing
Action as an antidote to despair
Putting people at the heart of data-driven health systems to address inequalities
Taking action to build good health
including importance of social determinants
A pebble in a still pond: the impact of community-led work on health inequalities
Let’s talk differently about health: why framing matters
A framework for NHS action on social determinants of health
A time for radical innovation and improvement
What’s important when building a strong learning community to drive improvement?
Can automation help with growing dissatisfaction among GPs?
Why housing matters for health
Working at system level to eradicate health inequalities for the UK’s black community
This report argues that public services need to be more effectively joined up
It finds that a lack of joined-up public services is costing government up to £4.3 billion every year
These costs are a direct result of additional use of government services, such as housing or health, by young people and families who did not access adequate support or early help when they needed it
The NHS was never meant to go it alone
How can the next government take prevention from rhetoric to reality?
Health at the heart of government: rebuilding the nation’s health through mission-driven government
Black Identities – Student Discount – Hearing Voices – Wild Therapy
Therapists Challenging Racism and Oppression: The unheard voices
Camden +
Oxevision cameras and the Trust now in the Independent
Conversations Around Loneliness & Mental Health booklet
Any thoughts please contact
TheSidebySideNetwork@gmail.com
DIALOG+ and the Recovery Star
Dear Friends,
I was wondering if you have experience of either DIALOG+ or the Recovery Star
(or other stars – more about those here:History of the star+Recovery star 4)
There was an element of co-production in the Recovery Star for Mental Health, and there has since been an Un-Recovery Star, also from the user-survivor movement which outlines the things that work against our recovery
These are the questions that the DIALOG
tool asks
and these are the areas of the 4th Edition Recovery star
Note that it used to contain “work” but this has been dropped now
The Recovery Star covers ten outcome areas:
Managing mental health
Physical health
Living skills
Friends and community
Use of time
Relationships
Addictive behaviour
Home
Identity and self-esteem
Trust and hope
The Recovery Star (4th Edition) is underpinned by a five-stage, ten step Journey of Change model:
Stuck (1-2)
Accepting help (3-4)
Believing and trying (5-6)
Learning (7-8)
Self-reliance (9-10)
I would be interested to hear your opinions and in particular how you think they compare
Thanks
Bev
TheSidebySideNetwork@gmail.com
Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry which uses the format of three lines
Here are our haikus
We hope you enjoy reading them
The Benefits System:
I have no money
Brown arrives, phew
Do I deserve it?
Racism:
You pray to their gods
Then, under your burning cross,
You murdered them all
Propaganda:
Feeding me with lies
Why not report some good news?
Keeping me in fear
Labour adopts hated Tory bank surveillance and DWP search and seize powers
South west London VCSE alliance newsletter
Kingston Hospital’s Health Talks podcast
South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLSTG)
New Hearing Voices Group in Teddington every 2nd Thursday of each month 5:30 -7pm - Starting 9 November
contact
Black thoughts 1st+ 3rdThursday of month 6.30 – 8pm
contact
Carers monthly creative workshop - 7 November
contact
Getting it right first time workshop – 12 November
contact
Education
Level 2 Qualifications – Without paying a penny
Covid-19: how tech could transform education
we find any learner – free training
London school of Economics – EVENTS
Power to people
Citizens commission on human rights international – the MH industry watchdog
Ban Electro convulsive treatment – PETITION
Let's get the FDA to do its job
World health organisation + UN commit to zero psychiatric coercion
UN Human Rights Council Condemns Forced Psychiatric Practices
Including Electro convulsive treatment - this report is many years old (2018) so why no action locally from Health + well-being board + Integrated Care Board ? - despite knowing about the issue ? - are these boards failing us ? - Wendy
Time magazine wrote :-
America has reached peak therapy why is our Mental Health getting worse ?
which states research suggests both misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis are common in psychiatry
One 2019 study even concluded that the criteria underlying psychiatric diagnoses are 'scientifically meaningless' due to their inconsistent metrics, overlapping symptoms, and limited scope
That's a sobering conclusion because diagnosis largely determines treatment
We need to look at “social determinates”of well being ?
Power to people ?
Housing + income ?
Well being / doughnut economies ? - Wendy
Study Exposing Financial Ties Between DSM Contributors And Pharma
CCHR Advocates For Ban On Electroshock Amid Concerns Raised By International Survey
STUDY QUESTIONS SERIOUS FLAWS IN $35 MILLION ANTIDEPRESSANT RESEARCH
EXPOSING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE FACILITIES
FDA PROPOSES NEW BAN ON ELECTRIC SHOCK THERAPY AT JUDGE ROTTENBERG CENTER
⚡TWO-THIRDS OF ELECTROSHOCK VICTIMS ARE WOMEN
Spanish Supreme Court Upholds CCHR’s Psychiatric Abuse Education Campaign As Vital
Children of the Windrush Documentary by Fresh Arts
UK spend on Halloween over £1 billion
Not to spoil the mood this Valentine's Day... ❤️
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Inclusion – we welcome everyone
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Community – we take care of each other |
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Democracy – we decide things together |
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Nature – we look after our world |
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Justice – we share what we have |
NEF’s founders wanted to:
Regenerate local economies and enrich poorer countries through self-reliant development
Work within ecological constraints, human needs for survival, social justice and self-fulfilment
Grow the green and renewable industries of the future and care for and maintain the built and natural environment
And reorganise work so it can meet human needs
Why antiracism means anticapitalism
People on the lowest incomes are paying even more of their salaries in tax under this government
Why the climate crisis means higher prices
Well being economy now ? - Wendy
We need universal basic services to tackle the climate crisis
Why carbon taxes should be spent on insulating the UK’s draughty homes
Government will pay landlords 5 times more than it will spend on affordable housing in next 4 years
The £58bn housing benefit bill dwarfs the £115bn Affordable Homes Programme
Government subsidising private landlords £70bn over next five years
The best things do come through big, bold change
Trapped in poverty by our social security system
There are other ways to tackle the cost of living crisis — just ask France and Spain
Child poverty rises six times faster in most deprived areas compared to the richest
Denise + Frank + Mickey + Arran
COST OF HOUSING HOMELESS PEOPLE SKYROCKETING FOR COUNCILS
How our extractive land and development models work against public good
How the Bank of England is wasting billions in public money boosting banking sector profits
Locality – the power of community
Bursary tickets available
community power revolution –manifesto
Introduce a Community Power Act
Create a National Community Ownership Strategy
Put communities in charge of local economic development
Make collaboration – not competition - the guiding principle of public services
Champion community-led housing and neighbourhood planning
Keep it local for better health
use collective intelligence to solve public problems
How Mombasa is fighting to protect its blue economy
Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES)
CLES is calling for political parties to rediscover the power of place and take six bold actions to harness the power of local to deliver change:
Reverse austerity, power local economies
Reframe devolution
Make wealth building everyone’s business
Empower places to lead climate action
Power up local employment pathways
Reignite local planning
community wealth building: a history
Raising council tax won’t fix local government
Levelling up paper falls way short of what is needed
Building community wealth in Lewes
Community-led development: a roadmap for asset ownership
Building Community Wealth in Scotland
a new vision for community wealth and power
Community wealth building 2024
How to build an anchor network ⚓
including making the best use of land + assets - Wendy
It’s not about us asking for trust, it’s about us radically trusting citizens
Audrey Tang
Community-powered investment has positive impact on health
A community-powered NHS: making prevention a reality
How community power can save money and reduce demand on public services
It's time for a Community Power Act
Community engagement and the power of ‘what if?’
Place-Based Public Service Budgets: Making Public Money Work Better for Communities
Power to the people? The route to English devolution
Three elements will be important for mission-driven government
Embedding meaningful participation through devolution
Three spending shifts: How the Government can propel person-centred funding
Tech-Enhanced Citizens’ Assemblies: Toward a more healthy and constructive democracy
New paper: Six ways to democratise city planning
Ireland lead the way with citizen assemblies
Macron praises French Assembly on end-of-life
How to supercharge democracy in Austria
How a permanent Citizens' Assembly in Paris passed a bill into law
devolving power beyond town hall
Locally rooted community businesses
buying 11 coastal houses from the council for £1 – community land trust
Unlocking the potential of community energy
The public want council assets sold to the community
Plunkett Foundation – events +
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REMOVED HOMOSEXUALITY FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF DISEASES IN 1990
32 YEARS LATER, ATTEMPTS TO ‘CURE’ US ARE STILL HAPPENING (and LEGAL)
Conversion therapy includes medical, psychiatric, psychological, religious, cultural or any other interventions that seek to change, “cure”, or suppress the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of a person
Figures from the UK Government’s National LGBT Survey found that:
7% of LGBT people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy
10 % of asexual people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy
13% of trans people have been offered or undergone conversion therapy
Equality Trust blog: Why do we need to talk about mental illness, shame, stigma and inequality
Destitution is Designed into the UK's Migration System
New research on violence against disabled women: It's all about control!
GOALS
Keep the UK signed into the European Convention on Human Rights
Repeal the cruel Rwanda Act, Illegal Migration Act & Nationality & Borders Act
Enshrine the Right to Food in UK law
Recognise China’s genocide against the Uyghurs
Strengthen the Modern Slavery Act to sanction businesses which profit from modern slavery
Out + about + Nature
Baker Street Irregular Astronomers
Real junk food project – twickenham
Capital Growth – Training + events
Can urban food growing tackle the climate and nature emergency
including community assets – Wendy
Oases in the desert: The farmers regenerating the landscape in southern Spain
The Story of Umgibe: A farm in a plastic bag
5 reasons why local food matters
We want the next Government to:
Hold big food companies to higher healthier standards, protecting children.
Ensure all children have access to healthy, nutritious food throughout their school day.
Rebalance the wider food system through new commercial incentives.
Create the right conditions to make high streets healthy.
Explore a ‘net zero’ equivalent target for health and build on successful climate policies
Nearly 10 million adults and children struggling to afford healthy food
Pushed the the brink: The link between food insecurity and mental health
stop pollution killing our rivers
Saving the planet with vegetables
12 ways to connect with nature
Autumn Events with Habitats & Heritage🍁🎃 - NOVEMBER
Celebrate LGBT+ History Month with us!
'Ebony Empowerment': Stories, Workshops & Disco!
Mental health events – to December 2024
Art
for 2 claires
Arts activism + cultural exchange
Co-op Community Fund and All Change
Experience the world through art
Learning and creativity for all
Introducing The Superpower of Looking
imprint
creating art from things around you
There is an alternative (TIALT)
Ignite Imaginations – latest news
Beyond GDP what matters to national well- being
Understanding how agency and control matters for community wellbeing
Belonging and wellbeing through physical activity
Housing and wellbeing: insights from English Housing Survey data
New Zealand Living Standards Framework update and first wellbeing report
Personal power: reframing the locus of control
In this period of campaigning before the general election , here are our priorities for the new government:
Make pornographic content that sexualises children illegal online, as it already is offline
Make it illegal to possess, produce or host pornography that includes acts that meet the international definition of torture
Introduce regulation to end the trafficking and exploitation that is rife within the pornography industry and which normalises violence against women and girls
Ensure age verification for any site carrying pornographic content is regulated by Ofcom to the standard set out in the Online Safety Act
Introduce the Nordic Model to deter demand for prostitution and support victims of sexual exploitation
Peer Support
Parliament debates current toothless inquiry to be a full Statutory Public Inquiry 31 January2023
ESSEX FAMILIES – SUPPORT FROM PARLIAMENT GROWS FOR A STATUTORY PUBLIC INQUIRY
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen declares support for Statutory Public Inquiry in to Essex MH Services
Essex mental health patient deaths probe calls backed by professor
Amy + Dannielle + Lauren + Shaun
NHS mental health services set to face full public inquiry to force staff to give evidence
Failure to 'appropriately assess' girl, 17, contributed to her suicide, coroner says - PETITION
LEADING MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY SANE JOINS CALL FOR STATUTORY PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO ESSEX MH
Essex Mental Health Inquiry: Chair renews push for legal powers decision
Edwige Nsilu: Inquest opens into death of young woman at mental health unit in Basildon, Essex
Essex mental health staff fell asleep on duty, inspection found
Transforming communities for inclusion
According to govuk at least 30% of prisoners have learning difficulties and/or disabilities
Coping with celebrations – 23 November
Resilience and conflict resolution training workshops
including events
well-being economy now ? - Wendy
"These stories have incredible value": the impact of our work in Birmingham
What should we use people assemblies for ?
British Gas profits rise 10 fold
Billionaires have grown their wealth by £ 180 BN
Thames Water proves the UK is on the wrong path
pushing forward the case for taxing the rich
Enforce Equality Act provisions
making reasonable adjustments to enable more disabled people
(20%+ of the population) to actively participate in local and national politics
A just 2 % global tax on billionaires could raise $242 billion each year !
Who owns the land in the UK + Universal basic income + wealth tax
The Link Between Inequality and the Far Right
Can Scotland's renters beat landlord politicians?
Youth advocates - RECONSTRUCTING THE SOCIAL CONTRACT
TUC Congress votes for wealth taxes; investing in people
UN adopts 'Pact for Future' calls to tax rich, tackle climate, move beyond GDP
we need to talk about racism alongside mental health
Do you have enough money to bribe a politician ?
People with less income pay more for housing + fuel + power
Academy of Peer-supported Open Dialogue
Friends, Families and Travellers
police act 2022 in breach of European convention of human rights
Community catalysts CIC – update
We think this is a pretty brilliant list of enablers of strengths-based working and practice!
Focus on building relationships
Listen more, talk less
Ask meaningful questions
Support people in building their own power and agency
Nurture safe and collaborative spaces
Invest in community-led initiatives and projects
Focus on participatory budgeting
Leverage community connections and local knowledge
Encourage communities to take control
Get involved in informal and fun activities – not just the usual – and go to where people are
Big ideas for dismantling mental health inequalities
Mental health, nature and gardens: expanding the narrative
How local councils can support better mental health for all
Finding ways to end the toxic impacts of poverty: our first Festival of Ideas event
How can local councils know if their mental health services are working well?
Championing trans and non-binary people's mental health
Mental health and the climate crisis
Building a mentally healthier nation
A constant battle: exploring the intergenerational consequences of racism in the UK
It's a constant battle that knocks you
How can we give every child a mentally healthy start in life?
Pursuing racial justice in mental health
Policies for better mental health: the case for a mental health policy test
A dual crisis: the hidden link between poverty and children's mental health
Mental health figures 2024 – the problems
Mental ill health costs England £300 billion a year
including connecting housing + mental health – Wendy
idea of golden triangle of influence
Data
Lived experience
practice
Seniors
Good homes for all: a proposal to fix England's housing
has found that one in six older renters have less than £100 disposable income a month after their rent
That’s just not enough to live on, and leaving many stressed and anxious about how they’ll pay for the essentials
52% of older people on a low household income were unaware of broadband social tariffs before taking the survey
September 2023
Ending discrimination for older renters
National pensioners convention
My Windrush story: justice denied
Age UK – RICHMOND runs FREE IT courses +
Democracy
universalism builds solidarity
Knife crime evidence based approach
Everyone – including young trans people – deserves access to high -quality healthcare
For decades the press and politicians have demonised Muslims and migrants
Water industry ownership should be decided by citizens’ assembly, new bill says
our report reveals voters now have little faith that our political system can address the big challenges of our time:
51% say the system is unable to address the critical issue of climate transition
50% don’t think the system can fix inflation and avoid economic turmoil
63% don’t believe it can help us find a better approach to immigration
63% say our politics is failing on wealth inequality
64% believe the system isn’t able to cope with the housing crisis
But it’s even worse than that:
73% of voters believe the political system mostly serves the rich and the powerful
❌71% say it doesn’t work for ordinary people
63% say it puts too much power in the hands of a small number of swing voters
⌛64% see the system as too short-term
67% judge it as far too London centric
➗64% think the system cannot bring people together and unite the country
Old power v New Power ? People before profit ? -Wendy
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New power |
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Current |
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Held by few |
Made by many |
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Pushed down |
Pulled in |
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Commanded |
Shared |
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Closed |
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transaction |
relationships |
Could you be a Transform candidate?
What are the benefits of Citizens’ Assemblies, and should they be used more?
How honourable are honours lists?
Freebies are just the tip of the Iceberg when it comes to money in politics
Welsh government progressive electoral reforms
The Non-Battleground Election: Millions of voters are ignored
Including Liz Truss appointed one peer for every 1.5 days she served as Prime Minister
Trump shows how First Past the Post gives the keys to extremists
First past the post distorts public opinion on small boats
A future Labour government would be right to use Citizens’ Assemblies
Pursuing Parity: Examining Gender Quotas Across Electoral Systems
Only China’s rubber stamping National People’s Congress is larger than the Lords
Single Transferable vote the gold standard for proportional representation
Victory as Ceredigion joins Powys and Gwynedd with STV consultation
Four steps to protect our elections from AI interference
What happens when the Lords defeat the Government?
74 councillors in Wales took their seats without a vote being cast
Manifestos outside the two parties: Putting democracy on the agenda
How big donors fund our political parties
The real winner from votes at 16 is democracy
Senedd expansion is a pivotal moment for devolution
Positive statements on restoring the electoral system for Mayors + PCCS
devolving power to the people ? - Wendy
Open space principles:
Whoever comes are the right people
Whenever it starts is the right time
When it’s over, it’s over
Whatever happens it is the only thing that could happen
Could you be a community reporter ? +
Child poverty in London - and how to tackle it
Will the new government lead to a rethink on poverty?
Millions of Londoners below minimum income standard
including open letter on temporary housing + other amazing stuff – including peer research – Wendy
WIN: Mozambique secret loans scandal
council tax debt making people destitute
Together against debt – The people’s manifesto
7million people across UK struggling to pay bill because of heavy debt
A new form of colonialism ? capitalism up to it’s old tricks ?
Bondholders could make $14 BN from emerging market restructurings
People of the global South have been rendered vulnerable to climate change because of poverty
Discrimination and precarious living conditions are intensified under this ever-rising debt problem
The global financial system is extractivist in essence –
[characterised by] the extraction of human and natural resources for the relentless pursuit of profit and the ever-increasing use of fossil fuels"
Mae Buenaventura, Asian People's Movement on Debt and Development
Dealing with HMRC is a famously laborious experience but they’re very aware that while members of the public might not like paying taxes, most of them tend to play by the rules
Sadly, we can’t say the same about our universal credit system
The Public Interest Law Centre recently pointed to an example of a client who had been asked for a “photo of you next to your street sign with your right hand holding it” and a “photo of you holding your local newspaper for the area you live (not a national tabloid paper)
This should be dated the same day as you upload the photo”
Increasing defence spending isn’t a silver bullet
Just five senior defence officials have nest eggs with a combined value of more than £11 million!
Wonder where the background data comes from ? - Wendy
NHS Wales splurging £139 K on diversity hire while biomedical scientists earn just 44 K
£44k is not a paltry amount of money ? Could AI be part of the answer if managed ethically ? - Wendy
Could AI be part of the answer ? - Wendy
What a load of rubbish : the number of bins that each UK council collects
Each of us should reduce the amount of rubbish we generate ? composting more ? reducing plastic used ? - Wendy
Public money 'wasted' as Kent County Council lost £2.8m including £63k to care for dead resident
Councils have spent nearly £700,000 paying internet bills for staff working from home since 2019
information obtained using Freedom of information act ? - Wendy
Council tax rises – interactive chart
Councils pay £70000 to social media influencers
How does the State spend £100 of your money?
£80,000 in business class travel
MoD bosses living the high life
Council fatcats on the French Riviera
£35k on curtains for the British embassy in Berlin
Environment
Library of things – Twickenham – why buy when you can borrow
We need to move beyond recycling
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT PASSES LANDMARK CIRCULAR ECONOMY BILL
So much waste ! - Wendy
author of wasteland
Anna + Sandrine + Biljana + Malte + Sara + Sean + Franck
Centre for alternative technology
Labour's 'cruel' winter fuel payment cut may cost NHS £169m a year - new analysis
protest at Labour conference – June 2024
THEY SAY CUTS - WE SAY WEALTH TAX !
Request a Tour of the House of Lords
New Labour MPs take over £45,000 from oil and gas lobbyists
Manifesto 2024
✅A wealth tax on the super rich
✅ Scrap two child benefit cap
✅ Cancel fossil fuel licences including Rosebank
✅ Introduce a carbon tax for polluters
✅ Bring water companies into public ownership
✅ Invest £50 billion in NHS
✅ Create 150,000 new social homes per year
How Rachel Reeves can prove she’s not in the pocket of big banks
Fancy some people powered research?
Insure our survival starting 28 October
Perhaps local government could learn from this approach ? - Wendy
insure our future not fossil fuels
Americans spent $147 billion on their pets, but only $1.2 billion was spent on protecting endangered wildlife
Is it the same in the UK ? Many in the UK copy the USA ? For example politicians ? - Wendy
12 December(and weekly), 17:00
Join this weekly Climate Justice Power Hour for Palestine
Methane Emissions From Dairy and Meat
The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill
Empathy Cafe: our feelings and the future
Share the petition & help prevent a tidal wave of plastic pollution
Climate racism
uncovering fact vs fiction on coca-cola iconic bottle
The Story of Stuff Project - Nestlé's Troubled Waters
Global Citizens or Mass Consumers?
We demand the next UK government takes action to:
End poverty and inequality
Lead ambitious action on the climate crisis
Support the Palestinian people’s struggle for justice
Defend human rights and democracy
Respect workers
Exposed: UK Arms used in Israel's Attack
no UK arms for Israel's war crimes
UK - ISRAEL MILITARY EXPORTS £474 MILLIONS SINCE 2025 - PETITION
These are the priorities we think our newly elected government must tackle:
Prioritise a safer world, including an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza
Ensure fast and fair action to support people hit hardest by the climate crisis
Support a global economic system that prioritises people and planet
Build a fairer and more caring UK economy that values paid and unpaid carers
Record temperatures – and record profits for polluters
Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%, report says
Oxfam: Israel Has Reduced Water Access in Gaza by 94 Percent Since October
What’s conflict got to do with climate ?
Fare Britannia: a new approach to public transport ticketing for the UK
TOXIC INFLUENCE:THE DARK SIDE OF DOVE
The Truth About Britain’s Allotment Waiting List
Total Energies is sponsoring the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)
while causing devastation to communities and landscapes across Africa
Positive news - Single-use plastic banned in Lagos
Inside a climate justice case at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
35 Greenpeace activists ARRESTED- Dove - Unilver - 5 September
Africa is drowning in fast fashion textile waste
91% of plastic waste never gets recycled
introduce a cap + reduction on UK plastic production
support a legally binding global plastics treaty
roll out extended producer responsibility (EPR)
completely ban single – use packaging
introduce an “all in” deposit scheme
set ambitious + legally binding targets
Making polluters pay
Delivering more space for nature
Putting a right to a healthy environment in law
Ensuring fair and effective climate action
Trailblazers in children's food: five areas ensuring school food for all
LGBTQ+ food projects in London
free school meals – how other countries do it
Many countries around the world are expanding their school meal programmes, with countries including India, Brazil, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and 8 US states now providing universal school meals
Our friends at School Food Matters have taken a look at Sweden's universal school meals programme, delve into Japan's acclaimed school food and also talk to Prof Rebecca O'Connell at the University of Hertfordshire on what England could learn from Portugal's school meal system
Campaign for preservation of rural England (CPRE)
The hidden homelessness crisis
Using rooftops for solar - moronic and absolute nonsense?
Labour’s ‘rooftop revolution’ to deliver solar power to millions of UK homes
As much energy as 10 new nuclear power stations – PETITION
QUIZ – do you know the true power of rooftop solar?
Rough sleeping in countryside higher than some urban areas, analysis shows
can the next governmment think outside the box on land use ?
A Q&A with Charles from the Lune Valley Community Land Trust
Affordable - accessible + sustainable housing is essential for a decent life
Coal Action Network – Adani coal mine – ACTION
Fancy some people powered research?
Including cut on tax for domestic flights which will lose £130 M in lost revenue in a year ? - Wendy
End War + Global Justice
Open secret : wherever fashion goes exploitation follows
Zara - pay garment workers now !
tell Zara:stop profiting from Uyghur forced labour
The BDS movement calls for maximizing grassroots and civil society pressure on all states, the United Nations, and regional bodies:
Impose a comprehensive military embargo on Israel, including the export, import and transfer of weapons, military equipment, and dual use items, as well as military training, joint research, investments, etc.).
Impose lawful targeted sanctions against Israel including diplomatic, economic, financial, academic, cultural, and sports.
End all other forms of complicity in Israel’s illegal military occupation, its system of apartheid, and its ever more brutal Gaza genocide.
Re-activate the UN Special Committee against Apartheid to help dismantle Israel’s regime of apartheid and hold those responsible accountable.
Suspend Israel from the UN, just as was done with apartheid South Africa.
Suspend Israel from the Olympics, FIFA, and all such international and regional for a
A message from Benjamin Zephaniah…
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
1 in 5 Palestinian civil society organizations are not on social media
7amleh Documents 10 Million Instances of Violent Content in Hebrew Throughout the Year 2023
7amleh Launches Arabic Violence Indicator – July 2024
Where does poverty really come from?
Did you know that 80% of people displaced by climate change are women?
For election 4 July - During the election we’re going to push all politicians on the issues we care about most:
A radical green transition which phases out the fossil fuel industry in a just and equitable manner
An end to British complicity in Israel’s war crimes
A new approach to the global south, repairing the damage done by vaccine apartheid and hijacked aid spending
A humane way of supporting refugees, recognising that so many people are fleeing situations which British foreign policy has exacerbate
Stop big pharma’s £25 billion NHS grab!
How billionaires get away with it – Davos
£22 billion for Shell. And for the rest of us?
The Secret World of Investor Courts
Did you become a billionaire last year?
Communities in the Niger Delta are trying to make Shell pay
UK could be liable for Israeli war crimes
Campaign against the arms trade (CAAT)
Stop Telford arms fair - 20 November
Solidarity With Yemen Campaign
Syria – arms sales to dictators , displacement + militarised borders
Arms sales back on trial - PLEASE SHARE
Tanks Out of Twickenham and a Secret Court Case
But will ISDS come into play here ? Wellbeing economy now ! - Wendy
Barclays Bank: new report on links to weaponry used in Gaza
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) at 50 : adapting resistance to a changing world
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)
The truth about Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Spending on Britain's nuclear weapons is skyrocketing
Five principles for dismantling antisemitism
Do not isolate antisemitism from other forms of oppression
Challenge political ideologies that promote racism, hate, and fear
Create environments that affirm and celebrate all expressions of cultural and religious life
Make undoing all forms of racism and bigotry both policy and daily practice
Shahar + Einat + Evyatar + Nave
No hiding behind war profiteering: demand an arms embargo now
I am not the problem
I have never left my country nor have I ceded any part of it
Nobody has entered into a treaty or talked to me about who I am
I am Arrernte Alyawarre female elder from this country
Please remember that
More alternative information sources
IN FRANCE
The NFP - launched on 10 June2024 is dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed (LFI)
Also includes the more moderate Socialists, Greens and Communists.
Mélenchon was the first to react to the results last night, calling on Macron to invite the NFP to govern
Its programme includes:
reversing Macron’s controversial reforms that raised the pension age from 62 to 64
raising the minimum wage by 13 per cent
freezing energy prices
bringing back a wealth tax
The NFP has also pledged to “immediately recognise” a Palestinian state
Le Pen insisted that far-right victory in France “has been merely delayed”
Her party secured 89 seats in 2022 - that number has now almost doubled
The presidential election is due in 2027
How fossil fuel producers hit the World Bank’s jackpot
The Sacklers: Getting away with it
The Good Soldier: Killings and cover-up in Afghanistan
Bukayo Saka: footballer targeted by racist abuse after Euro final
Why Hadley Duvall became a voice of the Harris campaign
Robert Jenrick: questions about another £25,000 for Tory leadership contender
Ghost tankers - John - funding Putin’s war in Ukraine
Cash-strapped councils – October 2024
London’s 33 local authorities are expected to overspend by more than £600 million this year
The London Councils group says more than a third will go towards housing more than 175,000 people currently living in temporary accommodation
As a result, boroughs are making cuts elsewhere
Havering, Enfield and Newham are in particularly poor financial health and all face budget gaps of between £20-32 million
Enfield Council is considering closing eight libraries, while Newham may cut funding for Christmas lights and remove free tea and coffee for office staff
“It’s the outer London boroughs that are falling over the cliff first,” Bromley councillor Colin Smith told the BBC
“Some have gone already,” he said, referring to Croydon’s bankruptcy four years ago
A total of 19 UK local authorities have requested “exceptional” financial support from the government this year
That includes a £1.2 billion bailout for Birmingham council
This is how Bad Pharma – please see Ben Goldacre’s book – operates within the Mental Health system – with devastating consequences - Wendy
‘iPhones are made in hell’: 3 months inside China’s iPhone city
Images of Syrian Civil War Take on a Second Life in Gaza Conflict
Lake Alice Psychiatric hospital
Can anyone defend this ?
Yet ECT is still done worldwide + in the UK –please see website for further details
Why do people turn a “blind” eye + say they can do nothing ?
for example Health + well being board + Integrated care board
Does that makes them complicit in the crime?
Wendy
The Bureau of investigative Journalism
Welsh Inclusive Journalism Network
The Sunshine Millionaire: How one man took £130m from British taxpayers
Britain’s evicted kids : dispatches
Private spies: trained by the British state, working for autocracies
The strawberries you eat are picked by exploited workers
Supermarkets STILL stocking pineapples linked to killings
Tax dodgers can continue getting away scot-free
Santander's billion-dollar oil deal – despite green pledge
How Qatar hacked the world cup
Visa system forces care workers to stay silent on rape and abuse
How Russia’s hungry surveillance machine is fed
Voter ID laws blocking access to polls for trans+ people
Thousands of care workers risk deportation after employers breach rules
Russian dark money is flowing through Europe
Investor brands Barclays as "totally dishonest"
How we investigated the Facebook network run by Reform UK candidates
Undercover investigation reveals UK political parties accepting illegal donations
Kazakh ex-dictator used UK company to help protect his $8 billion business empire
Protesters face huge costs – for protests they never attended
how Russia spreads fake news in the Balkans
Big banks funding an oil company in crisis
International Planned Parenthood Federation
Who’s backing Glencore’s toxic mining?
We need to ‘transition’ away from capitalism
Getting a grip on climate capitalism
Could Uganda’s anti-gay law be overturned?
How British colonizers caused the Bengal famine
Either we move beyond capitalism, or we die
When will the Sahrawi people get self-determination?
How renewables corporations are exploiting the Global South
A frightening future for Palestinians
'We are as much Indians as everybody else'
Turning people power into political might
'The poppy trade sustained the British empire'
Weapons made on my doorstep are helping to kill people in Gaza
Should religion play a role in politics?
‘Just because people are poor it doesn’t take away their human dignity’
No love for Modi in the Indian Himalayas
what if we banned billionaires ?
ABORTION: WHY IS MY BODY STILL A BATTLEGROUND?
BIG OIL IS BANKROLLING THE UK’S ELECTION
It's time to hold Big Tech accountable for violence in the DRC
Gambia tries (and fails) to bring back FGM
Kashmir's unlikely electoral candidates
Entering the matrix of misinformation
Beyond Apartheid: The case for a one-state solution
Boris Johnson was able to rise because of powerful anti-democratic forces
The other 9/11: how to make a nation scream
The oligarch that took over Britain
Former British Soldier EXPOSES King Charles
Gary Younge on Race, Racism & Identity
Israel’s plan to starve 2 million people
we are live-streaming a genocide
Former British Soldier EXPOSES UK Riots
Time for a universal basic income
More people in UK support universal basic income than oppose it
Universal Basic Income trialled in England for first time
‘Affordable universal benefits are still possible – just look at Wales’
The right-wing takeover of Britain’s media
Khan sets out plan to provide universal free primary school meals next year
London Renter Left Homeless After Black Mould Complaints Go Unanswered for Years
Largest four-day working week trial shows it has been a huge success for businesses and workers
Workers to get right to request four-day week under Labour’s workers’ rights overhaul
Who funds the Reform UK party?
Five Politically-Connected Healthcare Giants Rake in NHS Contracts Worth Billions
Biggest Tory donor said that Diane Abbott ‘should be shot’
Government spends more than £1 million of UK taxpayer money to advertise on GB News
The future of Britain's water companies …
a ‘historic’ opportunity to reverse 14 years of NHS privatisation in their first term
Andy Burnham’s manifesto – Housing first – Mbacc – Live Well
Andy Burnham calls for housing to be placed top of the list on hierarchy of public spending
Andy Burnham makes the case for devolving benefits system to a local level, in radical overhaul
A record 145,800 children are now homeless in England – MAY 2024
The Labour government commitments – 17 July 2024
Disabled children’s charity hands 43% of grants to rightwing think-tanks
How can we tackle the UK's dirty money problem?
why the UK’s regulatory system is an expensive farce
It’s time for the UK to introduce a wealth tax
James Cleverly spent £655 per head on in-flight catering for day trip to Rwanda
5 takeaways from budget – NOVEMBER 2024
Logical thinking, curiosity, evidence-based decision making and fresh perspectives are all benefits brought by neurodiversity
How universal basic income’s impact on people’s finances could transform the nation’s health
We gave $7,500 to people experiencing homelessness — here’s what happened next
Medical gaslighting: when conditions turn out not to be ‘all in the mind’
Five signs that you might be rightwing
How rightwing beliefs shape your view of the past – while leftwingers look to the future
Six ways companies fuel violence
Middle-aged radicalisation: why are so many of Britain’s rioters in their 40s and 50s?
The new politics of blame: why Donald Trump craves your rage – and three ways to resist the game
Putin’s Russia: first arrests under new anti-LGBT laws mark new era of repression
Mexico is suing US gun-makers for arming its gangs − and a US court could award billions in damages
Germany decriminalised cannabis: why the UK should consider doing the same
Five disinformation tactics Russia is using to try to influence the US election
The Last Word: ‘painfully poignant’ play gives a voice to women silenced by Russia’s legal system
How subtle forms of misinformation affect what we buy and how much we trust brands
The free trade myth: how the US manipulates global markets for economic supremacy
British jails are at a breaking point – here’s how the Dutch halved their prison population
Or current medical abuse – listen to the people - stop Electro convulsive treatment now – Wendy
Who's Your Herstory Heroine? Nollaig na mBan
Remembering Wallace J. Nichols: the blue mind scientist who explained our human connection to water
Five tips on talking politics with family without falling out – from a conflict resolution expert
Three ways to get your nature fix without a garden
Simply looking at greenery can boost mental health
Do you have knee pain from osteoarthritis? You might not need surgery. Here’s what to tryinstead
Why eating seaweed might help prevent Parkinson’sdisease
Slavery stole Africans’ ideas as well as their bodies: reparations should reflect this
Kenya at 60: the shameful truth about British colonial abuse and how it was covered up
Capital gains: Sunak and Starmer’s tax bills show how the system benefits the rich
Vulture Capitalism: Grace Blakeley’s new book is smart on what has gone wrong since the 1980s
Demolishing buildings is bad for the planet – here’s an alternative
Why you’re less likely to get rich these days if your parents aren’t already wealthy
time for community land trusts ? + an end to wealth supremacy ? - Wendy
How preventive healthcare could save the NHS – lessons from Finland, Japan and Singapore
Or us ? Or New local ? - Wendy
‘Gun control is dead and we killed it’: unmasking the ‘lonely incel’ who designed the world’s most popular 3D-printed firearm
Five reasons to heat your home using infrared fabric
Hemp is more sustainable than timber – here’s how it could transform low-carbon construction
South Sudan floods: the first example of a mass population permanently displaced by climate change?
The killing of Hassan Nasrallah and how the west legitimised its use of assassination
We polled EU citizens on what they want asylum policy to look like – their answers may surprise you
Is this why we need People assemblies NOW ! - Wendy
School absence rates have rocketed – the whole educational experience needs to change
As per Ken Robinson’s work ? - Wendy
Could many dementia cases actually be liver disease?
Can Alzheimer’s really be reversed, as a new documentary claims?
With airstrikes on Houthi rebels, are the US and UK playing fast and loose with international law?
This is why the idea of mental “illness” is so dangerous – Wendy
Truthout
Cops Attack Antiwar Protesters Outside International Arms Expo in Australia
UK Uses Terrorism Law to Silence Palestine Solidarity Activists and Journalists
California Sues ExxonMobil for Deceiving Public About Recycling Plastics
Study Finds Wealth Tax, Oil Subsidy Phaseout Could Generate $5T for Climate
Kansas City Tenants Launch National Rent Strike to Demand Federal Rent Cap
Breaking Down Sudan’s Struggle: What the World Is Missing
Sanders Files to Force First-Ever Vote in Congress on Blocking Weapons to Israel
Kamala Harris: “We Need to Legalize” Recreational Marijuana Use
Minister Says Hezbollah Head Agreed to Ceasefire Hours Before Israel Killed Him
Keeping Each Other Alive: Mental Health and Collective Survival
Housing activists in Spain occupy vacant bank-owned buildings + halt evictions
Does a Forest Have Rights? In Ecuador, It Does
How Healing Circles Create Space forChange
Social Media for the Revolution
A New Hollywood “Origin” Story
Serj Tankian Says “Down With the System”
Nature Welcomes Queer People When Society Doesn’t
How Nature Makes Us Healthier and Happier
How Three Young Women of Color Took on Power
understanding project 2025’s threat to democracy
Can Connection Be the Cure for What Ails Us?
Rooting for Black Land Ownership
Torture Inside a Secret Israeli Concentration Camp
“political violence” from RNC to Gaza
What’s Next for Bangladesh’s Student-Led Revolution?
In Texas’ Third-Largest County, the Far Right’s Vision for Local Governing Has Come to Life
Media
Undercover Hospital : patients at risk
Socialism Is Gaining Popularity, Poll Shows
Socialism = no war + no hierarchy + need not profit
Capitalism = war + hierarchy + profit not need
-Wendy-
Investigating war crimes in Gaza
The base : a British Army scandal
Marielle Franco murder: ex-police jailed for decades over crime that shook Brazil
How private equity convinced Labour to go easy on its multimillion pound tax perk
Serious Fraud office probe £112M Unite union hotel
How can Britain plot it’s future when it is so deeply stuck in the mud? Empower the citizens
Dozen labour MPs join call for “extreme wealth” tax
Labour must keep its promise to consult on the future of the “House of Lords”
People assemblies NOW ! - Wendy
Donald Trump said 9.53 minutes into this debate
“people are pouring into our country from ... mental institutions and insane asylums”
Is the far right / fascists targeting us again ?
Is this the best way to manage things ? wellbeing economy ? People assemblies now ? - Wendy
Swiss Schools’ Surprising Solution to Bullying
Bhopal Survivors Continue 40-Year Fight for Justice
Total Trust: Surveillance State
Colombians Welcome Chiquita’s Guilty Verdict, But Thousands More Deserve Justice
‘In the US they think we’re communists!’
‘They’re patronising, arrogant …’
How social media has created a ‘perfect storm’ for UK’s far-right riots
The brutal truth behind Italy’s migrant reduction: beatings and rape by EU-funded forces in Tunisia
why the far right is surging in Europe - FT film
I’m a psychologist – and I believe we’ve been told devastating lies about mental health
are women really more mentally ill than men? As a psychologist , I’m not so sure
Electroconvulsive therapy mostly used on women and older people, says study
Abortion UK: Women 'manipulated' in crisis pregnancy advice centres
Siege days are over: how Northern Ireland came to lead the UK on abortion
‘Andrew Tate is a symptom, not the problem’
Who were England’s 2024 rioters ? + could it happen again
Algorithms ‘amplifying misogynistic content’
The hunt for ClothOff – the deepfake porn app
Why is generation Z so divided on gender?
Esther Ghey and Emma Sutton shows power of restorative justice – danger of mobile phones
The soft life: why millennials are quitting the rat race
France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion in constitution
Why are we so ill? The working-age health crisis
less medication not more for elderly – Chris Whitty
NHS nurses being investigated for ‘industrial-scale’ qualifications fraud
Almost half of antidepressant users could quit with GP support, study finds
NHS patients raising safety concerns too often ‘fobbed off’, says commissioner
Sixfold rise in foreign care workers in UK complaining of exploitation
Nurse regulator condemned over toxic culture
Gambling poses huge global threat to public health, experts warn
Online Safety Act not fit for purpose after far-right riots, says Sadiq Khan
What does Giorgia Meloni teach us about neo-fascism today?
Pollution Crisis in Mexico Shows Limits of Plastic Bag Bans in Global Capitalism
Survey finds that 60 firms are responsible for half of world’s pollution
London is the mostexposedcityin world to air pollution from aviation, global study finds
‘Citizen scientists’ to check UK rivers for sewage and pollution
Berlin’s vote to take properties from big landlords could be a watershed moment
The end of landlords: the surprisingly simple solution to the UK housing crisis
Rough sleeping in London hits highest level in a decade
Fix Europe’s housing crisis or risk fuelling the far-right, UN expert warns
Private rents in Great Britain hit record high, data shows
Labour, beware: Britain’s housing crisis is driving voters towards populism
Stop treating social housing tenants like children, ombudsman tells landlords
Not just “social” landlords ? politicians ?“ ombudsman” ? +- Wendy
Is the British Gas boss really worth £8.2m?
It’s literally giving somebody money for nothing
‘Free money’: £4bn lost to fraud and error on flagship HMRC ‘innovation’ scheme
Transphobia and Allyship on Trans Day of Visibility
Georgian parliament approves law curbing LGBT rights
Is It Time to Break Up With Capitalism?
Swapping red meat for herring, sardines and anchovies could save 750,000 lives, study suggests
Thames Water nationalisation plan could move bulk of £15bn debt to state
Global spending on nuclear weapons surged by more than 13 percent to $91.4 billion in 2023
students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School
From Weapons to Fossil Fuels — 10 Firms Control $50 Trillion of Global Wealth
wealth supremacy + how to build a democratic economy
British asylum housing tycoon breaks into Sunday Times rich list
Britain’s richest family sentenced to jail for exploiting staff in Swiss mansion
Largest UK public sector trial of four-day week sees huge benefits, research finds
Revealed: how UK’s poor paid price of ‘cheapflation’ in cost of living crisis
People with less money always pay more for everything - why should people pay rent all their lives ? - Wendy
The big idea: why we need to kick big money out of UK politics
the Trans history you were not taught in school
bullshit jobs: the rise of pointless work + what we can do about it
Britain’s prehistoric attitude to drugs isn’t working. Why not learn from Texas?
Arts and crafts give greater life satisfaction than work, survey suggests
From beating burglary to weight gain: 12 ways that working from home has changed Britain
Intersectional Activism in a Post- Roe world
Former Isle of Man chief medic sacked for whistleblowing is awarded £3.2m
Lawyers raise alarm at struggle to tackle UK local government corruption
A Blueprint for Decolonization in Berlin
How Ancient Grains Empower Indian Women
Vandana Shiva: Reciprocal Care Will Give Us a Future
Cocaine, gangs and murder: Ecuador’s 10 days of terror
Black Imagination Can Build a Better World
black classical musicians are creating community
‘Because secondhand is feckin’ grand’: how clothes swapping became huge in Ireland
India archive reveals extent of items extracted from colony in royal jewellery collection
The British monarchy’s ties to slavery are writ large in the historical archives
‘Morally, nobody’s against it’: Brazil’s radical plan to tax global super-rich to tackle climate crisis
Courtier demanded assurance king could not be prosecuted under new Welsh law
Corrupt Real Estate Firms Are Displacing Indigenous Mexicans in New Colonialism
Revealed: how Church of England’s ties to chattel slavery went to top of hierarchy
King to receive extra £45m of public money as crown estate income soars
More than 11 million Britons have less than £1,000 in savings
Work until you’re 71? It could be time to echo the French – and get angry
UK cannot ignore calls for slavery reparations, says leading UN judge
British boys more at risk of modern slavery than any other group in UK, says study
Ed - Grenfell - lies + greed exposed
Fujitsu won £1.4bn in new government contracts after court ruling on Post Office software bugs
Inquiry to begin into DWP’s treatment of ill and disabled people on benefits
As Norway’s largest private pension fund, we are divesting from Caterpillar
International scheme to tax billionaires’ wealth technically feasible, study finds
World Could Raise $2.1 Trillion Annually by Adopting Spain’s Wealth Tax
How oligarchs took on the UK fraud squad - and won
‘A deeply broken system' Is it time England scrapped council tax?
Carers threatened with prosecution over minor breaches of UK benefit rules
From our experience navigating the DWP is a nightmare + causes a lot of stress - Universal basic income now - Wendy
Solidarity and strategy: the forgotten lessons of truly effective protest
Free school meals ‘cut obesity and help reading skills’ in England, study finds
What’s behind the rise in dog attacks?
Number of abandoned French bulldogs increases sharply in England and Wales
200 cats, 200 dogs, one lab: the secrets of the pet food industry – podcast
Calls for new dog licences to better control unruly pets in England
New AI tool ‘can rapidly rule out heart attacks in people attending A&E’
One in five GPs using AI at work despite lack of training - with some even using it in diagnosis
Drones to deliver urgent blood samples for Guy’s and St Thomas’
AI triage system achieves 73% reduction in waiting times according to NHS study
The mothers fighting a scandal bigger than thalidomide: ‘We were told the medication was safe’
Hundreds of vulnerable children sent to illegal and unregulated care homes in England
Essex mental health deaths review demands legal powers
Deaths unexplained, lives devastated: here’s another national tragedy hidden in plain sight
'Deeply entrenched' ageism limits mental health care for elderly, report says
ICB whistleblowing process ‘not fit for purpose’
Black children in England and Wales four times more likely to be strip-searched, figures show
Steep rise in black mental health patients injured while restrained by police
Disputed medical terms used to explain deaths after police restraint
‘Outdated and offensive’: police in England and Wales barred from blaming restraint deaths on ‘excited delirium’
NHS ombudsman warns hospitals are cynically burying evidence of poor care
Mental illness is a lie - this is a very dangerous development in my opinion – Wendy
Not just Hollywood ? - Wendy
Thirteen Reports of human rights abuse within Mental Health wards – Edenfield + Essex + Huntercombe +then there is Winterbourne + Whorlton Hall
please listen to us – Wendy
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ckxr/panorama-undercover-hospital-patients-at-risk
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/hospital-undercover-are-they-safe-dispatches
https://news.sky.com/video/the-huntercombe-group-a-mental-health-scandal-12731576
Problem linked to local councils + housing - Wendy
Including Norman Lamb mentioning Human rights abuse in MH system
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/locked-away-our-autism-scandal-dispatches
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/sexual-abuse-mental-health-uk-b2484163.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yKmvJgcukA&t=4s
https://news.sky.com/story/mental-health-patients-raped-and-sexually-assaulted-in-nhs-care-as-national-scandal-revealed-13056678
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-03-21/millions-spent-on-keeping-adults-with-learning-disabilities-locked-up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHeGaWr1BBc
The cost of sectioning people + holding them in hospital is 1.2 M per person + they call us crazy ! - Wendy
Edenfield Centre: Vulnerable patients denied human rights - review
Sexual assault in mental health to be probed following The Independent’s investigation
Leaked NHS figures reveal 15,000 died in care of mental health trusts in one year
Time for a more sustainable approach ? Peer run respite centres ? - Wendy
Operation Soteria: a new approach to investigating rape
Norfolk and Suffolk mental health campaigners want inquiry over data
Ministers order ‘rapid review’ into mental health inpatient care in England
Will the person doing the review have unconscious bias ? As per the Mental Health act review ? - Wendy
We have now moved the website + newsletters to the brilliant + ethical e-voice
THANK YOU—e-voice for being there—for FREE—for communities like us
Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures – 2020-21
Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures – 2021 – 22
monitoring the Mental Health Act 2022-23
Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics , Performance August, Provisional September 2023
Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, Performance February 2024
CQC ratings of NHS mental health trusts 2021
CQC ratings of NHS mental health trusts 2022
NHS England mental health trusts record 26,000 sexual abuse incidents
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2022 data – to see the full data set click on the Trust’s name below |
ECT |
Restraints |
Seclusion |
Serious incidents |
Meds.errors |
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Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership |
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Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health |
|
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24 people 282 sessions |
913 |
167 |
67 |
69 |
|
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Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust |
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Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
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Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust |
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Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
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20 people 169 sessions |
961 |
168 |
9 |
290 |
|
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Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust |
|
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Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
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461 treatments |
932 |
41 |
|
1079 |
|
|
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not provided |
979 |
641 |
76 |
1164 |
|
|
Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
East London NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
636 “treatments” |
2365 |
229 |
125 |
801 |
|
|
Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
30 people |
1242 |
This trust does not seclude people |
120 |
795 |
|
|
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
365 people |
1120 |
208 |
198 |
791 |
|
|
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
23 |
3481 |
270 |
11 |
717 |
|
|
62 people |
1808 |
214 |
93 |
804 |
|
|
Data not provided |
1711 |
121 |
47 |
Data not provided |
|
|
17 people |
5477 |
837 |
394 |
2661 |
|
|
53 people 409 treatments |
2266 |
71 |
311 |
1249 |
|
|
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
North East London NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
28 people |
1005 |
12 ? |
91 |
434 |
|
|
15 people |
960 |
294 |
27 |
923 |
|
|
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 people |
1022 |
37 |
43 |
2 |
|
|
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Solent NHS Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
44 people |
2548 |
410 |
779 |
659 |
|
|
17 people |
1492 |
261 |
95 |
437 |
|
|
South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
32 people |
|
|
91 |
|
Will you EMAIL your MP?
You can find them here
You could look at the table above + send your thoughts?
Old friendship group newsletters are here
Over the years we have chatted about what we have found useful to try to maintain our well-being + the organisations we have been involved with
Please let us know if anything should be added by contacting wmicklewright@yahoo.co.uk
All thoughts – comments – ideas welcome
Also sent to Media + local + national government + CEO MH Trusts + Third sector
- to promote openness - accountability - inclusion-
COMMUNITY + SOCIAL JUSTICE