Helping the people of Darnall and Tinsley stay healthy
These friendly English conversation sessions are for people who do not speak English as their first language. They are a great opportunity to improve your confidence and get to know others in your local community, in a supportive group.
DWB’s Jo-Anne van Levesley and a number of our brilliant volunteers ran the sessions, which provide opportunities and support for people with Dementia and their families to get involved at Darnall Allotment Project, in all sorts of different ways. It is a community plot at Infield Lane allotment site, maintained and run by Darnall Allotment Project members, along with grower, Sarah Emberson.
On The Plot sessions this year included opportunities to work with clay, paint and many other mediums. The intense weather affected three sessions by taking us indoors, and even led to one cancellation – but the newly built shelter at the plot provided some very timely cover from a lot of the rain.
Three sessions were spent creating clay models, thanks to support from Brett, a potter, and resident gardener/grower on the site with his own plot, too. Another enjoyable activity was taking the time to create their own drawings and paintings of flowers and hollyhocks on the plot.
Participants also helped out with tasks around the plot, including, planting vegetables, working on the raised beds, doing general weeding, and watering. At one early session, they planted lettuce seeds together in a raised bed, and then made colanders to take their plants home to grow on the window sill. Everyone reported enjoying harvesting and eating the results at later sessions. “I never realised just how easy it is, how different the lettuce tasted to shop bought – and you can keep going throughout the winter, too…”
At the first and final session for this summer, we shared stories via the Out Of The Box storytelling, an approach that Jo has been learning, using compost and sand. Using the theme of “Down Memory Lane”, this helped participants to think about topics together, including “How do you feel about your community?” and “What have these sessions meant to you?”.
“It has been one of the best things for me. I feel totally relaxed and de-stressed here – I am better able to cope, sharing time with others has made me feeI better. I highly recommend coming; it has been one of the best things we have done together”.
Pat, On The Plot participant
From clay roses and ducks, to wooden men climbing beanstalks, the sessions brought all kinds of creativity and art to the plot this summer. We look forward to bringing the sessions back next year! Thank you to People Keeping Well for their funding and support for these much needed sessions!
Our team nominated Jo-Anne van Levesley for Sheffield City Council’s Dignity Awards, for people working in adult health and social care, and we’re so pleased to say that she was announced at the awards event on 10th July 2023 as the winner in the category “Connected and Engaged – Everyone can connect with communities that care and support them”.
The Dignity Awards celebrate outstanding examples of best practice in adult social care and support in Sheffield, and we really felt that Jo was a worthy candidate! Our nomination is below, and the judges said it really illustrated that Jo puts clients at the centre of her practice. They were particularly impressed that Jo helps her clients in non-judgemental ways, giving them happy memories and fun things to do.
The awards ceremony was a lovely event, celebrating real embodiments of dedication and care across the city. Jo was presented with her award by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Colin Ross.
Jo is responsible for delivering Darnall Well Being’s support for people living with Dementia and their carers in Darnall ward. She runs Dementia Cafe in Handsworth with volunteers. Aware of the need to break down stigmas around Dementia in the BAME community, she also started Dementia Café in Darnall, with language support. She runs an online carers’ support group and a weekly session at Darnall Allotment Project for people with Dementia and carers, too.
Jo is dedicated to her work, treating referrals as she would want her own family to be treated, ensuring they feel comfortable and welcome. In January to March 2023 alone, Jo made 32 wellbeing calls, saw 48 people in person, and made 98 calls to 20 new clients. Feedback for her support on these calls – “The way you work is very professional and caring – sensitivity in a situation like this makes all the difference”. LO (carer)
Jo regularly seeks feedback from attendees and volunteers about what people find helpful and how sessions can be improved. The impact is clear from the high regular attendance at all sessions. “Jo has the unique ability to encourage, entertain and motivate people to take part in activities, whilst remaining professional, allowing her to be a trusted source of knowledge and support, and a source of fun and freedom,” Sarah, student attendee.
Participants are full of praise for Jo’s groups:
“like one big happy family” JR (volunteer at Dementia Café/allotment)
“best thing we’ve ever done – so pleased I’ve brought him here” (B and D, Dementia Café attendees)
“You are the only place that treat us all properly, nan and the family … so very impressed with the care, dedication, and sheer life you breathe into clients and carers.” JK (carer)
“This provision is good for Dad – I feel supported too, right from the first phone call… You even had thought about our fast – thank you” R (Carer)
Jo has spotted opportunities to link external projects with her groups, e.g. Sheffield University’s Hack The Hug project and Out Of The Box storytelling. She also encourages participants to take part in our other activities, and arranged for Dementia contacts to attend the World Seniors Snooker Tour in Sheffield, as well as organising an annual seaside trip for service users and carers.
She is recognised by others as being a key contact in the city. She is an Alzheimers Society Dementia Friends Ambassador, and provides Dementia Friends training for our team and partner organisations.
To increase awareness of available support, Jo helped to create videos with herself and café attendees, in English and Arabic, sharing what people can expect from Dementia cafe and encourage them to come and seek support – from local sessions and from city-wide services. Jo is open and approachable, with a passion for involvement and inclusivity. “She places the people she supports at the centre of everything she does. Her enthusiasm and genuine care for those within the group is the backbone to its success,” Natalie, OT student
In March 2023, we welcomed people from the communities in Darnall and Tinsley to two Covid community memorial events, which gave us all an opportunity to share experiences from the pandemic. Representatives and resources from Sheffield Mind, Compassionate Sheffield and IAPT were there, sharing support and guidance for anyone who wanted help with managing their feelings.
We provided craft resources for people to create a memory book and gave everyone a candle and holder, which we lit together as a joint act of remembrance of lost loved ones, led by local faith leaders. We also provided food for everyone to eat together. A member of our team used her Out of the Box storytelling training to help some attendees to talk about their experiences. And we filmed interviews with some people sharing their Covid memories, as well as encouraging people to share their memories verbally and on paper in communal memory books.
Both events were very positively received by the communities and were well attended. People sat around tables and got to know one another throughout the events, as well as catching up with old friends/connections. The craft activities really helped people to talk about what they’d been through and share their memories with each other and in our videos/memory books.
We had faith leaders, Sheffield Mind and Compassionate Sheffield at the events, recognising that the topic might trigger painful memories for some people, so we had support on hand for people who needed it. This was really helpful to a number of people, and when Sheffield Mind were with us in Darnall, this led to 3 referrals to their bereavement support services, for people who were struggling with their grief.
We had a lot of positive feedback at both sessions about how needed people felt these events had been: “We felt forgotten, and now you have made our hearts so happy”, “really enjoyed meeting new people”, “today is very helpful – it got me out of the house to meet others – and that’s helpful!” and “today has been really good, enabling people to get together again”.
Watch the videos from both events here:
On 6th June 2023, 15 of our volunteers joined Yvonne, Jo and Fran at DWB’s office for a celebration event. As well as sharing information and ideas, they also had some fun taking part in an activity about the importance of good communication, using some very long telephone tubes!
There was a group discussion about what people enjoy about volunteering with us, and the volunteers came up with quite a list:
The volunteers also heard a thank you message from Gareth Johnstone, DWB Chair:
Thank you for everything you do for Darnall Well Being. Your time and effort has a real and positive outcome for our community. With your help we are changing lives, increasing opportunities, and improving health. You are valued members of the team, and greatly appreciated.
After talking about what they would like to do with DWB in future (with ideas ranging from accredited mental health first aid training to regular socialising opportunities, like a book club), the volunteers ate lunch together and got to know one another more.
No matter what your fitness level, you’ll be able to join in with our Health Walk group. Supported by our staff and volunteers, the group is a great opportunity to explore the beautiful High Hazels Park whilst getting to know others in the community. There are also opportunities to find out about the plants in the park and to try mindfulness activities, to help your mental wellbeing.
All followed by refreshments back at Darnall Primary Care Centre, if you choose to come back with us!
In March 2024, local GP Dr Farrell joined our Health Walk group and here’s what he had to say about his experience with us:
I joined the Health Walk on 18th Mar, meeting Saada and Teresa, and was really impressed by the relaxed, yet motivating manner in which all participants were engaged in the walk. The opportunity for everyone to meet each other, talk openly about anything that came to mind, and take rests whenever they fancied meant we all got good exercise in without any stress. The often passionate discussions (e.g. nationalising essential services) while having tea and biscuits back at DPCC afterwards was a welcome reminder of how engaged people are with their communities. Without this group, it is likely many of the participants would not find the motivation and confidence to get out into the park and walk the High Hazels hills!
Dr Farrell, GP
Thanks to funding from Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and local charity 500 Together, we have been able to print 1,000 copies of the latest edition of the Community Connector. This will be available to pick up from locations around Darnall and Tinsley, including at Darnall Library, local GP surgeries, Darnall Family Centre and from numerous local groups. Darnall Well Being staff and volunteers will be giving copies to participants of our groups and services, and we plan to deliver copies to some streets in the area, too.
If you prefer to read it online, you can download it here:
Or read on below:
We are two Occupational Therapy students from Sheffield Hallam University currently on placement at Darnall Wellbeing. We planned a new persistent pain support group, starting off by holding an information gathering session to ensure that future group sessions will meet participants’ needs. We were careful not to replicate services that already exist and focused on creating a support group, and not a pain management program as this is already provided by the NHS and is above our current skill set as students.
We were pleased to have a good turnout for the first session. We were joined by people living with persistent pain and healthcare professionals also interested in the group. The session began with some basic information about persistent pain. We defined persistent pain as pain that lasts after normal tissue healing time (usually after 12 weeks) in which other treatments have been unsuccessful.
The high prevalence of persistent pain in the local community was highlighted in order to help reduce the stigma and isolation of living with persistent pain, as participants realised that many people can live well with persistent pain.
We discussed when pain is helpful and unhelpful. The purpose of pain signals are to protect us from damaging our bodies. However, sometimes when the body has healed, the body systems that lead to the experience of pain stay ‘awake’ and ‘on alert’, tricking the brain into still feeling pain.
Benefits of a persistent pain support group include participants being able to share their experiences of living with persistent pain and supporting each other, whilst increasing their social interaction.
To facilitate social interaction we led an icebreaker activity in which we asked participants to use coloured air-dry clay to create a shape that represents their experience of persistent pain. Some participants took a literal approach by creating a human figure indicating where they feel pain, while others took a more abstract approach. Participants were invited to share their experiences of persistent pain with the group. It was highlighted that participants felt sharing and listening to others experiences of persistent pain made them feel less stigmatised, less alone, and more positive about their ability to live well with persistent pain. This activity encouraged frank discussion about issues such as the challenges of expressing concerns to health professionals due to short appointment times, as well as the uncertainty and confusion regarding the benefits and side effects of taking pain medication.
The session finished with a discussion about what participants wanted out of future sessions, ending in the collection of feedback. Suggestions for the content of future sessions were voted upon to ensure a co-productive approach.
We are pleased to share that we have been selected to be one of three Sheffield Youth – Neighbourhoods and Communities Area Hubs, and so we are recruiting an Area Hub Coordinator and two Youth Workers for our hub. These roles will be based in Darnall and Tinsley, with Darnall Well Being and our partner organisations Tinsley Forum and DESA.
SY-NC aims to have:
SY-NC plans to achieve this by
So our Area Hub Coordinator will develop trust, build the local youth service and multi-agency relationships, and deliver youth-led community development which tackles exploitation in the area. The Area Hub Coordinator will manage the two Youth Workers.
If you would like to apply for one of these job opportunities, then please download the job description and application form below.
If you have any questions about the roles, please contact us on admin@darnallwellbeing.org.uk or 0114 249 6315.
Key dates
Area Coordinator Role:
Trainee Youth Worker Role
Applications to be received via email – admin@darnallwellbeing.org.uk
Today’s event went really well, as there were people from different organisations present. It was a welcoming environment, as Mike first had us introduce who we are and where we volunteer, what we have learnt, our skills and qualities of a community champion.
We had in attendance speakers and volunteers from Flower Estate Family Action (FEFA) and Compassionate Sheffield (who spoke on compassion and tips on how to become a compassionate Community Champion). There was also a speaker from Healthwatch Sheffield who educated us on identifying the symptoms of Long Covid, and she also mentioned Healthwatch is working to see that more referrals are made for Black and Asian minority groups. Present also were a group of retired nurses who are for the Black community.
Also, we had a self care session taken by Ruth, a therapist. She emphasised that it’s important that as community champions, we take care of ourselves as much as we care for the communities. She also took us on a memory jar journey, where we wrote out 5 memories we’ve had and then, using salt and coloured chalks, we created different colours in a jar as a representation of our memories. We went home with this jar.
In all, it was a great event.
Each year Darnall Well Being hosts an annual general meeting (AGM) to celebrate the impact that DWB has had on the community. This year’s event was held for the first time at SHU’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre on 20th October 2022. From incredible staff case studies to powerful volunteer stories, this AGM in particular highlighted the significant contributions our organisation has made to combat the challenges brought by the pandemic. This event revealed how collectively, as a community, we transformed our difficult and dreary moments into strong and memorable ones.
Unity is not only a fundamental part of strengthening a community but at the very core of DWB’s values and principles. The evening showcased how we converted measurable investments into immeasurable impact, throughout the course of the pandemic we’ve collected stories from over 7,000 contacts and distributed 32,000 Community Connector leaflets, especially targeting digitally excluded areas. We’ve also involved over 273 people with underlying health problems to access existing support across Sheffield such as: diabetes support, Live Lighter, stopping smoking and alcohol reduction – everyone we’ve supported were immensely grateful for DWB facilitating these opportunities getting them closer to their healthier selves.
At the very heart of DWB’s work are the determined and dedicated volunteers. The evening featured speeches from volunteers focusing on why they volunteered and how they benefitted as volunteers. A wide array of responses was shared, demonstrating that ‘you get as much out of it as you give into it’, that ‘it’s lovely to do things which you can’t do otherwise’ knowing you’ve made an impact and that ‘you feel you’re needed’ by your community – a valuable sense of purpose and responsibility, especially when feeling lost in life is highly prevalent in these challenging times. Many volunteers have found that volunteering ‘helped them mentally’ and ‘there wasn’t the help and support to this extent in the past’.
An important benefit from volunteering is ‘companionship and finding people in situations worse than you’ to help better understand our community’s needs. Others find ‘a sense of peace and calm, taking time to reflect in a non-stressful environment being in the fresh air amongst nature around people in similar situations to you’, you’ll even find that volunteering allows you to ‘come and have a laugh’ with fun being common theme in a variety of activities. Furthermore, encouraging the constant maintaining and improving of mental health, volunteers feel compelled to help ‘de-stigmatise mental health and other things like dementia, because it can happen to anybody’ – no one should feel alone.
Volunteering with DWB, has been a unique and inclusive journey for all volunteers due to the vast diversity of ‘different ethnicities, different age groups and walks of life, different work experiences and different skillsets’ illustrating that ‘everyone has an opportunity to get involved’. DWB has ensured their impact is further expanded by broadening horizons for its volunteers. Volunteers utilised opportunities to upgrade their skillsets through training courses in areas like sports leadership, dementia, digital skills, mindfulness, first aid and nutrition. As a result, the constant focus of improving our work and volunteers led to opening new activity areas like sports and mindfulness to explore, increasing community engagement.
A closing speech given by Professor Robert Copeland from SHU’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre explained the 3Ps concept (‘People, Place and Purpose’) and emphasised its significance for supporting our community. It’s the lives of the people in Darnall who we’ve transformed and supported that keeps our organisation standing. Darnall is a place that matters to us, ‘we want to create a safer Darnall, where people are hopeful and feel belonged – the power to bring stability in uncertainty’. DWB is a purpose-driven organisation, committed to empower others to rise and flourish, instilling purpose to those we serve giving them value and meaning to benefit from – ‘truly the most powerful gift to a society’. The driving force behind each and every part of our service is the compassion from all our staff, trustees, volunteers and most importantly our community. As Coretta Scott King once said, ‘the greatness of a community is measured by the compassionate action of its members’.
We look forward to welcoming people from the communities in Darnall and Tinsley to these two events, which will give us all an opportunity to share our experiences from the pandemic. Join our staff, volunteers and local faith leaders to get together, create memory books and light candles in memory of loved ones. We’ll have representatives and resources from Sheffield Mind, Compassionate Sheffield, Cruse Bereavement Care and IAPT here, sharing support and guidance if you want help with managing your feelings.
Food and drinks for us to enjoy together will be available at this free event. Please contact us if you’d like any more information before the events.
Over 4 weeks with us, as well as learning from our team about the services and support we offer, Amran, Fathimah and Nancy also helped out at a range of our activities and listened to feedback from some of our service users. The students also helped to distribute the Community Connector newsletter in the local area and helped out at Darnall Allotment Project. They shared some of their thoughts about Darnall Well Being at the end of their time with us:
As part of our placement, it was really lovely to help organise and welcome people in, as well as getting to know a different demographic in Darnall.
As a large number of people in the area are Muslim, offering women-only sessions is important, as it means that more women will be more likely to feel comfortable and engage with the community.
I think the most important part of the Men’s Health session is socialising, and having lunch and a cuppa together. Some of them live alone so you can tell they really appreciate being listened to and interacting with others.
The three students also put together this video to share some of their experiences with us and our service users:
Especially between people of different ethnic backgrounds, noting that they really appreciate the efforts DWB have taken in trying to bridge differences by providing language support, increasing awareness through newsletters, engaging with local services that people frequent and providing activities that are either free or as cheap as possible.
How social prescribing can aid in reducing poorer outcomes. They pointed out that the regular activities that DWB hold means that people are regularly engaged in physical activity or at least something that engages the mind.
After speaking to so many different people from different backgrounds, they all mentioned that they enjoy interacting and meeting new people. This was especially true for those living by themselves or with just their partner. And how important it is for their mental health to just leave the house and meet others.
Finally, the students shared that they will take away from this experience the importance of not underestimating the social aspect of medicine. They felt that their placement with us really helped them to see the bigger picture; that medicine is about going in to help people and improve their quality of life, and so it’s important to recognise how big a factor the community and social side of someone’s life is in their care.
Amran, who did her social accountability placement with us in December 2022, was really interested in the different ways that we reach the community, and she wanted to share her experience with our Green Social Prescribing craft activity.
In December 2022, I had the pleasure of joining a craft session at Victoria Quays in Sheffield, where we made feather leaf macramé. It was a fun and lively event, with people of all ages and backgrounds coming together to learn and craft. But beyond the social aspect of the event, I also saw the powerful effects that crafting can have on health and wellbeing. As we worked on our macramé projects, we chatted and laughed, and the meditative and focused nature of crafting provided a much-needed break from the constant stimulation of daily life.
Crafting has been shown to have numerous benefits for health, including reducing anxiety and depression, and improving self-esteem and cognitive function. It can also provide a sense of accomplishment and purpose, as well as a creative outlet for self-expression.
I really enjoyed myself and it was a great opportunity for members of the community to come together, socialise, and make something beautiful. I hope to attend more events like this at Darnall Well Being.
We have worked with local organisations including Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, Tinsley Forum and Sheffield East LAC, to put together a winter edition of the Community Connector newsletter. Over 30 local groups and organisations have taken this opportunity to share their news with the community, and we’re grateful to all of them for taking the time to send us content and photos to include in the newsletter!
Unfortunately, we weren’t successful in obtaining any new funding to produce or deliver the Community Connector this time, so we’re extremely grateful to Jump North printers for match funding the small amount we had available. This enabled us to print 2,000 copies in total! Since we weren’t able to fund delivery of the newsletters, we’re now busy getting copies out to as many different local venues as we can, to make sure all this news, support and information reaches as many local people as possible. Darnall Well Being will also be giving copies to everyone we come into contact with in the community, and copies will be going to all local schools.
Please look out for it in the community – venues it will be available at include:
You can also download the Community Connector here:
Or you can read it on our website here:
We aim to produce the next edition by the Easter school holidays. If you are a local group or organisation that would like to share news or information in the next edition, please contact us at communityconnectordarnall@gmail.com.
Yoga can help to support stress management, mental health, mindfulness, healthy eating, weight loss and quality sleep. These sessions are also a great opportunity to meet other women in the local area.
Sessions are for all abilities, and can be done on a chair or mat.
For more information, please contact our office on 0114 2496315.
If you live in Darnall, Tinsley or Handsworth and you’re feeling stressed, low in mood, anxious, lonely or isolated, Green Social Prescribing can help. Thanks to funding from South Yorkshire Community Foundation and South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw Integrated Care System, we are able to offer friendly, guided walks in green spaces around Sheffield and in the Peak District.
The walks offer a chance to explore new areas with a group, as well as taking part in simple activities to help you connect with nature and calm your mind. We provide free transport to and from the walk destinations, and provide a free hot or cold drink at each location.
Details of some of our upcoming walks are below, with more still to come:
Once you’ve booked onto a sesssion with us, all you need to do is bring some water and a packed lunch. And please make sure you’re wearing sturdy footwear and clothing suitable for the weather!
Lots of local people have found the sessions really beneficial so far – just a couple of comments from the many we have had from people who have been on the walks with us:
Good, fun, enjoyable and exciting, fun – walk easy but scenic, refreshing
Participant in GSP walk at Longshaw, June 2022
Walking is the only thing that makes me happy, like peace & quiet, like to stay physically active, countryside good for wellbeing
Participant in GSP walk at Hathersage, July 2022
If you would like more details about Green Social Prescribing, or if you want to book onto any of the activities, please contact Jo Hopkinson on 07904 281825 or our office on 0114 249 6315.
To mark #WorldMentalHealthDay, we have put together a flyer to give to everyone who comes to our activities or gets 1-1 support from our team. All of our activities give people an opportunity to talk about and improve their mental health; our flyer gives details about more of the support we offer, and we’ve also shared links to other organisations in Sheffield who offer additional mental health support.
Or you can pick up a printed copy from our enquiries desk at Darnall Primary Care Centre.
Pilates can be helpful for improving core strength, flexibility, posture and balance. It can also help with pain relief, especially lower back pain, and stress reduction. Pilates is a low-impact exercise that focuses on controlled movements. These sessions are for all abilities aged 18+.
These sessions are very popular, so please make sure you arrive in plenty of time to join the session, as places are limited in both sessions.
Running on Tuesdays at Darnall Primary Care Centre in partnership with Sheffield United Community Foundation, our fun circuit training sessions are for all women living in Darnall and Tinsley, aged 16+. Contact details to book your place are on the flyer below.
